Devastating floods in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania will take a chunk out of the federal budget and drive up costs for households.
"These (floods) are likely to push up the cost of living when Australians are already under the weather and will also have obvious consequences for the budget," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Monday.
The federal government has announced $1000 one-off payments for eligible flood victims to help them respond to the emergency.
Flooding has also been responsible for driving up fresh produce costs as crops have been destroyed or damaged.
Earlier this year, flooding was largely responsible for pushing up the price of lettuce to $12 a head.
Dr Chalmers said he would speak with the prime minister, the finance minister and the agriculture minister about funding to help people rebuild following the latest round of natural disasters.
"There will be an element of that in the budget. We'll make sensible provisions where we can," he said.
Following his return from Washington to speak with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, Dr Chalmers reiterated his commitment to restrained spending in his first budget on October 25.
"It was confirmation that we're broadly on the right track with our budget strategy to unwind wasteful spending, redirect it to areas where it can be more productive, and make sure that we provide cost of living relief with an economic dividend so that it doesn't push up inflation," he said.
St George economist Jarek Kowcza said it was hard to strike a balance between reining in spending so as not to cause inflation while still providing targeted cost-of-living support to those most in need.
He said the turmoil following the UK's 'mini-budget' served as an example of government budgetary priorities and central bank objectives falling out of step.
"During a time of elevated inflation and an already significant fiscal deficit, markets became increasingly concerned around the impacts the policies would have on inflation and how the UK government would pay for its promises," Mr Kowcza said.
"The announcements led to heightened volatility across the UK gilt market and foreign exchange markets as investors priced in higher inflation risks and increased expected levels of government borrowing."
The government has also launched an investigation into allegations that Medicare rorting is costing the government $8 billion a year.
Cracking down on "rorts and waste" has been a key focus in the lead up to the budget as the government looks for opportunities to cut costs.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton doubted the rorts were as widespread as claimed.
"Many Australians who know their local doctor well know that they are hard-working individuals and the system should pick up those who do the wrong thing," he said.
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