Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens says the Australian economy is in recession.
He says it is very rare for Australia to escape an international downturn and that there is no precedent for avoiding one of the size currently being suffered by the world.
"Whether or not the next GDP statistic shows another decline, I think the reasonable person, looking at all the information available now, would come to the conclusion that the Australian economy, too, is in recession," Mr Stevens said in Adelaide on Tuesday.
The national accounts for the December quarter released last month showed gross domestic product contracted by 0.5% in the final three months of last year, the first fall in economic growth in eight years.
The March quarter GDP figures are due on June 3.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also used the "R" word for the first time in the context of the Australian economy on Monday.
