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• We examined panic buying and hoarding at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. • Perceived scarcity was the strongest predictor of panic buying. • Intolerance of uncertainty was the strongest predictor of hoarding. • Buying restrictions imposed by retailers may reduce panic buying. The COVID-19 pandemic led to panic buying in many countries across the globe, preventing vulnerable groups from accessing important necessities. Some reports inaccurately referred to the panic buying as hoarding. Although hoarding is a separate issue characterised by extreme saving behaviour, the two problems may be influenced by similar factors. Participants from Australia and the United States (final N = 359) completed online self-report measures of panic buying, hoarding, shopping patterns, perceived scarcity, COVID-19 illness anxiety, selfishness, and intolerance of uncertainty. Our findings showed that panic buying was related to hoarding symptoms (r 's =.23 -.36), and yet, both were uniquely associated with different psychological factors. Whilst panic buying was most strongly related to greater perceived scarcity (r 's =.38 -.60), hoarding was most related to a general intolerance of uncertainty (r 's =.24 -.57). Based on our findings, future strategies to prevent panic buying should focus on reducing perceived scarcity cues in the community, as this seems to be the primary driver of panic buying. Another preventative strategy to reduce excessive acquiring and saving may be to implement educational programs to increase people's ability to tolerate distress and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electronic prescription (e-prescription) was introduced in 2020 in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aimed to explore general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists' experience with, and facilitators and barriers to, the use of e-prescription. Methods: This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with GPs and pharmacists in Greater Sydney to explore their experience with e-prescription. Thematic analysis used descriptive and mixed inductive and deductive approaches. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to further interpret and organise the themes. Results: Eleven GPs and nine pharmacists were interviewed. Thirteen themes were elicited, seven of which were categorised as benefits (facilitators) and six were challenges (barriers). Four facilitator themes (convenience for healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients, addressing issues with paper prescriptions, contactless nature reducing access barriers during COVID-19 lockdown, and enabling patients to manage multiple prescriptions) were mapped to the TAM construct of 'perceived usefulness'; and one facilitator (an easier process) and two barrier themes (lack of information during implementation, and technological issues) were mapped to the TAM construct of 'perceived ease of use'. Themes that fell outside these constructs were separately categorised: four barrier themes (reluctance of some patients and HCPs to change, patient expectations of 'instant prescription' and lost opportunities for best-practice care, HCPs' perceptions of inadequate governmental governance, and ongoing costs) were 'other issues with e-prescription', and two facilitator themes (providing training on the use of e-prescription for HCPs and patients, and making e-prescription more streamlined) were 'suggestions to improve'. Conclusion: There are many facilitators and barriers to the use of e-prescription. Our findings may inform the future promotion of e-prescription post-COVID-19 pandemic. Further research should focus on consumers' perspectives of e-prescription. It is inevitable that electronic prescriptions will one day supersede paper prescriptions, but there is resistance to their implementation at the practitioner and patient levels. This paper explored GPs and pharmacists' experience and views, and found that while e-prescription improves the quality of patient care, there are several challenges to its effective use. Findings may inform the future promotion of e-prescription, particularly post-COVID-19 pandemic, and guide future research in exploring consumer perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments around the world acted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through lockdowns and border closures that had specific impacts on temporary residents (migrants, asylum seekers and refugees). In Australia, there were differential responses across states and territories, and a critical distinction made at Federal government level between permanent residents and citizens as compared to temporary migrants. The result has been the continued Othering of certain groups of Australians of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as migrants and refugees on the basis of racial characteristics and visa status. This paper will consider the period where arguably multicultural policies were 'on hold' by investigating the timeline leading up to major policy decisions and the immediate and longer-term after-effects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arguably the way in which multicultural communities were treated has shown the superficial nature of multicultural policies in Australia and the lack of more solid foundations in support of what now demographically constitutes a majority of the country's population. Drawing on secondary data analysis, the paper will outline the distance these actions have put between political leaders and multicultural communities, and queries the implications for a sustained commitment to multicultural policies in an era of temporary migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has documented the immediate negative impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on household and business consumption, but there is still limited investigation into the medium‐term effects in specific consumption categories. This paper addresses this gap using a vector autoregression analysis of a system of aggregated consumer final demand across Australia. We highlight the importance of studying a demand system, as opposed to investigating independent consumption categories, due to the interactive evolution of consumption during the pandemic. Modelling the paths of various consumption categories in response to shocks from one another, we find that, despite the large and abrupt shocks to consumption during the first two quarters of 2020, most categories reverted to pre‐COVID levels when restrictions were lifted. Importantly, transportation had the largest and most persistent decline. Overall, shocks to sectors other than food, alcohol and education were outside the counterfactual forecast confidence intervals estimated based on pre‐COVID information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent global pandemic renewed the importance of telecommunication infrastructure, as many COVID responses (e.g., working from home, home-schooling, e-commerce) were challenged by the inequity of access to broadband services and its underlying network. This paper examines the geospatial footprint of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in relation to the demographics of Australia's cities and regions. Through data made available by the NBN, which describes the technologies used in its multi-technology mix platform, and published demographic data available via the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), we explore the equity of access to broadband technologies across the nation. The results show a persistent urban-regional divide in the NBN. The paper also offers a brief assessment of the complex and contradictory ways policy responses attempt to mitigate the digital divide, including updates to the national infrastructure project plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines school management and policies in Germany and Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study, which is comparative and qualitative, explores the interrelationship between different levels of governance and the responses of teacher unions. The inquiry is informed by the perspectives of historical institutionalism and path dependency, and the document analysis is conducted by utilising the justification categories of value, collective, and formal and procedural driven arguments. We argue the contestation which occurred between different levels of school governance and the teacher unions amidst the pandemic created the potential for changes in policy settings and influence over the administration of schooling. However, there is no indication of fundamental shifts in the organisation, policy direction or control over schooling in Germany or Australia. Instead, there is a conformity to established institutional arrangements and path dependencies, which secure and protect the vested interests of the different policy actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between stock market liquidity and firm dividend policy within a market implementing the tax imputation system. The main aim is to understand how the tax imputation system influences the relationship between firm dividend policy and stock market liquidity within a cross-sectional framework. Design/methodology/approach: This paper investigates the relationship between stock market liquidity and the dividend payout policy under the full tax imputation system in the Australian market. This study uses the Generalized Least Squares regressions with firm- and year-fixed effects. Findings: In contrast to the negative relationship between the liquidity of common shares and the firms' dividends documented in countries with the double tax system, the study reveals that in Australia, the dividend payout ratios are positively associated with liquidity after controlling for various explanatory variables with both the contemporaneous and lagged time periods. Such a finding is robust to the use of alternative liquidity proxies and to the sub-period tests and remains during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Research limitations/implications: The insights derived from this study have significant implications for various stakeholders within the economy. The findings provide regulators with valuable insights to conduct a more holistic assessment of how the tax system impacts the economy, especially concerning the dividend choices of firms. Within the context of a full tax imputation system, investors can make investment decisions without factoring in the taxation impact. Simultaneously, firms can be relieved of concerns about losing investors who prioritize liquidity, particularly when a high dividend payout might not align optimally with their financial strategy. