(a) The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and
its effect on schools
The World Health Organization declared a Public
Health Emergency of International Concern
on 30 January 2020, and on 11 March 2020 it
made the assessment that COVID-19 could be
characterised as a pandemic.30 Australia’s first
case of COVID-19 was recorded by Victorian
authorities on 25 January 2020. Together,
these announcements, set in motion national
coordination arrangements to combat the spread
of the virus.
Australia’s federal, state and territory health
agencies began meeting daily as did the
Australian Health Protection Principal Committee
(AHPPC) to provide governments with up-todate advice on the pandemic. In early March,
the Australian Government commissioned the
National Coordination Mechanism to coordinate
engagement with non-health sectors including
transport, police, public safety and education.
The National Cabinet, comprising the Prime
Minister, state Premiers, and territory Chief
Ministers, was established as a crisis cabinet on
13 March 2020. The AHPPC and the National
Coordination Mechanism were tasked with
advising the National Cabinet, which aimed to
provide a coordinated response to COVID-19
across the states and territories. The National
Cabinet made decisions to guide the emergency.
The states and territories remained responsible
for implementing the decisions utilising their
respective Public Health Acts and Emergency
Management Acts.31
All states and territories, except NSW, declared
a public health emergency under their respective
Public Health Acts. Additionally, Tasmania, WA
and South Australia (SA) declared a state of
emergency under their respective Emergency
Management Acts, conferring special powers on
police and non-health officials. NSW used the
general powers provided by the Public Health
Act 2010 (NSW). Victoria subsequently declared
a state of disaster on 2 August 2020 giving
police greater powers to enforce public health
directions.32
As the pandemic unfolded, the AHPPC advised
against the pre-emptive closure of schools
and ECEC as there was limited information
on the contribution of children to COVID-19
transmission.33 However, the states and
territories were more risk-averse and enacted
more comprehensive measures, including school
closures, to prevent the spread of infection and
to reduce the prospect of overwhelmed public
hospitals.34
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected
education across the globe, reducing student
learning.35 The CRC Committee issued a
statement warning of the grave physical,
emotional and psychological effect of the
COVID-19 pandemic on children and called on
States to protect the rights of children.36 The
statement sets out 11 measures that it calls on
States to implement, many of which are relevant
to ECEC and school closures.
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