The opposition is seizing on the budget's outline of lower wages and higher energy and retail prices, accusing the government of breaking its promise to the public.
Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said the government had told the Australian people they would address the rising cost of living.
"Energy prices will be higher, gas prices will be higher, real wage growth will be lower and ... the average Australian family will be at least $2000 worse off by Christmas," she told parliament.
"Is this what Labor mean when they say Australians will be seeing what a change of government means in their bank account?"
Senator Hume also attacked the government for projections the unemployment rate will spike to 4.5 per cent in the middle of next year.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor branded Labor's first budget a vanity project.
Spiking interest rates and electricity prices would hurt families and the government had no credible plan to help people with the cost of living, he said.
"This is incredibly disappointing. What was the point of this budget?" Mr Taylor told reporters on Wednesday.
"Why did we have a budget now when we normally have a budget in May? Is this a vanity project for Jim Chalmers? Is this simply about him?"
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones defended the budget's timing, saying the government didn't want to wait another six months to deliver on its commitments.
Mr Jones also noted the government couldn't do everything at once in its first budget.
"So we're trying to balance and direct the target and support those parts of the community that are doing toughest," he told AAP on Wednesday.
"We know the households that are doing it toughest are the ones with rising childcare bills, trying to manage the cost of childcare, cost of education, maybe dealing with parents in aged care as well."
But Mr Taylor argued there had been no consideration of struggling Australians, despite Labor pledges to reduce energy prices and increase real wages.
The government has blamed the opposition for deferring the announcement of energy price hikes until after the May election.
But the shadow treasurer said he wasn't aware of any impending energy spikes before the poll.
"The government saw the Ukraine war happen before the election and they (still) kept their commitment to a $275 reduction (in power bills)," Mr Taylor said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton criticised the government for leaning too heavily on the transition to renewable energy, saying more needed to be done sooner.
"What the government is embarking on now is a transition which is too rapid into renewables," he told ABC TV.
"We all support a reduction in emissions ... but the government is talking about rolling out 28,000km of poles and wires - it's not going to happen."
The budget also revealed unemployment is expected to rise and real wages to fall.
Treasury has forecast wages to lag inflation by two percentage points in 2022/23.
Electricity prices, retail prices and rents are also expected to pick up, compounding the effects of lower real wages.
