Two thirds (66%) of Australian businesses reported that their turnover or cash flow had reduced as a result of COVID-19, according to results from the second Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey on Business Impacts of COVID-19.
Nearly half (47%) of businesses made changes to their workforce arrangements as a result of COVID-19. For some businesses this included temporarily reducing or increasing staff working hours, changing the location where staff worked (including working from home) or staff being placed on leave.
Two in five businesses (38%) have changed how they deliver their products or services, including shifting to online services. Over a third of businesses have renegotiated their lease and rental arrangements and a quarter have deferred loan repayments.
This survey is a part of a series of additional products the ABS is releasing to measure the economic impact of COVID-19. Data was collected during the week commencing 30 March 2020.
Further information is available in Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19 (cat. no. 5676.0.55.003).