As most recently estimated by the ABS, real GDP grew by 2¾ per cent through last year – a bit below average, but much higher than for most other high-income economies. This was supported by monetary and fiscal stimulus, the recovery in Asia, and a sound financial system.
The sorts of things that typically accompany downturns – such as higher unemployment, increased loan losses for intermediaries, a fall in asset values – did happen to some extent. But because the downturn was brief, these deteriorations were rather mild, which meant that they did not then become part of a major feedback loop back to aggregate demand and output.