About this issue
The Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, Detailed Release provides insight into personal experiences during the spread of COVID-19 in Australia, and was collected between 7 and 20 June 2020.
The Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, Detailed Release presents information on:
- Level of concern for personal health due to COVID-19
- Actions taken in the last four weeks in response to COVID-19
- Receipt and use of Government stimulus payments
- Flu vaccinations
The scope of this survey was people aged 18 years and over in private dwellings across Australia.
About this collection
The findings below were collected as part of the Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) from approximately 2,500 people via telephone interview. The MPHS, undertaken each financial year by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), is a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) and is designed to collect statistics for a number of small, self-contained topics. For further information about the collection of this data, please refer to the Methodology.
This survey was designed to provide data on how Australians were responding to the spread of COVID-19. At the time of the June survey, initiatives in place to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and support the economy included:
- International travel restrictions
- An economic stimulus package (announced 12 March)
- Border control measures for some states and territories
- Shutting down of non-essential services and a second economic stimulus package (22 March)
- A safety net package of $1.1 billion to expand mental health and tele-health services, increase domestic violence services and provide more emergency food relief (29 March)
- Social distancing rules and additional shutdown restrictions (20–30 March)
- Free childcare for working parents (2 April)
- A JobKeeper payment passed in legislation on 15 April, to keep more Australians in jobs and support businesses affected by the COVID-19 restrictions
- Easing of restrictions on elective surgery gradually from 28 April
- Announcing a Federal Government three-stage plan on 8 May to begin easing restrictions
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Survey collection timeline

Description
Survey collection timeline
In March, 13.0 million were in employment and the unemployment rate was 5.2%. Social distancing rules were introduced and additional shutdown/restrictions occurred from the 21st while shutdown of non-essential services began on the 22nd of March. JobKeeper payment was announced on the 30th and the first economic support payment was paid from the 31st of March.
In April, 12.4 million were in employment, the unemployment rate was 6.4% and the participation rate was 63.6%. Free childcare for working parents began on the 2nd of April and the Coronavirus supplement was added to the JobKeeper payment from the 27th of April.
In May, 12.1 million were in employment, the unemployment rate was 7.1% and the participation rate was 62.7%. In the first week of May, the JobKeeper payment from the ATO commenced and in mid-May, there was a progressive easing of social distancing and trading restrictions. The May Detailed Release publication includes data collected between the 10th and 23rd of May.
In June, 12.3 million were in employment and the unemployment rate was 7.4%. JobMaker package was announced on the 25th of June. The June Detailed Release publication includes data collected from the 7th to 20th of June.
In July, 12.5 million were in employment and the unemployment rate was 7.5%. Greater Melbourne retuned to stage 3 restrictions on the 8th of July, free childcare ended on July 12th, and the second economic support payment was paid from the 13th of July.
In August, Melbourne moved to stage 4 restrictions and regional Victoria moved to stage 3 on the 5th. The May Detailed Release was published on the 10th and the June Detailed Release was published on the 24th of August.
Proportions marked with an asterisk (*) have a Margin of Error (MoE) greater than 10 percentage points which should be considered when using this information. For more information about MoE refer to the publication Methodology.