The Victorian Government has introduced a framework specific to pandemics in the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 – Part 8A. The framework ensures Victoria can continue to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic from December 2021 and that it has fit-for-purpose legislation to manage future pandemics.
It is the first pandemic legislation of its kind in Australia and is specifically designed to assist in the prevention and management of public health risks posed by pandemics.
The framework is built on many lessons learnt over the last two years spent managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia and around the world.
The framework has been introduced to keep all Victorians safe while we continue to live through the COVID-19 pandemic and during any future pandemics, so it applies to the entire Victorian community.
Purpose of the pandemic-specific framework
The State of Emergency framework under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 served Victoria well in managing the risks the COVID-19 pandemic posed to public health. It helped Victoria to avoid large-scale transmission of the virus and substantial loss of life seen in most other countries around the world.
The State of Emergency framework was designed to respond to serious but short-term events. The framework was not designed to deal with something as long-term and complex as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 sets limits on the amount of time that Victoria can be in a State of Emergency. The time limit has been extended by Parliament multiple times over the course of the pandemic. The COVID-19 State of Emergency ended on 15 December 2021.
With all public health evidence indicating that COVID-19 will remain in our community for some time, especially with the emergence of the new Omicron variant, a pandemic-specific framework is essential to ensure a continued legal basis for any public health measures needed to protect Victorians.
Use of State of Emergency framework in pandemics
The pandemic-specific framework will be available to be used instead of the State of Emergency framework for managing COVID-19 or any future pandemics where the Premier is satisfied on reasonable grounds that a pandemic disease, or a disease that has the potential to cause a pandemic, poses a serious risk to public health.
The State of Emergency in Victoria ended at 11.59 pm on 15 December 2021 and will not be extended to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.