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by extending the literature on the tax clientele effects on dividend policy, providing evidence that the tax imputation system can moderate the impact of liquidity on dividend policy. This study examines the impact of the dividend tax imputation system on the substitution effect between dividends and liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provision of early childhood education and care services for refugee families took on heightened challenges during COVID-19 restrictions. We undertook a small-scale study to explore how Australian educators worked with and cared for refugee families during the COVID-19 outbreak in an urban Australian setting. This paper emerges from a larger project that aimed to support social inclusion and cultural and linguistic diversity for refugee families in Australia. The paper draws on two group interviews conducted during a COVID-19 lockdown with four educators working with refugee families in early childhood education and care. Data analysis is framed by the ethics of care work of Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings. On the basis of these theories and the interview data, two vignettes on an ethics of care were developed. The importance of being cared for and cared about and genuinely listening were identified as crucial aspects of the care provided to refugee children and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industry diversity thesis of economic resilience to economic shocks is embedded in community development policy across Australia. The idea being that in the event of an economic shock some industries will prove more recession‐proof than others. The greater the industry diversity, the greater the likelihood of off‐setting industry effects, resulting in greater economic resilience. The COVID‐19 pandemic and the associated restrictions created a unique natural experiment to explore whether the industry diversity thesis holds true under the conditions of a global health pandemic. In this policy paper, we use JobKeeper applications as a proxy for decreased economic resilience. We explore if Australian local government areas (LGAs) with higher industry diversity had less necessity for JobKeeper. We also briefly consider if concentrations of certain industries acted as a better economic buffer to the COVID‐19 economic shock. We observe that as diversity increases, economic resilience strengthens except for Victoria (where the association is inverted). This observation has important implications for current and future policy formation and implementation across all layers of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based primary care, such as general practice (GP) or urgent care, serves as the primary point of access to healthcare for most Australians and New Zealanders. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created significant and ongoing disruptions to primary care. Traditional research methods have contributed to gaps in understanding the experiences of primary care workers during the pandemic. This paper describes a novel research design and method that intended to capture the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care workers in Australia and New Zealand. Recurrent, rapid cycle surveys were fielded from May 2020 through December 2021 in Australia, and May 2020 through February 2021 in New Zealand. Rapid survey development, fielding, triangulated analysis and dissemination of results allowed close to real-time communication of relevant issues among general practice workers, researchers and policy-makers. A conceptual model is presented to support longitudinal analysis of primary care worker experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand, and key learnings from applying this novel method are discussed. This paper will assist future research teams in development and execution of policy-relevant research in times of change and may inform further areas of interest for COVID-19 research in primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral language is the primary means through which a child controls, describes, organises, and evaluates their life experiences and their ability to use oral language which effectively impacts their future literacy development. Currently, the world is awash with dynamic change and constant disruption. These include natural disasters such as the ongoing Australian floods and bush fires, droughts, the global COVID-19 pandemic, the pervasive use of digital technologies, continuing global unrest, and impacts on economic and social adversity. Many of these disruptions are having a negative impact on the development of children's oral language and ongoing communication capacities. This is interesting given the prioritisation in many western nations, including Australia, of learning to read and write over learning to talk and communicate. This paper serves as an example of what makes good classroom literacy research. It outlines the elements of robust research including a research proposal structure. In this instance, our research investigates educator perceptions of children's developing oral language and communication skills and practices in birth to 8-year-old education contexts within the current backdrop of extreme disruption. The paper includes a literature review, our proposed research methodology which includes interviews from participants in birth to 8-year-old education settings, in both national and global contexts sourced via snowball sampling. The data analysis uses Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the contextualised interview responses from educators within a socio-cultural global malaise of disruption and power. We outline future plans and funding sources, including publications and potential school resources in the spirit of collegial cooperation to support excellence in literacy classroom research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examines the perceptions of the Australian public canvassed in 2021 during the COVID‐19 pandemic about their health system compared to four previous surveys (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2018). Methods: In 2021, a nationwide online survey was conducted with a representative sample of Australians (N = 5100) recruited via market research panels. The results were compared to previous nationwide Australian survey samples from 2018 (N = 1024), 2012 (N = 1200), 2010 (N = 1201) and 2008 (N = 1146). The survey included questions consistent with previous polls regarding self‐reported health status and overall opinions of, and confidence in, the Australian health system. Results: There was an increase in the proportion of respondents reporting positive perceptions at each survey between 2008 and 2021, with a significantly higher proportion of respondents expressing a more positive view of the Australian healthcare system in 2021 compared to previous years (χ2(8, N = 9645) = 487.63, p < 0.001). In 2021, over two‐thirds of respondents (n = 3949/5100, 77.4%) reported that following the COVID‐19 pandemic, their confidence in the Australian healthcare system had either remained the same (n = 2433/5100, 47.7%) or increased (n = 1516/5100, 29.7%). Overall, respondents living in regional or remote regions, younger Australians (< 45 years) and women held less positive views in relation to the system. In 2021, the most frequently identified area for urgent improvement was the need for more healthcare workers (n = 1350/3576, 37.8%), an area of concern particularly for Australians residing in regional or remote areas (n = 590/1385, 42.6%). Conclusions: Irrespective of disruptions to the Australian healthcare system caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic, Australians' perceptions of their healthcare system were positive in 2021. However, concerns were raised about inadequate workforce capacity and the cost of healthcare, with differences identified by age groups and geographical location. Patient or Public Contribution: Health consumer representatives from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia contributed to the co‐design, deployment, analysis and interpretation of the results of this survey. J.A. and