A review claims “mistakes were made” in Australia’s COVID-19 response. 

A recent review - funded by three philanthropic organisations: Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation, the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the John and Miriam Wylie Foundation - found disadvantaged and vulnerable people “bore the brunt” of Australia's COVID-19 pandemic response.

It says government health measures and policies lacked transparency and further entrenched existing inequalities.

“Governments and public servants were making decisions in a fog of uncertainty,” the review said.

“But, looking back, we are persuaded that significant mistakes were made.”

The review by Western Sydney University Chancellor Peter Shergold, along with businesswoman and former University of Wollongong Chancellor Jillian Broadbent, University of Queensland Chancellor Peter Varghese and 2021 Young Australian of the Year Isobel Marshall received submissions from more than 350 people, including health experts, public servants, economists, business groups and community organisations.

It offers sharp criticism of taxpayer-funded economic policies - such as JobKeeper - arguing which it says favoured big businesses while leaving casual and temporary workers without financial support. 

“Failing to include a claw-back mechanism for businesses supported by JobKeeper was a design fault,” it said. 

“It was fiscally irresponsible and unfair when other groups in society were excluded from economic supports.”

The review found many of Australia's border closures and lockdowns were due to policy failures in quarantine and contact tracing, which could have been avoided.

“Rules were too often formulated and enforced in ways that lacked fairness and compassion,” it said.

“Businesspeople were often allowed to travel across borders whilst those wanting to visit dying loved ones or newborn family members were not afforded a similar opportunity.”

The review claims schools should have stayed open, and did not consider them to be high-transmission environments.

“For children and parents - particularly women - we failed to get the balance right, between protecting health and imposing long-term costs on education, mental health, the economy and workforce outcomes,” it said.

“The social and economic costs were likely significant.”

The review warns of the “perils of overreach” in COVID-19 public health measures, saying many Australians - particularly those living under strict and extended lockdowns in Melbourne and Western Sydney - felt they were “being protected by being policed”.

“There were too many instances in which government regulations and their enforcement went beyond what was required to control the virus,” it claims.

“Such overreach undermined public trust and confidence in the institutions that are vital to effective crisis response.”

The report claims to be apolitical and includes terms of reference that “were not dictated by a politician”.