Ms Payne's comments come amid criticism from independent ACT Senator David Pocock, who said the Albanese government's budget was not bold enough for the nation's capital.

Finance Minister and ACT Senator Katy Gallagher encouraged the independent senator to "read the budget in its entirety, and not just try and come out and get a quick media grab out".

The budget contained $3.5 billion over five years to triple the fee GPs receive for bulk billing appointments.

Ms Payne - joined by federal representatives for the ACT, including Senator Gallagher - welcomed the additional investment.

"Canberrans know just how hard it is to find a bulk-billing doctor, and this is something that my constituents raise with me all the time," she said.

Almost 100,000 patients in the ACT are also expected to benefit from changes to refilling laws, which will allow them to buy two month's worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription. The change, coming into effect from September 1, could save patients up to $180 a year.

While independent Senator Pocock described Labor's incentives for bulk billing as a "win for our community", he said the government's $14.6 billion cost-of-living relief package fell short.

Senator Pocock said the $40 fortnightly increase to income support payments was "not enough to lift people out of poverty", while the 15 per cent rise in Commonwealth Rent Assistance "still puts the highest amount of that payment $568 below the average cost of a rental property in this country".

He added that Canberra was receiving "less than our fair share of the energy bill relief package".

While 56,000 households and small businesses in the ACT will benefit from energy bill relief from July 1, they will receive significantly less than their Sydney counterparts.

Eligible ACT low-income households can expect to receive a $175 annual energy bill rebate, while small businesses can expect $325.

Meanwhile in Sydney, $500 will be handed out to eligible households and $650 to small businesses.

But Senator Gallagher said that this difference in payment was due to the fact funding varied between states and territories depending on need.

She said that because the ACT government had moved to 100 per cent renewable energy, households hadn't been hit with the same hike in energy bills compared to other jurisdictions.

Elsewhere, the Opposition's Deputy Leader, Susan Ley, called Senator Pocock out on Wednesday morning for failing to secure funding for a new stadium, pointing out that Tasmania had received $240 million for one in Hobart.

"To borrow a term from rugby, maybe Senator Pocock needs to be more effective at the breakdown," she said.

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Senator Gallagher previously told The Canberra Times no funding had been allocated because the government was still waiting for a business case for further stadium possibilities in the capital.

Senator Pocock did say "it was encouraging to see some funding and changes flow from negotiations I've had with government over various pieces of legislation".

He welcomed the $7.5 million allocated to the ACT's Sustainable Household Scheme, which provides loans to eligible home owners to improve their household energy efficiency.

But Senator Pocock said he was disappointed by the lack of funding for his proposal for a $12 million Suburb Zero pilot, which would see the electrification of an existing ACT suburb. He noted that funding for the Australian Institute of Sport to upgrade its athlete residences, especially for para-athletes, had also been overlooked.

Senator Gallagher said, though, that Tuesday night's budget is "setting the city up for a very strong future", with locals to benefit from investment in the public service, national institutions, and the aged care workforce.

She noted the public service's workforce will be raised by more than 10,000 places this year.

"The public service is our big employer in town. So what happens to the public service matters to the city because a lot of the small businesses and other industry that's located in Canberra is linked to the strength of the public service," she said.

Senator Gallagher added that the government was making sure "that key service delivery agencies, many of them located here, actually have the money to do the work that people in the ACT need to do, whether it's processing passports, visas, looking after veterans or supporting pensioners".

Meanwhile, Ms Payne applauded the more than $500 million in funding flowing towards national cultural institutions located in Canberra, including with the $33 million lifeline for the National Library's online database, Trove.

"All Canberrans would be aware of leaking rooms at the National Gallery, and leaking windows at the National Library, and our institutions looking at not being able to be open seven days a week ... because all of these institutions were facing a funding cliff because they had not been funded into the future under the previous government," Ms Payne said.

The budget also revealed $5.7 million for DFAT over seven years from 2023-2024, for the design and build of the National Security Office Precinct. The precinct, revealed in the October 2022 budget, will facilitate up to 5000 staff once built.

Around 5000 aged care workers in Canberra will also benefit from the government-funded 15 per cent pay rise.

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