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The Australian response to the threat of pandemic influenza is part of a broader shift in public health and governance. This shift in approach to risk - from insurance to preparedness - has been triggered by the emergence of incalculable, global, catastrophic risks. Familiar, insurance-driven approaches to governing risk work by intervening at the level of the population. However, incalculable risks of the scale posed by pandemic influenza exceed the scope of insurance. Now preparedness driven approaches are coming to the fore in public health. Preparedness focuses on protecting infrastructures and on guaranteeing the continuity of the political and economic order, and it entails discontinuous, temporal and localised expert responses. Importantly, this approach suggests that there is no need to look at the socio-historical contexts of disease; the population is of little direct concern. This, we suggest, raises doubts about how public health strategies which unfold in accordance with preparedness will recognise and tackle inequities. Finally, we consider the imperative to 'secure the nation' that preparedness brings to public health.

The NSW child health policy framework is informed by along and successful history of providing health services to children and their families, as well as recent policy developments at the national level.

The Schools as Community Centres Project is an innovative whole-of-government response in NSW to the needs of families with young children living in disadvantaged communities.

The NSW Health Department is currently developing a comprehensive child health policy, which is nearing completion. It will provide a framework for the health system to address the health care needs of children and provide child-focused and developmentally appropriate health services.