With entire industries shut down and unemployment set to spike, Jade Freeman is one of many Australians currently asking the same heartbreaking question: "Do I pay rent or do I buy food?"

Key points: More than one in three Australians rent their homes, leaving this group one of the most vulnerable when they lose their jobs

More than one in three Australians rent their homes, leaving this group one of the most vulnerable when they lose their jobs Tenants groups say it is inevitable people will soon start having trouble paying their rent and mortgages

Tenants groups say it is inevitable people will soon start having trouble paying their rent and mortgages The Federal Government is expected to hand down a rent assistance package on Tuesday night when the national cabinet meets

The Federal Government has estimated at least 1 million people could become unemployed as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the Australian economy.

Without her job in the events industry, Ms Freeman, 28, and her partner do not know how to make the $1,500 a month they need to pay for their apartment in Brunswick, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne.

"My mind is 24/7 thinking about this," Ms Freeman told ABC News.

More than one in three Australians rent their homes, leaving this group one of the most vulnerable when they lose their jobs.

The nation's leaders are promising an answer to their plight, with an announcement due to be handed down on Tuesday night when the national cabinet meets.

Devising the new policy has been essentially outsourced to the West Australian Government.

Advocates say the state sits "in the middle of the pack" when it comes to how the rights of renters grind against those held by landlords.

'First wave' of distress hitting now

Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said it was inevitable people would start having trouble paying their rent and mortgages.

"Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their incomes in the last week or so," Ms Beveridge said.

"We are already seeing the first wave come through our service and it is going to get much worse over the coming weeks and months."

Housing is a key part of the emergency response to COVID-19.

"It is impossible to socially distance or self-isolate if you don't have a roof over your head or control over your social contact," Ms Beveridge said.

"Preventing homelessness and reducing the number of people moving house right now is an urgent public health measure."

The service is calling for an immediate stop to any evictions until the crisis is over, along with a suspension of house inspections and rent increases.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged the need for a cooperative approach between renters and landlords.

"All Australians are going to be making sacrifices in the months ahead and everyone does have that role to play — and that does include landlords," Mr Morrison said on Friday, pointing towards today's pending announcement.

The Property Council of Australia has acknowledged the need for landlords and tenants to work together.

"A lot of businesses will struggle," Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison said.

"Some businesses won't survive. That will be tough times for everybody and commercial landlords will experience that as well."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 4 minutes 23 seconds 4 m 23 s Calls to suspend rents and outlaw evictions

Big four banks may pause mortgage repayments

After the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25 per cent last week, Australia's big four banks said they might allow a short-term "pause" on mortgage repayments.

While their plans differ, most are essentially offering home loan customers a six-month deferral of loan repayments.

"If customers are having difficulty we ask them to ring their banker, visit the branch, or call the contact centre as soon as possible," NAB chief executive Ross McEwan said in a video message.

"Please don't leave it too late".

But there is no link between mortgages and the renters who help pay for it, and no compulsion for owners taking a "holiday" from payments to offer the same to their renters.

Internationally, countries are exploring suspending rents and outlawing evictions.

Those involved in formulating Australia's policy say every option is on the table.

"Residential landlords overwhelmingly own one, or perhaps two premises," Mr Morrison said.

"Many of them rely on this for income.

"There'll be hardship experienced at the tenant end and there'll be hardship experienced for landlords that rely on that income."

The Property Council wants to pause land tax — one of the most lucrative taxes funding state governments — for six months to give relief to landlords.

Landlords, in turn, could be asked to pass that relief on to tenants.

Australians 'stretched' before coronavirus crisis

The policy director of the Consumer Action Law Centre Katherine Temple said Australians were already struggling before the crisis.

"An event like this is going to tip a lot of people over the edge," Ms Temple said.

"In normal times we were already stretched. We have huge household debt already and financial hardship was already not uncommon."

The most comprehensive survey of how Australians live details the problem.

Even before the crisis, in the year to 2018, respondents to the HILDA survey from the Melbourne Institute found people were falling behind.

5 per cent had pawned or sold something

5 per cent had pawned or sold something 6 per cent could not pay their rent or mortgage on time

6 per cent could not pay their rent or mortgage on time 11 per cent could not pay a utility bill on time

11 per cent could not pay a utility bill on time 12 per cent could not raise $3,000 in an emergency

With an untold number of jobs and industries shut down for an indefinite period, leading to long queues outside Centrelink offices, more people are finding themselves in Ms Freeman's position.

She said the question now was: "Do I take out all the money I have in my bank account this month to pay for food, only to be evicted next month?"

"Because if that's going to happen I may as well leave the house now and hold on to the money I have," she said, shortly before attending an interview for a job disinfecting schools over the holiday period.

Ms Freeman called for a suspension of tenants' rent for six months, with the hope some industries would be able to re-open as the infection rate in the community slowed down.

"That would at least give you some sort of security that you're not going to end up on the street," Ms Freeman said.

"I feel like it's hard not to imagine this being a downward spiral."