Australia's economy expanded less than expected in the first quarter, as subdued household spending, a pullback in government consumption and severe weather disruptions to mining and exports weighed on growth.

The country's GDP expanded 2.5% in the first three months this year, compared to a year earlier, missing economists' expectations for a 2.6% growth, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Australia's GDP grew 0.3% compared with 0.5% forecast in a Reuters poll, and slowing from 0.8% growth in the prior quarter.