Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to outline the criteria for big infrastructure projects today, that will need to receive funding from the $20 billion Building Australia fund.
Last week, Australia's political leaders agreed at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to fast track big-ticket infrastructure spending to help shield the economy from continuing global financial turmoil.
Infrastructure Australia will now present its audit and priority list by December.
The federal opposition has branded the $20 billion Building Australia Fund a slush fund to help bail out struggling Labor states.
It's an accusation the government has denied, and Mr Rudd is expected to announce stringent qualifying criteria for projects.
Those guidelines will include that projects will need to have social and environmental benefits, and boost productivity, not just be big "bricks and mortar" measures.
"These guidelines ensure the national infrastructure priority list is backed up by a truly transparent process," Mr Rudd is expected to tell an infrastructure summit in Brisbane on Tuesday, The Australian Financial Review says.
"Infrastructure Australia will then apply a tough, clear-eyed assessment of the intrinsic value of each project."
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday that the Rudd government has already refused to fund the NSW government's controversial Metro project for north-western Sydney because of a lack of marginal seats along the corridor.
Legislation to pass the Building Australia Fund is due to go before parliament during the next session, beginning next week.
