Mr Barr made the criticism as he announced the creation of an ACT government hardship fund, which will provide payments of up to $1500 to workers forced to quarantine due to coronavirus.

The $1.25 million fund would be open to people who don't have sick leave, savings in the bank or another source of income - including Commonwealth support payments - and are not a dependent.

Mr Barr suggested the ACT government had been forced to set up the scheme because of the federal government's failure to provide a readily accessible safety net for workers in insecure employment.

The Prime Minister's office has disputed that assertion, arguing the federal government's new paid pandemic leave scheme is open to any state or territory that wants to access it.

However, it is understood that a jurisdiction would effectively need to declare a state of disaster - as Victoria has done amid a resurgence of cases in the state - before it could sign up to the Commonwealth program.

Pandemic leave has been discussed at national cabinet since the early months of the crisis, and Mr Barr said he hoped the Commonwealth would have "comprehensively" dealt with it by now.

"As with many things in the pandemic they [federal government] have not quite covered the ground fully and not necessarily moved as quickly as you would have hoped," Mr Barr said.

Mr Barr expanded his argument beyond paid pandemic leave, accusing the federal government of consistently making arbitrary decisions about who was eligible for certain programs.

He took aim at the cracks in the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme, which has not been extended to international students or casuals who had worked for an employer for less than 12 months.

"In all of these circumstances through this year there has been examples where for no particular reason the Commonwealth has drawn an arbitrary line that has left some people out," he said.

"Whether that is international students or casual workers that have been with an employer for less than 12 months.

"There is a consistent pattern of drawing the line at the wrong point, which has required other governments and the community sector and others to step in and fill that void.

"That is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation again. But we are stepping up as we have previously to ensure that this risk point is mitigated somewhat."

The Barr government has stared down criticism of its own spending during the pandemic, including from the ACT opposition and business groups.

The $369 million in support rolled out as of early July was the lowest rate of investment - as a proportion of economic output - of any state or territory during the crisis, according to a Grattan Institute report.

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A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister cited the ACT government's relatively low rate of spending as she talked up the federal government's efforts to prop up the Australian economy during the pandemic.

"The Morrison government has contributed a record $314 billion, the equivalent of around 16 per cent of GDP, to the COVID-19 response, supporting jobs and livelihoods across the country in all states and territories," the spokeswoman said.

"This is the equivalent of $12,500 for every Australian man, woman and child."

The spokeswoman repeated Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's comments earlier this month that the "states can do more, the states need to do more" in response to the economic crisis.

"The Commonwealth is doing the heavy lifting in the economic response to the COVID-19 crisis, with our direct supports helping nearly half the Australian labour force.

"These direct supports are a massive draw on the public purse and it is a debt that Australians will pay for years to come. The Australian people recognise how significant and generous these programs are, but they are not one size fits all."

Mr Barr said the ACT government's hardship fund was set up as a precaution, and he hoped that no Canberran would ever have to access it.