Australia's previous worst quarterly result was 2 per cent in June 1974 during the first global oil shock.
Australia's worst annual result occurred in 1930,during the depths of the Great Depression,when the economy shrank by an estimated 10 per cent. The economy is estimated to have contracted by 5 per cent in the wake of World War II as military production ended.
The result was driven by a collapse in household consumption which fell by 12.7 per cent in the quarter.
Discretionary spending dropped by 25 per cent,while spending on services fell by 17.6 per cent. The biggest hit was to transport spending,which fell by 85.9 per cent,while households slashed spending on hotels,cafes and restaurants by 56.1 per cent.
Private capital expenditure tumbled by 6.9 per cent although it was partially held up by the mining sector.
The bureau's head of national accounts,Michael Smedes,said private demand stripped 7.9 percentage points from GDP