The prime minister caught COVID-19 on the weekend and is sitting out the budget, though she still found a way to complete one of her budget traditions on Thursday morning.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson joined Ms Ardern in an Instagram Live to receive a new tie from his boss, just as they've done each year of their tenure.
"That's lovely. Thank you ... is there anything you'd like to tell me about your thinking behind this?" Mr Robertson said, holding up a dark tie with red bubbles.
"I'm not in your bubble but I'm next to your bubble," Ms Ardern replied from her "bubble of one" as she isolates alone in the prime minister's official Wellington residence.
Ms Ardern will beam into parliament virtually at 2pm NZST to watch Mr Robertson unveil the budget.
This year's budget is titled "A Secure Future", and features multi-billion spend-ups in emissions reduction and health.
"The big focus of the budget today is health," Mr Robertson confirmed.
Mr Robertson's new operating allowance is a whopping $NZ6 billion ($A5.4 billion) and he has said around half will be going towards the health system.
The government is abolishing the 20 regional health districts created by Helen Clark's government and centralising the health system.
It is also creating a national Maori health authority to help overcome health inequalities.
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