Recommendations

Recommendation 1

1.30

The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control to improve Australia’s pandemic preparedness, operational response capacity, and communication across all levels of government.

Recommendation 2

1.31

The committee recommends that the Australian Government urgently review its pandemic planning to deliver immediate improvements including:

a pandemic workforce strategy with an immediate focus on support and protection for health, aged care and other essential frontline staff;

an agreement between the Commonwealth and states and territories on the responsibilities of different levels of government for preparedness and response during a pandemic;

agreement on national principles for quarantine, including responsibility for provision of suitable facilities and for funding, management and compliance;

a plan for management of future international border closures;

a plan for timely repatriation of Australians overseas in the event of border closures or restricted international travel;

evaluate the effectiveness of plans for working with and responding appropriately to the needs of vulnerable people during a pandemic and implement updated plans accordingly, including for older Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, people living with disability and children; and

principles for addressing related health impacts, including the social determinants of health, mental health service delivery, and ensuring the health and welfare requirements of people experiencing family, domestic, or sexual violence are met.

Recommendation 3

1.32

The committee recommends that the Australian Government report to the Parliament at least once every two years, commencing in 2024, on the state of Australian pandemic preparedness, including all relevant planning, policy, and simulation activities undertaken by government agencies during the reporting period.

Recommendation 4

2.10

The committee recommends that the Australian Government commit to resourcing and delivering whole-of-government pandemic preparedness exercises every two years, commencing 2024, on the scale of Exercise Sustain in 2008.

Recommendation 5

2.34

The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider appropriate future arrangements to enhance the performance of the National Medical Stockpile, including whether it should be housed and managed by an Australian Centre for Disease Control.

2.35

The committee recommends that the Australian Government take action to rebuild Australia’s diminished sovereign manufacturing capability and develop strategies for emergency redirection of key manufacturing resources to pandemic preparedness and response.

Recommendation 6

3.3

The committee recommends that the Australian Government work with the states and territories to identify ways to achieve better and more consistent outcomes, including in relation to disaster mitigation and response, through clearer delineation of Commonwealth and state and territory responsibilities, reduction in duplication and better identification of gaps in service delivery.

Recommendation 7

3.64

The committee recommends that the Australian Government undertake a review of the powers available under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to address health misinformation during public health campaigns or emergency responses.

Recommendation 8

4.51

The committee recommends that the Australian Government commission an expert review of the National COVID-19 Aged Care Plan and the impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic response on residents and staff in residential aged care facilities.

Recommendation 9

4.52

The committee recommends that the Australian Government make a submission supporting higher wages for aged care workers in the work value claim currently being heard in the Fair Work Commission.

Recommendation 10

4.53

The committee recommends that the Australian Government review and strengthen the Intergovernmental Agreement on data sharing between Commonwealth and state and territory governments to address any gaps in access to timely and relevant data—particularly related to public health and aged care. This agreement should ensure systems and processes are in place to enable data sharing arrangements between jurisdictions in support of a robust national public health intelligence capability.

Recommendation 11

4.58

The committee recommends that the Australian Government implement urgently and in full all recommendations contained in Public Hearing Report 5 and Public Hearing Report 12 of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

Recommendation 12

4.65

The committee recommends that the Australian Government commission an expert review of the impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic response on children including on their education and learning, mental health, and social wellbeing and development.

Recommendation 13

4.79

The committee recommends that the Australian Government adequately address the social determinants of health, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic, when delivering responses to COVID-19 with First Nations communities, including food security, fuel security, water security, quarantine facilities, transport, infrastructure, housing.

Recommendation 14

4.113

The committee recommends that the Australian Government cease any further expenditure of public funds on the failed COVIDSafe application.

Recommendation 15

4.126

The committee recommends that the Australian Government make all reports of the National COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board public, along with all declarations of actual and perceived conflicts of interest made by commissioners.

Recommendation 16

4.137

The committee recommends that the Australian Government increase its contribution of COVID-19 vaccines to Pacific regional countries and increase its provision of technical support related to the promotion and delivery of mass vaccination campaigns.

Recommendation 17

5.1

The committee recommends that a Royal Commission be established to examine Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic to inform preparedness for future COVID-19 waves and future pandemics.

Recommendation 18

5.2

The committee recommends that the Australian Government publicly release all previous and future minutes of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to promote transparency and accountability and provide the public with access to the health advice that informs government decisions around community safety, livelihoods and personal freedom.

Recommendation 19

5.3

The committee recommends that the Senate consider referring to the Senate Standing Committee on Procedure a review of mechanisms to compel compliance with a committee’s legitimate entitlement to receive the information it has requested, to ensure that there is greater accountability for unanswered questions on notice and public interest immunity claims that are not accepted by the committee and the Senate.

| Contents |