Treasurer Jim Chalmers is preparing to deliver his fourth Federal Budget in three years at 7.30pm where Labor will post its first in what is expected to be a decade of deficits.

It follows the Albanese government delivering the first back-to-back surpluses in nearly two decades.

Expected deficits and a poor competitive environment relative to fellow OECD nations were a major concern for Innes Willox, the CEO of the Australian Industry Group.

“We're not competitive on tax ... we're not competitive on regulation (and) we are not competitive across a whole range of areas,” Mr Willox said during a pre-budget panel on Business Now.

“Now we've put a millstone around our neck when it comes to energy. It used to be a competitive advantage.”

Mr Willox criticised the government’s investment into hydrogen, which he said had “now dissipated”, before calling for action.

“We have enormous options when it comes to energy but we need to build, we need to construct and we need to get on with it and there's no sign yet that we're doing that in any way that is going to assist us,” he said.

“You're not going to have a strong, sustainable economy until you get energy policy right. That is the core fundamental, and we're failing.”

Mr Willox was joined by Bran Black, the CEO of the Business Council of Australia, and Andrew McKellar, the CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during the panel.

Mr McKellar called for action in the budget to address red tape that was “suffocating” small businesses.

“Small business at the moment is being absolutely suffocated by compliance burden and red tape,” the ACCI boss said.

“We've got to do something to address that. We've got to do something to turn around the business investment story.”

Similarly, Mr Black said BCA’s members were “hopeful for” after the upcoming election was consistency in the policy settings that impacted their businesses.

He also noted the members were looking for the government to address challenges hindering business investment in Australia and they were looking for more incentives to keep businesses Down Under.

“One of the things that's often put to me is the question: ‘Well, why can't businesses just invest more and what is business already doing?’” Mr Black said.

“My answer to that is that business is already here, business is investing but business has other options and what we're seeing increasingly is that there are other jurisdictions that present a more compelling story.”

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