There will be people in Australia for whom the indirect impacts of COVID19 could be as dire as the virus itself.
These people include:
- People at risk of or experiencing family violence or elder abuse
- Children at risk of child protection concerns and families engaged in the child protection system
- People locked into inadequate housing that underpins poor health, for instance, mould in public or rental housing that drives respiratory problems, or overcrowding that may increase the spread of infection, both of which could be fatal in the context of COVID19)
- People living with disability who rely on personal support services.
Recently announced Australian Government funding for mental health and family violence services is welcome recognition that these are key areas of support needed right now. However, our work with health justice partnerships tells us that these measures need to go further for people for whom phone lines and counselling are not going to protect them from the worst of the social impacts of COVID19.
We recommend:
- The development of a frontline workforce to mitigate the indirect impacts of COVID19 for people where those indirect impacts may be as dire as the virus itself.
- That governments work with legal assistance service representatives to determine the level of funding needed to provide legal assistance for issues arising due to the COVID19 crisis and its aftermath, for the many more people now eligible for it.
- A working or sub-group within the National COVID19 Coordination Commission be established as a standing process through the COVID19 crisis, with a cross-section of both government and non-government stakeholders across the services; and a remit to identify and resolve problems early and effectively.