Labor has cast doubt on the shelf life of the Morrison government's budget, as Scott Morrison seeks to turn the focus to health spending.
Ahead of next Tuesday's budget, Mr Albanese says the economic document is just a springboard for the coalition before the election, which is due to be held in May.
"This government throws out its own budget, this government makes announcements and then nothing happens. The announcement is the end of itself," the Labor leader told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
"When the government throws out its own budget time and time again, why should we take it seriously? Next week's budget is just a political announcement, that's all it is in the lead up to the election."
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said this week that Labor would hand down its own budget, should it win office.
The comments came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a multibillion-dollar deal with pharmaceutical giant Moderna to manufacture mRNA vaccines in Australia.
While the exact amount is not known due to commercial reasons, construction on the project will start by the end of the year, with production to begin in 2024.
The facility is the first of its type in the southern hemisphere.
Mr Morrison called the facility a "shot in the arm" to help protect Australians from future pandemics.
"What we're announcing today is absolutely essential for future pandemic preparedness, and we're already ranked number two in the world on pandemic preparedness," he told reporters in Melbourne.
However, the prime minister ruled out using a mental health levy to support government funding in the area.
The Victorian government had announced an almost $4 billion levy for the ongoing funding of mental health.
"That's not our practice ... that's not what we do, we just make sure things are funded," Mr Morrison said.
"The mental health package that we funded in last year's budget, the largest ever by an Australian government, has been delivering on the ground."
The government has sought to focus on their economic credentials ahead of the election.
Mr Morrison has foreshadowed the budget would focus on dealing with the rising cost of living, as the price of items such as groceries and petrol rise across the country.
The opposition leader said the government's wages target did not keep up with inflation.
"Every single time you know the plan and the projections don't meet the reality," Mr Albanese said.
"After the last budget, (the government) projected real wages to fall over the forward estimates. Australian families know ... that everything is going up except for their wages and that is why they're under such enormous pressure."
