Rates in Queensland and Western Australia have worsened despite the mining boom depositing billions of dollars into government coffers over the past decade.
The bank said its action was aimed at protecting customers from potentially ending up in a worse hardship situation.
Signs show consumers are battening down the financial hatches in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Life after the coronavirus will create diabolical dilemmas for central banks as they try to grapple with unsustainable levels of debt and the risk of financial bubbles that could ignite another financial crisis.
The coronavirus recession will cost Australia at least $170 billion and up to $440 billion over five years,with low-skilled women to bear much of its cost.
All the talk about a return to normal after the pandemic – the debates about ‘’V-shaped,’’ or “U-shaped” or ‘’W-shaped’’ recoveries – understates the probability that,whatever normal looks like after the pandemic,it won’t be what it was before.
This downturn is"overwhelmingly hurting"young Australians and women.
The coronavirus lockdown is a hammer blow to the economy but millions of Australians are financially better off,at least for now.
A third of mortgage holders are going into the coronavirus economic downturn with barely any buffer,but renters are even more at risk of financial stress.
Local Government Minister David Templeman said the state government had already frozen rates,fees and charges and they were simply asking councils to do the same.
Now is the time to fire every economic gun because the whole world is closing down.