L.W. from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia contributed to the development of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the perceptions of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initiated workplace strategies implemented in radiation oncology departments across Australia. Methods: A multidisciplinary team from Princess Alexandra Hospital developed a survey to address the impact of the pandemic strategies on areas such as patient care, staff education, well-being, flexible working arrangements, and research. The survey was conducted from November 2020 to April 2021. Results: Out of 210 respondents from seven institutions, 45% reported burnout and 57% experienced work work-related stress. A significant majority of respondents were in favour of continued remote work (86%, 131/153). Radiation oncologists identified administrative or non-clinical work (92%, 34/37), telehealth clinics (32%, 12/37), or radiation therapy planning (22%, 8/37) as suitable for remote work. Additionally, 54% (21/39) of the radiation oncologists plan to use telehealth more frequently, with 67% (26/39) feeling more confident with the technology. The majority (81%, 171/210) of participants favoured continuation of hybrid in-person and virtual meetings. Virtual solutions were adopted for quality assurance activities (72%, 118/165) and 52% (60/116) indicated preference for ongoing utility of virtual platforms. However, 38% (79/210) of the respondents expressed concerns about the negative impact on junior staff training. Conclusion: These findings reveal a strong inclination towards technological advancements and remote work arrangements to enable flexible working conditions. Our study suggests the need for ongoing reforms, focusing on improving clinical service delivery efficiencies and enhancing job satisfaction among clinicians. What is known about the topic? During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic there were significant adaptations required to the delivery of clinical care. What does this paper add? There is a strong preference for ongoing work from home arrangements, especially for administrative and non-clinical work. Most radiation oncologists feel more confident using telehealth and favour its ongoing use post-pandemic. Burnout and stress remain prevalent within the workforce. What are the implications for practitioners? There is a high demand among the radiation oncology workforce for adoption of technological advances to improve work satisfaction including remote access to enable flexible work arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to determine which method to triage intensive care patients using chronic comorbidity in a pandemic was perceived to be the fairest by the general public. Secondary objectives were to determine whether the public perceived it fair to provide preferential intensive care triage to vulnerable or disadvantaged people, and frontline healthcare workers. Methods: A postal survey of 2000 registered voters randomly selected from the Australian Electoral Commission electoral roll was performed. The main outcome measures were respondents' fairness rating of four hypothetical intensive care triage methods that assess comorbidity (chronic medical conditions, long-term survival, function and frailty); and respondents' fairness rating of providing preferential triage to vulnerable or disadvantaged people, and frontline healthcare workers. Results: The proportion of respondents who considered it fair to triage based on chronic medical conditions, long-term survival, function and frailty, was 52.1, 56.1, 65.0 and 62.4%, respectively. The proportion of respondents who considered it unfair to triage based on these four comorbidities was 31.9, 30.9, 23.8 and 23.2%, respectively. More respondents considered it unfair to preferentially triage vulnerable or disadvantaged people, than fair (41.8% versus 21.2%). More respondents considered it fair to preferentially triage frontline healthcare workers, than unfair (44.2% versus 30.0%). Conclusion: Respondents in this survey perceived all four hypothetical methods to triage intensive care patients based on comorbidity in a pandemic disaster to be fair. However, the sizable minority who consider this to be unfair indicates that these triage methods could encounter significant opposition if they were to be enacted in health policy. What is known about the topic? Triage systems can be used to prioritise the order in which patients are treated in a pandemic, but the views of the general public on using chronic comorbidity as intensive care unit (ICU) triage criteria are unknown. What does this paper add? This Australian survey, conducted during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, demonstrated that the majority of respondents perceived ICU triage methods based on comorbidity to be fair, but significant ethical issues exist. What are the implications for practitioners? It may be possible to develop an ICU triage protocol for future pandemics in Australia, but further research is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper discusses four main strategies for addressing nursing shortages that have been persistent, widespread and growing. Fallout from the COVID‐19 pandemic might offer valuable impetus to address this tenacious challenge. Background: Nursing shortages are common, widespread and have been persistent for most of a century. Many of the reasons behind these shortages are well known and are themselves enduring, as are the types of strategies put forward for addressing them. These strategies can generally be classified into four main categories: enhancing retention, improving recruitment, encouraging return to practice and drawing on international human resources. The COVID‐19 pandemic is the latest major threat to ensuring a sufficiently sized and skilled nursing workforce. Many nurses have succumbed to burnout as well the plethora of factors that predated the pandemic and have a negative impact on nurse wellbeing, turnover and intention to leave. Sources of evidence: This discussion paper draws on international sources of evidence. Discussion/conclusion: This paper highlights how many of the factors behind and strategies for addressing nursing shortages at the local, national and global levels are widely studied and known. A sustained combination of strategies that focus both within and beyond health and nursing, including on the broader social context, is necessary. While COVID‐19 has been extremely damaging, it might present an opportunity to make sustainable, effective reforms to address nursing shortages. Implications for policy: Knowledge users must recognise that a combination of approaches across the gamut of policies that influence nursing workforces is necessary to address nursing shortages. Attention must also focus on factors beyond nursing and healthcare if shortages are to be remedied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major public health measures to manage and contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was to engage in systematic contact tracing, which required gastronomy, community and sporting venues to keep patron registers. Stand-alone and web-based applications, developed by a range of private IT providers, soon replaced pen-and-paper lists. With the introduction of a uniform, state-wide, mandatory data collection system, these private applications became obsolete. Although only active for four months, these applications paved the way for the public acceptance of state-administered collection systems that allowed for an unprecedented, centralized tracking system of the movements of the entire population. This paper discusses the cultural significance of these applications as a game changer in the debate on civil liberties, and addresses the question of how the materiality, or lack thereof, of this digital heritage affects the management of ephemeral smartphone applications, and its preservation for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted countries all over the world, not only in relation to public health responses, but on multiple other societal levels. The pandemic has uncovered structural inequalities within and across societies and highlighted how race remains a powerful lens through which public policy responses are constructed and pursued. This paper examines (im)mobilities in Australia in the context of Asian, and more specifically Chinese-Australian citizens and residents, and how these have been framed in racialized discourses that justified exclusionary practices reminiscent of the White Australia ideology. The paper focuses on how Chinese Australians' mobilities have been (mis)represented and attacked in public and political discourse with particular attention to the situation of Chinese international students' (im)mobilities. Our conceptual attention in this paper, however, is not only on the racialization of mobilities but also immobilities, underpinned by an understanding of the relationality between Othered 'migrants' and hosts, as well as between mobility and immobility. We conclude by discussing future patterns of mobility, how these will impact prospective migrants including international students, and what future forms of mobilities might mean for Australia as a country highly dependent on migrants for its economic, social and cultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: People living with severe mental illness (PLWSMI) experience disproportionately high rates of morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) introduced the Living Well, Living Longer integrated care program in 2013 to address this inequity. This paper reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of physical health interventions to community mental health consumers in SLHD. Design/methodology/approach: Rates of COVID-19 vaccinations were collated. Routinely collected service data were reviewed for changes in rates of metabolic monitoring, mental health shared care, physical health checks, cardiometabolic health clinic assessments and diet and exercise interventions. Findings: 91.9% of consumers received at least two COVID-19 vaccinations and 61.3% received a booster. However, there was a 37.3% reduction in rates of metabolic monitoring, 20.1% reduction in Mental Health Shared Care agreements, 60.6% reduction in physical health checks with general practitioners, 65.4% reduction in cardiometabolic clinic assessments and 19.8% reduction of diet and exercise interventions. Practical implications: The impact of the pandemic may lead to an exacerbation of poorly managed comorbid disease and increased premature mortality in people living with severe mental illness. Service providers should consider the local impact of the pandemic on the provision of physical health interventions and ensure steps are taken to address any deficits. Originality/value: There is a paucity of published analysis regarding the impact of the pandemic on the provision of physical health interventions to people living with severe mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is largely considered an immigrant-receiving country, however, it is estimated that over one million Australians are living overseas at any given time. Despite this, diaspora relations have never been particularly robust, the consequences of which have become particularly visible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia used a strict closed-border approach in handling the pandemic and, although effective at reducing the spread of the virus, it will be argued that this isolationist approach was at the detriment of diaspora relations. This paper uses the findings from in-depth interviews with Australians living overseas to demonstrate that the country's response to the Covid-19 pandemic created an intergroup divide between Australia and its expatriates. Social identity theory and the theory of intergroup threat will be used to support the findings that Australian expatriates became the 'outgroup', perceived as a realistic threat by the resident national 'ingroup'. Public fear of the virus and Australia's strict isolationist stance created a divide between those within the border, and those trying to get in. This paper provides the first-hand experiences and sentiments of Australian expatriates, while further research exploring the perspective of resident nationals is recommended to facilitate a more robust understanding of the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bushfires of the 2019-20 summer were followed by a global pandemic. Both events highlighted the importance of skills of emergency managers and their importance in the response to and recovery from these and other emergency events. In Australia, the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements was conducted with the bushfires as a background event and, at the same time, the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Findings of the royal commission addressed a range of areas including the capability building of emergency managers. These are underpinned in part by the education, training and experience of emergency managers who will implement the royal commission's findings in the years to come. Education, training and experience are aspects of the human capacities of the emergency management leader and each emergency manager is different. Capability is based on recruitment, education, training, development and experience built up over time. This paper arises from a larger study of the human capacities of emergency managers and examines the supporting education and training opportunities available within the Australian education and training system and how they are affected by the concept of experience. This paper contributes to the understanding of the suite of human capacities required by emergency managers in Australia. The paper draws on research that examines human-capacity lessons from previous events that can develop emergency managers. This paper builds on a previous paper that examined certification for emergency management leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 outbreak has brought serious disruptions worldwide and higher education has been at the forefront of this global pandemic. To adapt to the "new normal", new technology-backed teaching mode emerges in universities as valued option to integrate face-to-face and remote teaching-learning activities. Blended synchronous learning (BSL) forms part of this new trial. This paper investigates the relevance and implications of BSL for university teaching and learning in the field of property and built environments in and beyond the transitional period of COVID disruptions and a time of global uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts case study approach to the understanding of BSL and its initial planning and design for property course delivery at the University of Melbourne. A review of literature helps formulate an analytical lens for the delivery mode and its significance and challenge in enhancing student learning experience. It also brings insights from the experience of participant observation. Findings: This paper envisions new possibilities and challenges projecting the BSL as innovative and useful teaching-learning mode for property and built environments education in and beyond the pandemic. The analysis demonstrates the pedagogical values of BSL in facilitating supportive and equitable learning environment to achieve quality learning outcomes for property education. It identifies opportunities and challenges corresponding the underlying logic and practice of BSL. Originality/value: This paper is the first to examine the use of BSL delivery and its pedagogical significance in post-pandemic property education. It sheds light on innovative pedagogical design for academic institutions to manage pandemic and technological disruptions to teaching-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to diverse manifestations of racism in Australia, from everyday attacks against Asian Australians to discriminatory policies towards temporary migrants. Since the start of the pandemic, considerable knowledge on pandemic-related racism has been produced. This knowledge has yet to be consolidated, leaving questions about the nature, forms, impacts and trajectories of racism during the pandemic. This paper presents a systematic review and synthesis of research on racism during the pandemic, with an emphasis on pandemic-specific racism. We searched the databases Scopus, MEDLINE and PsycINFO for research published between January 2020 and July 2022. Eighteen research studies were included in the review, along with reports of routine data collection by five organisations. The research reviewed collected data mainly around the pandemic's 'second wave' in Australia (June-October 2020), focusing largely on Asian Australians and temporary migrants nationally and in Victoria. Widely studied forms of COVID-racism were verbal abuse, physical attacks, exclusion and Othering, and institutional racism involving governments, media and employers. We examined the pandemic's health and socio-economic impacts, and variations in experiences of racism over time between ethnic groups. As Australia emerges from the pandemic, we consider the review's implications for pandemic response, anti-racism practice and policy, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the scale and intensity of disasters and crises continue to increase, planning and managing crises have become a critical policy and governance issue. Of particular importance to this topic is crisis coordination, as effective response and recovery support the continuity of operations of governments and businesses, and are essential to the economy, health, and public safety. This paper applies a network governance perspective to explore the practical application of intergovernmental crisis coordination in Australia with reference to the COVID‐19 crisis contributing to a better understanding of the role of governing bodies in dealing with major crises in a coordinated manner. This paper also highlights the need to leverage collaborative leadership, organizational capacity, and a culture of collaboration to develop robust and connected networks in addressing crisis coordination within Australia's complex federal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few changes have been so abruptly disruptive to apprenticeships worldwide as the global COVID outbreak from early 2020 onwards. Because apprenticeships involve experience in workplaces (normally via employment), as well as participation in education systems, the effects were especially serious. There was extra urgency to policy responses because apprenticeships are disproportionately, and in some countries, exclusively, undertaken by young people. There were no worldwide 'answers' as to what to do, as apprenticeship systems vary greatly among countries. The paper examines the development of apprenticeship-related measures in several countries worldwide, with a particular focus