Australia's economy grew 0.8 percent in the second-quarter, shrugging off a sluggish start to the year as government and consumer spending lifted, official data showed Wednesday.

The annual rate of growth was 1.8 percent, a slight improvement from 1.7 percent in the March quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed. 

The stronger reading came after the economy expanded by 0.3 percent in the January-March quarter to mark a world-record 26 years without a recession