The council and business community put the new terminal at the top of their wish-lists ahead of a big spend budget, hoping to entice a government looking for builds that could start as soon as possible.

However, the budget papers make no reference to the $4.4 million needed for the airport.

Council chief executive Craig Niemann said he understood and that there were bigger infrastructure projects the government could use to rebuild the economy quickly.

"When you look at rail and road upgrades announced last night you are looking at projects worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.

Labor member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters last night said the only glimmer of hope she could see for Bendigo-based infrastructure projects was that treasurer Josh Frydenberg had flagged extra funding for smaller projects.

"Bendigo against has missed out again on its fair share," she said shortly after the budget was handed down.

Read more: The winners and losers from this year's budget

The council is now contemplating another push for airport funding through the Building Better Regions fund, which has been topped up with another $200 million dollars, or with a slice of $50 million put aside for regional tourism recovery.

It means competing with other councils for a piece of that funding.

"We are not guaranteed anything here but we will make sure we have strong representation," Mr Niemann said.

A decision might not be announced until as late as mid-2021 if the process for some previous rounds of funding were followed.

However, Mr Niemann said the council was still waiting for information and that the government might want to fast-track decisions because of the wider economic situation.

Be.Bendigo chief executive Dennis Bice was disappointed the airport had not landed funding but said there was lots for the region's business community to welcome.

"There's a clear focus on jobs, including employing young people," he said.

"We really need businesses to create those opportunities through jobs to get people spending."

Mr Frydenberg last night told federal parliament that businesses will get a $200-a-week credit for hiring people aged 30-years or less who are on JobSeeker.

"All businesses, other than the major banks, will be eligible. Treasury estimates that this will support around 450,000 jobs for young people," he said.

Mr Bice also welcomed tax write-offs for most businesses to encourage them to buy goods.

It was part of a swathe of measures designed to rebuild businesses and jobs.

They include an extra $1 billion for spends on infrastructure like roads.

Mr Niemann welcomed that focus, saying that was where Bendigo council often sought out money to maintain and repair its roads.

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