The ACT will need to continue to go it alone in its economic recovery as Scott Morrison's cautious pre-election budget offered little local cheer and even less political risk.

Tuesday's budget sent a business-as-usual message to the ACT economy, with the public service still expected to do much of the heavy lifting of cost savings as Mr Morrison tries to reduce this year's $37 billion deficit to just $6 billion within four years.

The economic blueprint unveiled by the Treasurer was notably devoid of grand designs, either on revenue or spending, concentrating instead on a cautious approach aimed at shoring up the Coalition's credentials for sound economic management.

Any respite from the hated 2.5 per cent "efficiency dividend" imposed on public service departments is at least three years away as the Coalition walked away from its pledge to ease off on the cuts from next year.

The turnaround will see an extra $2 billion ripped from departmental budgets across the four-year forward estimates period but Canberra firms might be able to cash in on the commitment by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann to invest $500 million of the savings in more agile, efficient government.

There was a sliver of good news for the territory government too, with confirmation that some of the health and education funding ripped from states and territories in the unpopular Abbott-Hockey budget of 2014 would be restored.

New infrastructure commitments were modest, with just $6.5 billion in new money pledged, and there will be no new federal cash for projects in or around the capital, nor any other pre-election sweeteners for the ACT.

Mr Morrison steered clear of a pre-election spend-up on the day the Reserve Bank made history with its first ever budget day interest rate cut, to an all-time low of 1.75 per cent, with the Treasurer instead seeking to strike a balance between revenue-raising measures and tax relief.

There is a long awaited crackdown on multinational tax avoidance and the reining-in of lucrative superannuation tax breaks for the very rich, while small and medium sized-businesses will get a 1 per cent tax cut as the first stage in a long-term plan to bring the overall company tax rate down to 25 per cent within 10 years.

There will also be a tax cut for workers earning more than $80,000.

At the bottom end of the wage scale, there will be a new low-income superannuation tax offset from next year, aimed at ensuring those earning less than $37,000 are not paying more tax on retirement savings than on their income.

"Our new spending commitments have been more than offset by our disciplined restraint and better targeting of spending in other areas," Mr Morrison told Parliament on Tuesday.

"This is not the time to be splashing money around or increasing the tax burden on our economy or on hardworking Australians and their families.

"Such policies are not a plan for jobs and growth, they simply put our successful economic transition at risk."

The Treasurer sent a message to the public sector in his speech, pledging the Coalition would not relent in their cost-cutting drives.

"By continuing to ensure the Government lives within its means, to balance the budget and reduce the burden of long term debt," Mr Morrison said.

"In this Budget we will continue to cut unnecessary waste and keep government spending under control to balance the budget over time."

What the budget had for Canberra

• $2 billion cut from departmental budgets over four years
• No new infrastructure money for the ACT
• No public service employment growth