This year's federal budget should be read as an election pitch for the Coalition, and closer attention should be paid to Labor's "shadow reply" for any immediate impact on individual finances given big expectations of a change of government.

So says Cameron Harrison partner Anne-Marie Tassoni. "Unlike prior years' budget, there's no expectation this budget will come into effect," she adds. "It's a pre-election budget, meaning it's a budget that's going to be voted on by the people."