Qantas could be freed from foreign ownership restrictions under plans being drafted by the federal government, Transport Minister Warren Truss says.

The struggling airline is expected to announce a large half-yearly loss on Thursday and plans to cut thousands of jobs.

Mr Truss said on Tuesday the government was drafting laws that would allow changes to the Qantas Sale Act which stop the airline from being majority foreign-owned.

The announcement came as Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the Coalition party room the federal government would no longer be the "ATM of last resort" for struggling Australian businesses.

Mr Abbott told colleagues that it took courage for government to knock back requests for assistance from iconic Australian businesses, as it has recently done with SPC Ardmona and Holden, but "if you say yes, you will have a queue a mile long".