Appendix 3 | Applying the CRIA tool to COVID-19 pandemic policy and legislation relating to the closure of schools and early childhood education and care in Australia Stage 1: Screening Question 1: Describe the issue being addressed and the overall aim of the policy/legislation. Some policies/legislation have more than one issue impacting on children’s rights. Where this occurs, it may be beneficial to screen each issue independently, rather than attempting to explore all issues together. The issue under consideration is the policy and legislative impacts of ECEC and school closures across Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall aim of the closures was to prevent spread of infection and reduce the prospect of overwhelmed public hospitals.131 Each jurisdiction closed schools and ECEC at various times during 2020 and 2022 because of different infection rates between communities, and government priorities. The overall impact of the closures affected all ECEC and school students. Background information relevant when considering this issue includes: • the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia • the education system in Australia • demographics of children • what did we know about the impact of disasters on children before COVID-19 • the regulatory basis for decision-making relating to public health and emergency declarations • summary of school closures in Australia. Details of this background information are provided in Appendix 2. This information shows that the policy and legislation changes impact all children across Australia directly and indirectly. 62 |