Liberal MPs want greater clarity about the government's direction ahead of the May federal budget.
Ministers were sent scrambling on Monday amid a report that foreign aid, which has already been slashed by $11 billion since last year's budget, would face further cuts on May 12.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was unaware of the cuts and would seek more information from Treasurer Joe Hockey.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the savings achieved in foreign aid had already been a significant effort.
"I think that we've done as much as we can," he said.
Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek said Ms Bishop - who is widely considered a potential Liberal leadership contender - was deliberately being kept in the dark by cabinet colleagues.
Ms Plibersek said that was clear from Ms Bishop's reaction when Mr Hockey - speaking in parliament on a condolence motion for Malcolm Fraser - praised the former prime minister for inventing the expenditure review committee, or razor gang.
Ms Bishop rolled her eyes, shook her head and held her head in her hands.
The coalition party room meeting on Tuesday is expected to receive a briefing from Mr Hockey on the broad aims of his second attempt to balance the books.
He may also canvass the tax white paper to be released on March 30.
A senior Liberal MP told AAP his colleagues were looking for greater clarity on the government's fiscal policy and main priorities.
"It would be good to clarify the language around what we are seeking to do and ... give us a sense of the things we can be seen fighting for," the MP said.
The comments were supported by a new survey by JWS Research showing 19 per cent of voters rated the federal government's overall performance as good or very good.
The study said concerns about wasting taxpayers' money and failing to concentrate on issues that matter had risen since previous research in November 2014.
There was also a strong level of pessimism about the outlook for the economy, which was at its lowest level since the coalition was elected in September 2013.
Only 17 per cent of voters rated the country's economic health as strong or very strong.
Liberal MP Angus Taylor said the case needed to be made in the electorate to get education, health and welfare spending under control.
"We've got big programs in welfare, in health, in education growing at eight, nine, 10 per cent a year courtesy of the last government," he told Sky News.
"We have to contain those."
Social Services Minister Scott Morrison, a member of the budget razor gang, said his own portfolio could not be ignored in making incremental savings.
"We have been making the argument that it is necessary for us to get these payments and these systems under control," he said.
"If we don't deal with it now ... there would need to be a very sharp shock to changes to payments."
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