However there are fears the path to economic recovery could crumble away if a coronavirus vaccine is not found next year.

Tuesday's budget is expected to include a big deficit but also big spending measures to address the economic impact of COVID-19, which is expected to have a 4.5 per cent hit on the global economy this year.

"To put it into perspective, in the Global Financial Crisis the global economy contracted by just 0.1 per cent," Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told The Canberra Times.

It has been widely tipped that the government will bring forward personal income tax cuts as part of its stimulus measures.

It would mean tax cuts not due to take effect until July 2022 would take place this year and be backdated to July.

The budget will also include a boost for Canberra's institutions, with the Australian Electoral Commission to receive around $6 million to create a new interactive exhibition within the Museum of Australian Democracy and upgrade the National Electoral Education Centre. Around 90,000 students visit the centre each year.

However the budget will be built on the assumption there will be a coronavirus vaccine next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said there was "every hope" there would be a vaccine in the early stages 2021.

"[Josh Frydenberg is] the Treasurer of hope and we're all very hopeful that we get a vaccine," Mr McCormack said.

But Australian National University infectious disease expert Dr Peter Collignon said the timeline was optimistic.

Even if a vaccine was developed which was effective for 50 per cent of the population, Dr Collignon said this would not help the economy.

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"You can't have travel, you can't have crowds.

"We won't achieve what people want unless there's a vaccine which is 90 per cent effective."

Labor's treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers was reserving judgment until he saw the forecasts, but he pointed out the July economic and fiscal update was quickly derailed by the Victorian lockdown.

"The government doesn't have a good record of anticipating what's going on in the economy," Dr Chalmers said.

"The last time that the budget was updated, it was based on the assumption that the international borders would all be opened on 1 January, it was based on the assumption that Melbourne wouldn't be locked down, it was based on a whole lot of rosy assumptions which fed the Prime Minister's absurd assumption that the economy would come roaring back to life in the last weekend of September.

"We always said that that was a ridiculous assumption which was being used to feed the Prime Minister's insistence that welcome support in the economy and JobKeeper and JobSeeker be pulled out at that date."

But ACT senator Zed Seselja said the government was being "very cautious" in its assumptions.

"I think if you look at all of our parameters which we base our assumptions on for budgets, we tend to under-promise and over-deliver for the most part," Senator Seselja said.

Senator Cormann said while the numbers that will be unveiled on Tuesday night would be challenging, "these are the moments when governments do have to step up".

"Australia went into this crisis in a stronger position than most other countries around the world," he said

"We've been able to deal with it in a better way than most other countries around the world. It's been tough but we've performed comparatively well.

"Obviously the numbers are going to be challenging because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our economy and our jobs and consequently on the budget bottom line but the challenge now is to put the plan in place to maximise the strength of the economic and jobs recovery."

However Senator Cormann warned this would not mean the "purse strings are loose".

"We're still very focused on making sure whatever stimulus whatever fiscal support is put into the economy is well targeted and quality spent," he said.

Senator Seselja said Australians should be hopeful as the country emerges from the pandemic.

"Australia will absolutely bounce back," Senator Seselja said.

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Ben Morton said Australia's strong democratic system was part of the reason the country fared so well.

"When you look at either health or economic statistics internationally, Australia has done extremely well in dealing with the pandemic," Mr Morton said.

"That's the strength not only of our political leadership but our democracy, so investing in institutions like MOAD, investing in exhibitions that tell the story of the Australian democracy and how citizens can play a more active role in that is very important."