One in three Australian households financially worse off - Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

According to the survey from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), nearly half (45 per cent) of Australians aged 18 years and over had their household finances impacted by COVID-19 in the period mid-March to mid-April.

"One third of Australians (31 per cent) reported that their household finances had worsened over this period, while one in seven (14 per cent) reported an improvement," said Michelle Marquardt, ABS Program Manager for Household Surveys.

While the majority of Australians (81 per cent) said their household could raise $2,000 for something important within a week, lower than the 84 per cent reported in the 2014 General Social Survey, a small number of Australians reported experiencing financial hardship.

"One in 13 Australians (7.5 per cent) said their household lacked the money to pay one or more bills on time, and one in ten (10 per cent) had to draw on accumulated savings to support basic living expenses," added Ms Marquardt.

A quarter of Australians aged 18 years and over (28 per cent) said they received the first one-off $750 economic support payment, announced by the Commonwealth Government in March as part of the COVID-19 economic stimulus package.

"Those aged 65 years and over were more likely than those aged 18 to 64 to have received the first one-off $750 economic support payment (60 per cent compared with 19 per cent)" said Ms Marquardt.

"Around half (53 per cent) of persons who received the economic support payment added it to savings, with persons aged 65 years and over more likely to do so than persons aged 18 to 64 (71 per cent compared with 37 per cent)."