on Australia and England. The paper uses statistical data, government announcements, guidance from stakeholders and officials, and also a systematic analysis of presentations by leading country experts at an online international apprenticeship conference in May 2021. Reflecting on common concerns on apprenticeship system, the paper critiques and analyses the effects and potential effects of COVID and post-COVID measures on apprenticeship systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant educational disruption globally. When the pandemic forced schools to switch to emergency home-schooling, parental engagement in education became more critical. Some parents found home-schooling as an opportunity to form stronger relationships with their children. Others acquired an enhanced insight into their children's schoolwork. However, the emerging literature shows that, as not all parents were equally positioned to support their children's learning at home, emergency home-schooling has resulted in a significant learning loss. Guided by the concept of capital interaction, this article reports on a qualitative case study that investigated the experiences of 20 migrant parents in Victoria, Australia. A thematic analysis of the data reveals challenges associated with parental self-efficacy, financial hardship, language and technological barriers, time constraints, and disengagement and exhaustion. Remote learning may return in the future, and we must prepare for such disruption by improving equitable access to education delivered online and at home. To this end, the paper outlines some policy ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the end of 2021, more than 168 million students across the globe had missed a year of face-to-face schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In NSW, Australia, most students engaged in learning from home for eight weeks during 2020 and a further 14 weeks during 2021. This study provides robust empirical evidence on how two years of disruptions to schooling affected student learning. Drawing on matched data for 3,827 Year 3 and 4 students from 101 NSW government schools, this paper compares student achievement growth in mathematics and reading for 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2021 (second year of the pandemic) student cohorts. While overall there was no significant difference between cohorts, when analysed by socio-educational advantage, we were surprised to find that students in the lowest band achieved approximately three months' additional growth in mathematics. Arguably, grave concerns about the potentially dire impact of COVID-19 on the learning of disadvantaged students were met by investments that made a difference. We argue that targeted funding and system-wide initiatives to support more equitable outcomes should remain a priority after the pandemic if Australia is to meet its aspirations for excellence and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To summarise and comment upon research regarding the service delivery impact of the introduction of COVID-19 pandemic Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) psychiatrist telehealth services in Australia in 2020-2021. Type of program or service: Privately-billed, MBS-reimbursed, face-to-face and telehealth consultations with a specialist psychiatrist during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This paper draws on analyses of previously published papers. MBS-item-consultation data were extracted for video, telephone and face-toface consultations with a psychiatrist for April-September 2020 in Victoria, and compared to face-to-face consultations in the same period of 2019 and for all of Australia. We also extracted MBS-item-consultation data for all of Australia from April 2020-April 2021, and compared this to face-to-face consultations for April 2018-April 2019. Results: Although face-to-face consultations with psychiatrists waned following nationwide lockdowns, the introduction of MBS billing items for video and telephone telehealth meant that overall consultations were 13% higher in April 2020-April 2021, compared to the pre-pandemic year prior. A lockdown restricted to Victoria was associated with a 19% increase in consultations from April-September 2020, compared to the corresponding period in 2019. Lessons learnt: Telehealth has been an integral component of Australia's relatively successful mental health response to COVID-19. The public availability of MBS data makes it possible to accurately assess change in psychiatric practice. The Australian Federal Government subsidises MBS telepsychiatry care by a patient rebate per consultation, illustrating that government-subsidised services can rapidly provide additional care. Rapid and substantial provision of telepsychiatry in Australia indicates that it may be a useful substitute or adjunct to face-to-face care during future pandemics and natural disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Access to healthcare for rural Australians is a wicked problem, particularly for rural people with disability. Contemporary healthcare access frameworks in Australia tend to overlook geography, use a 'one‐size‐fits‐all approach', and disregard the valuable relationships between key rural healthcare stakeholders, including rural people with disability, rural health services and health professionals. The United Nation's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires the Australian Government to engage people with disability in the design of policies that will shape their day‐to‐day lives, including their access to healthcare. However, the nature and extent to which rural people with disability, rural health professionals and other key rural stakeholders are involved in the design of Australian policies impacting the health of rural people with disability are unknown. Aim: This paper examines approaches taken to engage rural people with disability and health professionals in the design of Australian disability policy impacting healthcare access, and reimagines future processes which can improve healthcare access for rural people with disability. Approach: Co‐design and ethics of care lenses are applied to policy design approaches in this paper. We approach this work as rural disability and health academics, rural health professionals, and as rural people with disability, neurodivergence and family members of people with disability. Conclusion: We argue future co‐designed policy approaches could focus on driving change towards equity in healthcare access for rural people with disability by harnessing the relational nature of rural healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

JobKeeper is a short‐time work subsidy implemented between March 2020 and March 2021 in Australia during the COVID‐19 pandemic to reinforce the resilience of the labour market. As a job retention (JR) program, JobKeeper supports businesses, protects jobs and employment relationships and secures income of Australian workers. Drawing on microeconomic and macroeconomic evaluations of the JR programs published in other countries in a pre‐pandemic period, this paper studies how the generosity, responsiveness, governance and eligibility criteria of JobKeeper may shape its efficiency and equity. We show that expected benefits of JobKeeper may be limited by some negative economic effects of short‐time work subsidies. Locking employees in their current position potentially crowds out more efficient matches on the labour market. These displacement effects may slow down economic recovery. As a wage subsidy, JobKeeper distorts the relative wage and employment prospects between eligible and non‐eligible workers. These substitution effects can increase the dualization of the Australian labour market and institutionalise lay‐offs inequities for workers holding a temporary visa. Finally, we argue that subsidies for part‐time work also generate incentives for working time reorganisations that should be evaluated. JobKeeper is a short‐time work subsidy to reinforce the resilience of the Australian labour market during the pandemic. This paper studies how the generosity, responsiveness, governance and eligibility criteria of JobKeeper may shape its efficiency and equity. We analyse how expected benefits of JobKeeper may be impacted by displacement, substitution, deadweight effects and work reorganisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This work aims to explore staff perceptions of (1) the effectiveness of organizational communication during the COVID‐19 pandemic and (2) the impact of organizational communication on staff well‐being and ability to progress their work and patient care. Background: Effective coordination and communication are essential in a pandemic management response. However, the effectiveness of communication strategies used during the COVID‐19 pandemic is not well understood. Design: An exploratory cross‐sectional research design was used. A 33‐item survey tool was created for the study. Methods: The study was conducted at a tertiary teaching hospital in Western Australia. