section_path: Impact by region or country/Asia-Pacific/Australia
section_name: Australia
paragraph_text: Australia
  
  Australia before the recession was suffering from an unusually severe and expensive bushfire season which damaged the economy and domestic trade routes. Not only that, but Australia had experienced significant slowdown in their economic growth, with economists in late 2019 saying that Australia was 'teetering on the edge of a recession'. As a result of this and the effects of the recession, analysts in Australia expected a deep recession with at least 10.0% of the able working population becoming unemployed according to the Australian treasury and at least a 6.7% GDP retraction according to the IMF. In April 2020, a water consultant predicted a shortage of rice and other staples during the pandemic unless farmers' water allocations were changed.
  
  The unemployment level of 5.1% was projected to rise to a 25-year high of 10.0%, according to Treasury data released in April 2020. The JobSeeker Payment unemployment benefit had an A$550 per fortnight Coronavirus Supplement added to it from April to September, when it reduced to A$250, then to A$150 after 31 December. The Supplement ceased on 31 March 2021.
  
  By April 2020, up to a million people had been laid off due to effects of the recession. Over 280,000 individuals applied for unemployment support on the peak day.
  
  On 23 July 2020, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered a quarterly budget update stating the government had implemented a $289 billion (~$ 335 billion in 2023) economic support package. As a result, the 2020–21 budget will record a $184 billion (~$ 213 billion in 2023) deficit, the largest since WWII. Australia will maintain their triple A credit rating. Net debt will increase to $677.1 billion (~$ 751 billion in 2023) at 20 June 2021. Further, real GDP was forecast to have fallen sharply by 7% in the June quarter with unemployment anticipated to peak at 9.25% in the December quarter. However, due to the further reinstatement of restrictions on Victoria, notably stage 4 restrictions, national unemployment was expected to reach 11%.
  
  In August 2020, national unemployment peaked at 7.5%, falling to 5.6% by April 2021. In December 2020, it was announced Australia had pulled out of recession after experiencing a 3.3% growth in GDP in the September quarter. Treasurer Frydenberg stated the effects of the recession had lasting impacts and recovery was far from over. Australia was set to avoid an economic depression as once forecast earlier that year, though GDP was still likely to have experienced a contraction from 2019 figures.