Australian supermarkets have had to impose more buying limits as shoppers continue to clear shelves of stock, resulting in mass shortages.

The new measures have been put in place to help curb panic buying, which has shown no signs of slowing down.

Woolworths has dropped its toilet paper limit down to one pack per person and has restricted rice to just one bag (2kg or less), while antibacterial gel is capped at two. Restrictions also apply to tissues, serviettes and wipes.

Meanwhile, at Coles, the list of restricted items has grown. Eggs, chilled pasta, frozen vegetables and frozen desserts are now being capped at two per customer. This joins existing restrictions on pasta, flour, rice, paper towels, tissues, hand sanitiser and mince, which are limited to two per person, while toilet paper remains at one.

Aldi, which had previously only restricted toilet paper, will now be imposing two-pack limits on dry pasta, flour, rice, paper towels and hand sanitiser.