Current Coalition policies on same-sex marriage, emissions reduction targets and the carbon tax will be maintained under a deal struck between new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Nationals leader Warren Truss.
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The deal, reached on Tuesday, will also see increased payments for stay-at-home parents with children under the age of one and who are eligible for Family Tax Benefit B.
And proposed changes to Australian Competition Consumer Act to prevent abuse of market power, proposed by the Harper Review, will be considered by the cabinet just a week after plans for an "effects test" appeared to be shelved and could now go ahead, subject to cabinet approval.
In the Senate on Tuesday, Nationals senators crossed the floor to vote in favour of a Greens motion calling on the government to bring on legislation for an effects test aimed at protecting small businesses and farmers from anti-competitive behaviour by larger competitors.
The Liberal and Labor parties used their numbers to block the motion.
But Labor senators were quick to remark afterwards that Nationals senators crossing the floor was the first sign of a fracture in the Coalition under Mr Turnbull's leadership.
In a post on her Twitter account, Labor's leader in the Senate Penny Wong said "Nationals senators cross the floor on competition policy. Turnbull leadership splits the Coalition. On day one".
The Nationals-Liberals deal was struck despite some Nationals MPs urging the junior Coalition partner to delay signing up to a new Coalition agreement.
Under the deal, Agriculture Minister and deputy Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce will pick up responsibility for water policy and the Murray Darling Basin Authority.
Support for the up-to $10 billion Inland Rail project, funding for the Coalition's dams policy, agriculture and Northern Australia white papers, a jobs program for regional Australia and more money to tackle regional mobile phone and TV blackspots have also been agreed, Fairfax Media understands.
The deal ensures that the current policy of putting same-sex marriage to a plebiscite in the next term of government will be kept.
One Nationals MP said the new Prime Minister had effectively "agreed to everything" sought by the junior Coalition partner.
The Nationals party room met on Tuesday morning to discuss the dramatic events that saw Mr Turnbull replace Tony Abbott as Liberal leader on Monday night and ahead of the meeting, Nationals MPs Matthew Canavan and John Williams urged colleagues not to rush into a Coalition agreement.
Senator Canavan said before the Nationals meeting that "I see no need to rush into a Coalition agreement".
"The feedback I'm getting from my constituencies is that they are unhappy because politicians seem more concerned with their own jobs than the lives of people they represent," he said.
"We will take our time and listen to our people about what they want."
Senator Williams told Fairfax Media a new agreement had to be drawn up and the parties would "come to some agreement hopefully".
"Surely Tony Abbott was more to the right than Malcolm Turnbull so for balance I think there is a very important role for the Nationals to play in the future."
with Lisa Cox
