Dr Lowe has told a Senate inquiry Australia's recovery largely depends on when the public regains confidence about health and finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"With the national health outcomes better than earlier feared, it's entirely possible the economic downturn will not be severe as earlier thought," he told the hearing on Thursday.

"Even as the recovery gets under way, as it will, there will still be a shadow cast over our economy by the pandemic.

"And as a country, we'll need to turn our minds as how to best move out of that shadow."

Dr Lowe said it would help to have a reform agenda which makes it easier for businesses to expand, invest, innovate and hire people.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's speech to the National Press Club this week, which touched on tax and industrial relation reform, was a "helpful starting point".

Depending on how the next few months go, Dr Lowe said the JobKeeper program should continue and perhaps be tapered out or kept in place for specific industries.

Dr Lowe also expects Australia's cash rate to remain at its historic low of 0.25 per cent for some years.

The Reserve Bank won't look to change the rate until progress is made towards full employment and inflation is within its two to three per cent target band.

Dr Lowe says more job losses are expected but it likely won't be as bad as the figures from April, when nearly 600,000 jobs were lost.

He described that result as "shocking", but not as bad as predicted.

Industries that retained employees at the start of the pandemic will start to struggle as their pipeline of work dries up, Dr Lowe added.

Although the economy was tracking better than expected, there were many challenges ahead.

"It's still a pretty depressing scenario," Dr Lowe said.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chair Wayne Byres and Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair James Shipton will also appear via videoconference before the COVID-19 committee hearing.

Australian Associated Press