The Australian economy grew by 1.8 per cent in the March quarter to fully recover to its pre-pandemic levels.
Economists' forecasts had centred on a 1.5 per cent expansion for the first three months of the year following the above three per cent gains seen in both of the previous two quarters.
"With 1.8 per cent growth in the March quarter 2021, Australian economic activity has recovered to be above pre-pandemic levels and has grown 1.1 per cent through the year," Australian Bureau of Statistics head of national accounts Michael Smedes said.
The national accounts released on Wednesday showed the main contributors to growth in the quarter were private business investment, dwelling investment and household spending.
However, just hours before the data release, Reserve Bank head of economic analysis Brad Jones issued a note of caution in an address to the Minerals Week Australia-Asia Investment Outlook conference in Canberra.
"Here in Australia, it would seem premature to completely rule out the possibility of an overhang of cautious behaviour by households and firms, as seen internationally following previous shocks like the Great Depression and the GFC," Dr Jones said.
Even so, he said the fact many Australian household and business balance sheets were in better condition than before the pandemic suggests the domestic economy could follow a quite different trajectory to past disasters.
"This is consistent with our central scenario for the Australian economy and the surprising strength in the domestic recovery to date," he said.
The RBA left the cash rate at a record low 0.1 per cent at Tuesday's monthly board meeting, reiterating it did not expect to lift interest rates until at least 2024.
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