Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to stand pat on its 1.5 percent cash rate in the meeting later in the day, according to a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, copper miners in the region may face some pressure on lower copper prices, while oil stocks may be headed for a rough session as oil prices fell overnight.

Regionally, damage to rail lines in cyclone-hit northeast Australia is expected to disrupt exports of the steel-making material from the world's largest coking coal region and may put some pressure on coal mines operators.

The local share price index futures was down 0.17 percent, or 10 points at 5,489, representing a 23.7 points discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark closed 0.1 percent up in the previous session.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3 percent, or 24.08 points to 7,200.94 at 1025 GMT.