Businesses are so worried about the economy that cutting interest rates to a new record low has done little to cheer them up.
The National Australia Bank's confidence barometer fell to zero points in February, marking the worst reading since the lead-up to the 2013 election.
The Reserve Bank's decision last month to cut interest rates to a new record low of 2.25 per cent had failed to ease business worries, NAB senior economist James Glenn said.
"Sure, the cut to interest rates is likely to help, but firms ... they're not really seeing much at the moment," he said.
The monthly business sentiment measure fell three points to the worst level since July 2013, when Kevin Rudd had briefly returned as prime minister to face off against Tony Abbott.
But Mr Glenn said businesses were more concerned about their own circumstances than the latest round of political uncertainty.
"Although you do sometimes see a bit of a political influence in the confidence numbers, they tend to more focus on what's happening within their own business," he said.
During February, the mining industry's worries intensified, manufacturers were underwhelmed while construction had a small dip in optimism.
Meanwhile, overall business conditions, trading and profitability were unchanged.
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