Appendix 2 | Background information on ECEC and school closures during the pandemic in Australia The Victorian Government introduced a framework specific to pandemics in the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) – Part 8A in 2021. The framework is meant to ensure that Victoria can continue to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic from December 2021. Several accountability mechanisms were introduced, including an assessment of any human rights that were restricted by the pandemic orders, released by the Minister for Health.81 (ix) Western Australia On 15 March 2020, the Minister for Emergency Services declared a ‘State of Emergency’ from 16 March 2020 pursuant to section 56 of the Emergency Management Act 2005 (WA).82 On 16 March 2020, the Minister for Health declared a ‘Public Health State of Emergency’ from 17 March 2020 under section 167 of the Public Health Act 2016 (WA). Both declarations were reviewed and extended during 2020-2022.83 The postponement of Term 1, 2021 for one week was enacted under the Stay at Home and Closure (Perth, Peel and the South West Regions) Directions (No 2). Permitting students to participate in remote learning was within the remit of school principals under the School Education Act 1999 (WA).84 (f) Summary of school closures in Australia (i) National Cabinet Initially, the AHPPC advised against pre-emptive closure of schools and ECEC as there was limited information on the contribution of children to the transmission of COVID-19.85 Advice was reviewed daily as the AHPPC identified that school closures for shorter periods could be considered as part of a suite of more stringent distancing measures later in the outbreak, and short-term reactive school closures could also be warranted to allow for cleaning and contact tracing to occur in response to an outbreak in a given school. Boarding schools were treated differently as they were considered to be at high risk of transmission due to the shared living arrangements and higher frequency of faceto-face contact.86 Schools and parents were to consider the risks and benefits, and make their own decision, noting that the pandemic was considered likely to span more than 6 months. As case numbers increased in the community, National Cabinet agreed that while it was preferable that schools remained open, parents would be allowed to keep their children away from school.87 Changes to face-to-face education and ECEC were introduced across the jurisdictions – with variations – from 24 March 2020. (ii) Australian Capital Territory The ACT Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development announced on 22 March 2020 that ACT schools would move to pupil-free days from 24 March 2020 through to the school holidays, as the ACT school system prepared to transition to alternative teaching models from Term 2.88 Subsequently, the Minister announced the planned return to on-campus learning for government schools, with a staged return starting from 18 May 2020.89 In 2021, a 7 day lockdown was announced on 12 August 2021, and further extended to 15 October 2021.90 Safeguarding Children: Using a child rights impact assessment to improve our laws and policies | 55