Pressure on household budgets driven by rising living costs has left Canberra families hoping for budget investments that support their children.
Pre-budget promises have already revealed investments in tourism, the environment, and sustainable energy, along with a cost-of-living package of expanded concessions.
The full budget will be released on Tuesday afternoon.
Gungahlin residents and parents James and Kylie Manning said the most interesting budget item was the announcement of another Gungahlin college.
The new college for year 11 and 12 students, to be located in Nicholls, is expected to be completed by the end of the decade, which is around the time the Mannings' youngest daughter, Cally, will be looking for a college place.
The couple are parents to four children, ranging in age from five to 12.
"We didn't actually know about that new school, but it certainly makes sense as there currently aren't many other options for us," Mrs Manning said.
"Obviously we aren't too worried about where [our five-year-old] will be going just yet, but it is nice to hear there will be more options for her once the time does come around."
The couple said in terms of investments to change things soon, they were happy with things as they were.
"Obviously there is a fair bit of traffic around the place at this point in time, but we are pretty happy with how things are, to be honest," Mr Manning said.
"I don't see anything that needs immediate change, as far as we are concerned."
For mother-of-two young girls Shiann King, the announcement of a new college in the Gungahlin area makes complete sense.
"When I was living around this area 12 or 13 years ago, I went to Lake Ginninderra College, which was the closest one to Gold Creek High School at the time," she said.
"That was a long time ago, when Gungahlin did not look like it does now. Imagine how many people are here now. It's good to know that my children will have more options in the future."
While population numbers have raised concerns about student levels at the current college in Gungahlin, Mrs King also said there was a need to fund improving roads and accessibility as the population of Gungahlin grows.
"I think they've just put too many people into one area without thinking of appropriate roads in and out of the area," she said.
While both couples said they weren't immediately concerned about the cost-of-living pressures, rising costs in her children's futures were in Mrs King's mind.
But for now, despite other financial pressures, the difficulty of buying a house was her major concern.
"Housing is the number one issue for me at the moment, just like how it is on everyone's radar at the moment," she said.
"I am a stay-at-home mum, so expensive childcare is not a concern of mine, but I certainly know a lot of friends of mine are making sacrifices and having to go back into the workforce sooner to pay for it.
"And groceries now, it isn't like you're just ducking out for a couple of things now; you get one bag of groceries and it's close to $100.
"I worry about that for my kids' future."
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