Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the extreme monetary stimulus policies adopted by world's major central banks in a desperate bid to spur flagging economic growth, questioning whether they passed what he called the "Bunnings test".

Asked whether policies such as the massive bond-buying programs launched by the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan which are intended to drive long-term bond yields lower, Mr Stevens said that the effect "probably was stimulatory initially".