Malcolm Baalman
Read our members-only summary of the COVID-19 Inquiry Report here.
The Australian Government has released a long-awaited report on the Commonwealth Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 Response Inquiry Report is focused on what happened during the pandemic of 2020-2022 to identify lessons learned for future pandemic preparedness.
One of its key recommendations is that the Government establish a permanent Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
The creation of a CDC was an election commitment of the Albanese Government at the 2022 election. An interim CDC entity has been operating within the Department of Health and Aged Care since the beginning of 2024.
The Government responded immediately. The Minister for Health, Mark Butler, announced that the Centre, to be headquartered in Canberra, will aim to commence full operation on 1 January 2026.
“We applaud the panel for the depth of its recommendations, particularly the importance of an Australian CDC which can and should be an institution that helps prevent people from getting sick or dying from preventable diseases, be they infectious or chronic,” said PHAA CEO, Adj Prof Terry Slevin.
The CDC will be created by new governing legislation, setting out a clear model of independence, capable of independent initiatives and advising the Minister directly rather than as part of the Federal Health Department. The CDC establishment bill will be brought to Parliament in 2025.
$251 million will be allocated over the first four years to fund new operations. It is not clear what functions this funding will cover, but we anticipate significant additions will be needed to properly fund major national preventive health programs.
The Inquiry Report proposed founding principles on which the CDC should be created:
- Multi‑way cooperative relationships with the states and territories and non‑government organisations
- Complementing and enhancing existing health and emergency governance architecture
- Transparency, trust and independence
- Certainty of funding for investment in world‑leading data‑sharing and surveillance systems
- Building on the foundation established by the interim CDC.
“We are pleased that the Report recommends that the Australian CDC needs to be transparent and trusted, and that its role and functions be codified in legislation to ensure it’s independent and skill based,” said Slevin.
“The potential of a permanent CDC is too important to be left to the whim of the government of the day.”
The Report recommends that expanding the scope and functions of the CDC should be staged while building trust and credibility with key stakeholders and the Australian community.
The proposed core functions are to include:
- Nationally interoperable data systems to drive optimal collection, synthesis and use of data and evidence, address data gaps and develop linkages to public health workforce capability data
- Surveillance systems to inform horizon scanning and early warning advice on emerging global issues
- Preparedness and scenario testing to assess national, whole‑of‑government preparedness and make ready the full breadth of our public health expertise to be operationalised in a future emergency response
- Biennial pandemic readiness reporting to identify skills gaps and coordinate and resource training programs for system improvement
- Public communication both during a pandemic and as part of its business‑as‑usual activities providing a single place where the Australian public can find integrated information
- Behavioural insights to support public health responses and provide public health evidence to Australians in effective ways that encourage healthier choices
- Engagement with key academic and community partners to support knowledge exchange, identify research gaps and advise government on how these could be addressed
States’ and territories’ contribution to a federal model still to be clarified
In discussions between government officials surrounding the creation of the CDC since 2022, it has been agreed that only a cooperative, federated model involving all the state and territory governments, their health officials and their statutory roles and powers, would be an effective outcome for Australia.
States and territories have been clear that they do not wish to see any disruption to their official public health functions, and that the state and territory roles and powers necessary for pandemic management cannot effectively be absorbed by the Commonwealth Government.
“We need now to hear what specific contribution the states and territories will make to improving pandemic preparedness. I’m concerned that, as the worst of the pandemic is behind us, state and territory investments in public health are falling to pre-pandemic levels or lower,” said Slevin.
“The state and territory Chief Health Officers were key in the defence against COVID-19. This must continue and be effectively linked with the work of a national CDC. This is the vision that the Inquiry Report has strongly recommended.
“No one wants the CDC to be a Canberra-only institution – the best approach is for the CDC to have a presence in every state and territory, and work in unison with state and territory public health institutions.
“The states and territories already contribute some resources, but they will need to step up to provide a greater contribution. Capacity to respond locally is just as important as capacity to respond nationally.”
Expanding the CDC to address chronic non-communicable disease
The Report recognises the population-level determinants of health – such as socioeconomic and cultural factors – and their relationship to pandemic management and outcomes.
The Report also makes clear that non‑communicable diseases and the wider determinants of health should be included in the CDC’s future functions:
“There is a strong link between pandemic preparedness and a healthy population with managed levels of non‑communicable disease. Pandemics also have a direct impact on the prevalence and management of chronic diseases.
Given the clear synergies, the CDC’s pandemic response remit would benefit from a progressive expansion to include non‑communicable diseases, using the data infrastructure and data linkage established by the CDC in its initial phase.
However, the argument for inclusion of non‑communicable diseases goes beyond this if we are to realise the CDC as a transformative national health asset: non‑communicable diseases impact more Australians, for more of their lives; contribute to more deaths; and drive greater health disparities.
In order to deliver trusted advice on risk assessment and provide a comprehensive approach to pandemic preparedness and response, the CDC should be expanded to encompass chronic and communicable diseases when it has progressed preparedness priorities, and support existing advice pathways to government and the Department of Health and Aged Care on policy priorities for non‑communicable diseases and the wider determinants of health.” (p.59)
PHAA has persistently advocated that the Government include a charter to address chronic or non-communicable disease prevention in the CDC’s functions from its commencement.
“Governments say they want people to stay healthy and well. One of the best ways is to invest in preventive health efforts which keep people out of hospital,” said Slevin.
“We welcome the Inquiry’s recognition of the wider determinants of health and look forward to working constructively with the Australian Government, and via our state and territory branches, to help achieve that.”
Read our members-only summary of the Report here.
There will be extensive debate on the report and its content in the weeks and months ahead. We encourage members to write commentary pieces for Intouch on any aspect of the report, or on Australia’s public health needs for the future. Send your contributions to communications@phaa.net.au.
Malcolm Baalman is Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser at PHAA.
Image (L to R): PHAA CEO, Adj Prof Terry Slevin, and immediate past president of the PHAA, Dr Tarun Weeramanthri AM, in front of a banner for the Interim Australian Centre for Disease Control.
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