Stimulus payments fit the bill

PAYING bills and bolstering savings were the most common uses for federal stimulus packages released in May, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.

More than one in 10 people used the cash boosts to buy food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Older people were most likely to have used stimulus payments for savings or to buy food and home furnishings, while Aussies under 65 were more likely to have used the money to pay down debts including mortgages and bills.

One in three Australians had received a personal stimulus payment from the federal government when the survey was done in May.

ABS statistician Michelle Marquardt said the data also provided an insight into the way people in Australia were feeling and behaving depending on their birthplace.

“People born overseas were more than twice as likely to have worn a face mask at least once in the four weeks before the survey was conducted than people born in Australia, and to purchase additional medical supplies,” she said.

Three in five people born overseas avoided public transport, compared with just half of Australian-born residents.