One way of tracking an outbreak of infectious disease is by looking at the growth rate — specifically, the daily percentage change in total confirmed cases.

This chart shows Australia's COVID-19 growth rate has fallen from a peak of roughly 25 per cent in mid-March to less than 5 per cent in early April, based on the five-day moving average.

The aim is to reach zero — and stay there.

Experts are hopeful that Australia is on the right track to "flattening the curve" but warn there is no guarantee the trend will be sustained.

It is also unclear how much of the change is driven by specific measures, including "lockdown" restrictions, since most action would have a lag of 1–2 weeks before having an effect on case numbers.

The chart is one of a series that provides a guide to how Australia is faring in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

They use figures from a national database of every confirmed case since January 25, when the country's first four cases were reported.

The database, compiled by ABC News, tracks confirmed cases by gender, age, location, source of infection and other information published in case reports from state and federal health authorities.

It is supplemented with additional reporting by ABC News and updated daily to show the spread of the disease across Australia's states and territories.

See more charts and read the full story.