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants from nursing, medical, allied health services, administrative and clerical, and personal support services (N = 325). Data were collected between December 2020 and May 2021. Results: Overall, all occupational groups found working during the COVID‐19 pandemic stressful, and all groups wanted accessible and accurate communication from management and new policies, procedures, and protocols for future outbreaks. Conclusions: The use of occupational group‐relevant strategies and COVID‐19 protocols, as well as the on‐going use of email, face‐to‐face meetings with debrief sessions, are needed to improve communication and support staff to fulfil their roles. Summary statement: What is already known about the topic? Effective coordination and communication that is timely and two‐way in nature, is an essential part of a pandemic management response. What this paper adds? All occupational groups found working during the COVID‐19 pandemic stressful; all groups wanted accessible and accurate communication from management and new policies, procedures, and protocols for future outbreaks. The implications of this paper: Managing a pandemic situation in health care settings is challenging for all levels of staff including management and all occupational work groups.The use of occupational group‐relevant strategies and COVID‐19 protocols, as well as the on‐going use of email, face‐to‐face meetings with debrief sessions, are needed to improve communication and support staff to fulfil their roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to report on enablers and barriers during the first 2 years of the health systems integration project that included the implementation of a health navigator role. The project aims to improve health outcomes for children and young people residing in out of home care in rural Australia with a health navigator co‐located between child protection practitioners and community health services clinicians. Setting: Rural Northwest Victoria. Participants: Sunraysia Community Health Services and the Department of Health and Human Services. Design: The qualitative design of the project evaluation involved semi‐structured interviews and documentary evidence analysis. Analyses of interviews and documentary data demonstrate the challenging nature of siloed service delivery in rural Australia, particularly during a time that comprised multiple interruptions due to COVID‐19. Results: A limited synergy between organisational priorities and reporting systems hindered project progress. The lack of a shared definition of 'health' challenged the effective collaboration between health clinicians and child protection practitioners and the role of the health navigator. The health navigator raising health awareness through project involvement, training and sector‐wide stakeholder engagement resulted in a slow but steady process of increased prioritisation of health care, increased health literacy among the child protection workforce, and broadening participation of area‐based stakeholders, but did not translate to increased access to health plans for children. Conclusion: Integrating health systems across multiple sites with support of a health navigator revealed difficulties, particularly during COVID‐19. The first phase of the project demonstrated the value of shared governance and partnerships as an imperative foundation for fundamental change. Relationships strengthened throughout the project, leading to a better understanding of area‐based strengths, which in turn supports improved pathways to health care for children and young people in OOHC within rural communities and driving the subsequent phases of the 10‐year project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we review health governance during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have an opportunity to reflect on these processes and ensure that future challenges might be managed in a more collaborative and whole of system response. This 'Perspective' reviews COVID-19 responses in Australia, reflects on a number of potential solutions that have been developed by organisations over the past two decades and proffers a governance framework for a Communicable Disease and Pandemic Management Authority that might assist health responses to future challenges. What is known about the topic? Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were at best disorganised with multiple failures at almost every level. Reflecting on these responses is essential if we are to perform better in future health and societal crises, which will inevitably occur. What does this paper add? This paper summarises a number of organisational 'structures' and discussion documents that have been developed over the past decades which might be useful starting points for development of a structure(s) that would leave Australia in a better position when the next 'wave' hits. What are the implications for practitioners? Good governance is fundamental to how we do business and the complexities of the health and welfare system(s) only compound these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilient healthcare (RHC) emphasises the importance of adaptive capacity to respond to unanticipated crises such as the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic but there are few examples of RHC research focusing on the decisions taken by macro level policy makers. The Smaggus et al paper analyses the actions of two governments in Canada and Australia as described in media releases from a resilience perspective. The paper clearly articulates the need for conceptual clarity when analysing system resilience, and integrates three theoretical perspectives to understand the types of government responses and how they were related to resilience. The paper makes a valuable contribution to the developing RHC evidence base, but challenges remain in identifying conceptual frameworks, researching macro level resilience, including identifying and accessing reliable macro level data sources, analysing interactions between macro, meso and micro system levels, and understanding how resilience manifests at different temporal and spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic in late 2019 and in 2020 presented challenges to healthcare workers (HCW) around the world that were unexpected and dramatic. The relentless progress of infection, starting in China and rapidly spreading to Europe, North America and elsewhere gave more remote countries, like Australia, time to prepare but also time for unease. HCW everywhere had to readjust and change their work practices to cope. Further waves of infection and transmission with newer variants pose challenges to HCW and health systems, even after mass vaccination. Respiratory medicine HCW found themselves at the frontline, developing critical care services to support intensive care units and grappling with unanticipated concerns about safety, risk and the need to retrain. Several studies have addressed the need for rapid changes in the healthcare workforce for COVID‐19 and the impact of this preparation on HCW themselves. In this paper, we present a scoping review of the literature on preparing HCW for the pandemic, explore the Australian experience of building the respiratory workforce and propose evidence‐based recommendations to sustain this workforce in an unprecedented high‐risk environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Australian visual arts sector. We base our analysis on the responses of over 1500 visual artists and arts workers to a survey conducted by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), the national peak body for the visual and media arts, craft and design sector in September 2021. NAVA employed this online survey to study the relationship between the pandemic and both the incomes and mental health of artists and arts workers. Using regression analysis, we find that there has been a significant impact for both artists and arts workers, with the severity of the impacts varying by gender, age and the availability of state‐based and Australian Government support programmes. Reduced hours and loss of contracted work and commissions due to the pandemic were both related to declines in income and mental health outcomes for artists and for arts workers. Housing stress was associated with a higher likelihood of a significant or extreme mental health impact for artists and arts workers. In addition, artists' incomes and mental health outcomes were impacted when faced with a reduced ability to sell, although some artists were able to increase their online profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency declarations are important legal tools for the state to protect itself and its citizens during times of crisis. Such declarations permit the exercise of extraordinary powers to address an emergency or disaster. They present an opportunity to explore policy learning in crises, through the ability to examine emergency declaration instruments and the detail of post‐emergency inquiries and reviews. This paper briefly assesses Australian law that provides for emergency declarations and places it in the context of theories of policy learning and change. Two case studies reveal evidence of policy learning in emergency declaration practice in Australia. There is an emerging practice of using declarations primarily or purely as tools to communicate the seriousness of an emergency. This policy learning has occurred both within and between jurisdictions, including the federal government. This paper also probes opportunities for future research on policy learning and emergency legislation, especially in relation to the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses Australia as a case study to analyse restrictions on international movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on inbound and outbound travel have been a key tool deployed by