6 May 2020
COVID-19 Timeline
What’s happened in the Australian banking sector during the coronavirus pandemic.
February 14: coronavirus assistance offered
February 14: ABA COVID-19 assistance hub created
March 11: Government announces first stimulus package of $17.6B
March 20: small business relief package announced featuring 6 month deferrals
March 20: mortgage relief announced – 6 month deferrals available for homeowners
March 22: Government announces second stimulus package of $66B
March 25: COVID-19 FAQs published
March 30: business relief extended to landlords and renters
April 3: contactless payments to increase from $100 to $200
April 5: banks support JobKeeper – credit available to bridge gap till payments begin in May
April 6: credit scores secured – COVID-19 deferrals will not affect credit ratings
April 8: SME loan guarantee begin – 50% govt-guaranteed loans, no repayments for 6 months
April 24: dedicated JobKeeper business hotlines open
April 26: Bank CEOs support COVIDSafe app – will download app and encourage staff to do same
April 29: voluntary debit cards for passbook holders announced
April 29: COVID-19 anti-scam hub updated, fact sheets in 12 translations
May 8: 100,000 extra COVID-19 loan deferrals in a week – brings total to 643,000
May 16: 1 in 14 mortgages have now been deferred – 429,000 in total
June 18: Call for temporary COVID improvements to be made permanent
June 19: Phase One banking activity statistics
June 25: Temporary changes to Banking Code of Practice
July 1: Open Banking begins
July 8: Banks enter Phase Two of COVID support
July 20: Phase Two SME Loan Guarantee announced
Latest news
Media Releases
Increased small business lending boosts Australia’s economic recovery
Read more
24 July 2020
“These figures show there are some green shoots emerging in our economy and that’s a positive sign.” – ABA CEO Anna Bligh
Media Releases
SME Loan Guarantee expanded: a welcome extension
Read more
20 July 2020
“This will be welcome news for SMEs and opens up the scheme to those businesses who are looking to invest or need some extra support.”
Media Releases
Banks enter phase two on COVID-19 deferred loans
Read more
8 July 2020
This new phase of support turns a cliff into manageable steps for Australians to get back on track.
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