Using recent national accounts data, this paper examines whether the extensive fiscal stimulus program implemented by the Australian government in 2008-09 countered the GFC-induced economic slowdown, as measured by variation in real GDP, especially during the critical December 2008 and March 2009 quarters. With reference to the expenditure measure of GDP, it reveals that a marked rise in net exports at this time, not fiscal stimulus, was primarily responsible for offsetting the fall in domestic private investment due to the GFC. Next, the paper contends that the Australian economy most likely experienced a relatively mild recession in 2008-09 by past standards when assessed with reference to a broader set of national income and employment indicators, as is standard practice for determining and dating recessions in the United States.