governments across the globe to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic. We use 'COVID zero' Australia as a case study to assess an extreme response to restricting international movement. We look at the recent complaint launched before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The action was raised with the support of a group of Australian citizens stranded abroad with the assistance of the expert in Australian constitutional law who is the second author of this paper. We argue that the measures implemented by Australian governments to effectively eliminate COVID-19 domestically have provided insufficient consideration of, and alternatives to, the current system's failure to facilitate essential international travel. For this reason, Australia's framework for restricting international movement lacks proportionality and necessity from the perspective of human rights and freedoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Based on the Australian context, we highlight how women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities are vulnerable to Domestic and Family Violence (DFV). During the pandemic, CALD women experienced inequality in relation to DFV support and services. In this paper, our methodology is based on a case study from a rapid review of academic and grey literature that privileged the lived experience of CALD women affected by the pandemic. From a critical social work perspective, we explored the newly emerging literature highlighting DFV for CALD communities during the pandemic. Our research highlights an increase in DFV incidents, frequency and severity of incidents against CALD women, limited access to DFV services, and that women on Temporary and Humanitarian Visas (THV) were more likely to be subjected to DFV. We support the urgent need to include women's services in developing appropriate policy responses to address the specific issues facing women, particularly those on THV. Critical social work perspectives can be utilised to build on and support the response of services during the COVID pandemic to promote social and policy change, and increased access to services. This support can be implemented by workforce initiatives, dedicated resources and community engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public protest continued to represent a prominent form of social activism in democratic societies during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Australia, a lack of specific legislation articulating protest rights has meant that, in the context of pandemic restrictions, such events have been treated as illegal mass gatherings. Numerous large protests in major cities have, indeed, stirred significant public debate regarding rights of assembly during COVID-19 outbreaks. The ethics of infringing on protest rights continues to be controversial, with opinion divided as to whether public health goals or human rights should take precedence. This paper applies public health ethical theory to an in-depth analysis of arguments on both sides of the debate. Using the Nuffield Council on Bioethics framework as a backdrop, proportionality and necessity of restrictions are understood as key concepts that are common to both public health and human rights perspectives. The analysis presented here finds a middle-ground between the prevailing arguments on opposing sides and is further able to rationalize the use of protest itself as an important element of a mature public health ethics response to restrictive policy. Thus, this paper aims to influence public health policy and legislation regarding protest rights during public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 brings increased risk to the mental health of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia on temporary visas. Rapid government changes due to the COVID‐19 pandemic are resulting in significant and sustained hardship on this already vulnerable group. This discursive paper is both an explainer and a resource for mental health nurses and health professionals with scope of practice in primary care and emergency departments responding to this population. The aim of this paper is to alert clinicians to the drivers of mental and suicide related distress and to provide recommendations as to how to therapeutically engage and support this group. Drivers include complex intersections between legal uncertainty, economic, social and mental health stress as drivers of entrapment, acute mental distress and suicidal ideation. Information about the COVID‐19 related factors as drivers contributing to worsening states of distress may help guide clinicians to consider protective factors designed to mitigate the onset or worsening of mental distress, plus aid in the development of health policy and service‐delivery arrangements of support and therapeutic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will identify existing models of professional regulatory reform that could ensure a single licensing process that results in multi-jurisdictional licensure. The paper will also distinguish models or ad hoc arrangements that fail to achieve such a result. This is a timely topic in Canada because its professional regulatory framework is being examined for modernization. The Canadian professional regulatory framework for health care providers is a legacy of the Constitution of 1867. It can be characterized as a Federation of 13 different jurisdictional systems with each province or territory having exclusive jurisdiction over regulation of its health professionals. This results in differing entry to practice requirements, standards of practice, classes or categories of registration and transfer criteria for eligibility from other provinces. The United States nursing state board regulators, the Australian Commonwealth, and their state governments have moved from their original regulatory frameworks to modern ones. Their models are more supportive of mobility, cross-border virtual care, education, and health provider professional development and well-being. Aside from recent discussions in the 4 Canadian Atlantic provinces, there has been little will, effort, or advancement to modernize the regulatory framework in Canada to support multi-jurisdictional licensure. This paper aims to briefly describe 6 existing models that support multijurisdictional licensure. In the fall of 2022, the 4 Atlantic Premiers (akin to state Governors in the US) asked each of their medical regulatory authority (akin to State Medical Boards) to develop a licensing system such that physicians could practice in all 4 Atlantic provinces without the need to acquire multiple licenses. Two models will be discussed that meet this recently stated objective of the Atlantic Premiers while the others do not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the ways that industries survived the COVID-19 pandemic can teach us a great deal about the resilience of value chains, the ways value chain dynamics shape worker resilience, and the measures states can adopt to support both. In this paper we critically examine the thriving body of theory known broadly as supply chain resilience and explore a branch that embraces socio-ecological perspectives. We first develop a theoretical model that takes what we perceive to be the most fruitful elements of these literatures for industrial relations scholarship and bring it together with approaches tangential to industrial relations concerned with value chain actor and worker agency and resilience. We then apply this model in an analysis of the Australian commercial cleaning sector during the pandemic. Finally, we assess federal and state measures to assist and "buffer" employment and the economy in Australia, including JobKeeper and JobSeeker. We find that these government measures, combined with earlier restructuring of the labour market and restrictive immigration policies, provided the institutional scaffolding for the failure of the cleaning industry during the pandemic, exactly when cleaning became an essential service for the resilience of the whole of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, acceptance, and unmet informational needs in a cancer population during the first phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rollout in Australia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a large tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia, between 10 May and 31 July 2021. The survey assessed health beliefs, experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and informational needs. Results: COVID-19 was perceived to be a significant threat to both physical and mental health. While 57.9% (n = 110) of respondents believed the COVID-19 vaccines were safe and 64.2% (n = 122) believed they were effective, more than half (52.6%; n = 100) agreed that they worried about vaccine side effects. Most respondents (84.2%; n = 160) planned to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; however, feelings of hesitancy remained. There was a statistically significant association between those aged under 60 years (P = 0.003), those with previous vaccine hesitancy (P = 0.000), those who felt they had not received adequate information (P = 0.000) and vaccine hesitancy. Requested information pertained to interactions with cancer treatments, those with a history of blood clotting and information for those undergoing bone marrow transplantation. Conclusions: There is a need for tailored COVID-19 vaccine communication that is responsive to the concerns