The Reserve Bank of Australia's quarter percentage point rate cut was the first in three months.
Before the last cut in February, the interest rate had been steady at 2.5 percent since August 2013.
Economists largely anticipated the move, although some thought the bank would hold off until after the government released its budget next week for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Resource-rich Australia managed to avoid a recession during the global financial crisis thanks to a decade-long mining boom. But with the economy weakening in China, which is Australia's largest export market, prices for commodities such as iron ore and coal have dropped.
RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement the global economy was expanding at a moderate pace, but commodity prices have declined over the past year, in some cases sharply.
"Looking ahead, the key drag on private demand is likely to be weakness in business capital expenditure in both the mining and non-mining sectors over the coming year," Stevens said.
Public spending is also expected to be subdued. The economy was therefore likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time yet.
The central bank forecast inflation to remain within the target range of between 2 and 3 percent over the next one to two years, even with a lower exchange rate.
"Low interest rates are acting to support borrowing and spending, and credit is recording moderate growth overall, with stronger lending to businesses of late," Stevens said.
The Australian dollar has declined sharply against a rising U.S. dollar over the past year, though less so against a basket of currencies.
"Further depreciation seems both likely and necessary, particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices," Stevens said.
The Australian dollar dipped on the RBA's announcement then quickly rebounded to $0.788.
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