One in four report return to normal more than a year off

In June 2021, one in four people (26 per cent) reported that life in Australia would take more than a year to return to normal, compared with one in seven people (14 per cent) in November 2020, according to survey results released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Head of Household Surveys, David Zago, said the latest Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, conducted between 11 – 20 June 2021, asked Australians about how long they expected it would take for life to return to normal.

“In June, one in six people (16 per cent) reported that life would never return to normal, compared with one in nine people (11 per cent) in November 2020.”

The survey also showed that one in five Australians (20 per cent) continued to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress and that prior to the most recent outbreaks there had been decreases in reported precautionary behaviours.

“In June 2021, behaviours like washing hands or using hand sanitiser regularly had decreased to 85 per cent from 95 per cent in September 2020, keeping a physical distance from people had decreased to 63 per cent from 88 per cent in September, and disinfecting surfaces had decreased to 43 per cent from 64 per cent,” Mr Zago said.

While official COVID-19 vaccination data is reported on the Department of Health website, the survey also asked respondents about their vaccination experiences.

"In June 2021, one in three Australians (33 per cent) aged 18 years and over reported that they had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.

“People who reported disability were more likely than those without disability to have received a vaccination (46 per cent compared with 28 per cent).”

Of Australians who had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, nine in ten (90 per cent) reported that it was very or moderately easy to get one.

This is the final Household Impacts of COVID-19 survey. The ABS would like to thank the Australian households that contributed to results for the duration of this survey.