of people with cancer. This will be beneficial during current and future vaccination rollouts. What is known about topic? People with cancer are a COVID-19 vaccine priority group, as they are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality from this disease. There is currently a dearth of information regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, acceptance, or informational needs for this population. What does this paper add? This paper has shown that although vaccine refusal rates were low in this population, feelings of hesitancy remained. Women, those in younger age categories, those with previous vaccine hesitancy and those who felt they had not received adequate information had stronger vaccine hesitancy and higher refusal rates. What are the implications for practitioners? There is a need for tailored information and open communication regarding COVID-19 vaccines and people with cancer. There is an opportunity to build upon established relationships of trust between cancer patients and their clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic precipitated a major shift in the use of telehealth in Australia. The changes highlighted gaps in our knowledge regarding the efficacy of, and clinician attitudes to, the use of telehealth. The current study expands and deepens the available evidence as a result of being collected in unique circumstances that removed one of the major barriers (lack of Medicare rebates) and also one major enablers (willingness) of telehealth uptake. Methods: Using a semi-structured interview, we invited clinicians (N = 39) to share their perspectives, attitudes and experiences of using telehealth. Topics covered included perceptions of the strengths and challenges of telehealth, and how experience of using telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic had influenced clinicians' views and intentions regarding their future practice. Participants included clinicians from five disciplines across public and private practice: paediatrics, neurology, immunology, rural general practice, and orthopaedics. Results: We found three key dimensions for consideration when assessing the suitability of telehealth for ongoing practice: the attributes of the patient population, the attributes of the clinical context and environment, and the risks and benefits of a telehealth approach. These findings map to the existing literature and allow us to infer that the experiences of clinicians who previously would have chosen telehealth did not differ significantly from those of our 'pandemic-conscripted' clinicians. Conclusions: Our findings map clearly to the existing literature and allow us to infer that the experiences of the clinicians who have chosen telehealth (and are already represented in the literature) did not differ significantly from those trying out telehealth under the unique circumstances of the removal of the Medicare Benefits Scheme barrier and external pressure that over-rides the 'willingness' enabling factor in uptake decisions. What is known about the topic? Clinician and patient experiences of telehealth use have already been documented in contexts where both clinician and patient have opted-in to that process. What does this paper add? The paper adds data on clinician experience across a range of specialities, from a context (pandemic public-heath measures) where the choice element was reduced for both patient and clinician. What are the implications for practitioners? The data speak to the generalisability of existing evidence, but also provide practical considerations in planning for the inclusion of telehealth for specialist health services in the Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper provides the main accomplishments of the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) Pharmacy Department's COVID‐19 Pandemic Response Plan and key recommendations for other departments developing a remote model of care. Methods: The overall objective was to preserve the active workforce by minimising staff‐to‐staff and staff‐to‐patient contact. The response plan involved splitting the department into teams, implementing a remote ward‐based clinical pharmacy service, staff upskilling and optimising the physical environment. Results: In April 2020, 1240 clinical tasks were completed remotely compared with 1254 tasks completed on site. In May 2020, 1700 tasks were completed offsite, compared with 1544 tasks onsite. The percentage of pharmacists rating themselves 5 out of 5 (very confident) in communicating over the phone increased from 34.8% prior to remote service delivery, to 60% after completion of the service. Counselling patients over the phone increased from 17.4% to 40% while providing remote clinical service increased from 26.1% to 80%. Discussion: The paper provides key recommendations for other sites wanting to implement a remote model of care. There are details of recommendations for communication, adequate skill mix, upskilling, education, training, staff resilience, role expansion and administration. Conclusion: The formation of a team hospital pharmacy department COVID‐19 Pandemic Response Plan has provided assurance that a complete pharmacy service could continue in the event of reduced staffing. Intense, thoughtful, collaborative work was required in a short period of time to design an appropriate physical environment, create a remote working model of care, and to train and educate members of staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how a stochastic disruptive event can dramatically alter community soundscapes. Whilst religious bells have symbolism in many worldwide faiths, the sound emanating from church bells can be considered public domain and therefore, is not exclusive to the church. Pandemic-related interruption of these sounds impacts not only the church involved, but both the surrounding soundscape and any members of the community who ascribe value to these sounds. This paper examines the soundscape of Christian churches in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, to give an Australian perspective one year after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. It provides an update of the situation in Australia, building on our previous work from August of that year. In doing so, it explores the activity of church tower bell ringing, and how this "non-essential" activity has been affected, both during and subsequent to the heavy community restrictions applied in Australia. The paper also explores what lengths bellringers have undertaken to be permitted to conduct such activities, such as the use of adaptive measures due to "social distancing", and considers what implications this enforced silence has in similar soundscapes elsewhere in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood (EC) professionals are valuable educators and teachers, and their work involves being caregivers, yet the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the lack of 'caring about' and 'for' EC professionals. With the increasing focus on educator wellbeing, this paper explores how eight EC professionals understand the role of care for their wellbeing. Drawing upon a feminist ethics of care, this paper interrogates the role of care in the everyday professional work lives of educators. The findings reveal that while EC professionals understand the importance of self-care, however, their self-care is more likely to be prioritised when it is promoted by leadership (e.g., centre directors, organisational). This study also found that EC professionals need to receive care through recognition by parents, centre leaders and colleagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early case detection is critical to preventing onward transmission of COVID-19 by enabling prompt isolation of index infections, and identification and quarantining of contacts. Timeliness and completeness of ascertainment depend on the surveillance strategy employed. This paper presents modelling used to inform workplace testing strategies for the Australian government in early 2021. We use rapid prototype modelling to quickly investigate the effectiveness of testing strategies to aid decision making. Models are developed with a focus on providing relevant results to policy makers, and these models are continually updated and improved as new questions are posed. Developed to support the implementation of testing strategies in high risk workplace settings in Australia, our modelling explores the effects of test frequency and sensitivity on outbreak detection. We start with an exponential growth model, which demonstrates how outbreak detection changes depending on growth rate, test frequency and sensitivity. From the exponential model, we learn that low sensitivity tests can produce high probabilities of detection when testing occurs frequently. We then develop a more complex Agent Based Model, which was used to test the robustness of the results from the exponential model, and extend it to include intermittent workplace scheduling. These models help our fundamental understanding of disease detectability through routine surveillance in workplaces and evaluate the impact of testing strategies and workplace characteristics on the effectiveness of surveillance. This analysis highlights the risks of particular work patterns while also identifying key testing strategies to best improve outbreak detection in high risk workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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