The COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2020 was not something that any government planned for or was entirely prepared for. Yet, planning for disasters is something that governments regularly have done
and continue to do. This is necessary, and at all levels, disaster planning is permanently part of the business of all governments in Australia.
Since the pandemic struck every level of society, this paper features a federal perspective and two state perspectives on how governments and government agencies planned for disasters in general, and specifically
how they coped with COVID-19, both prior to or during its manifestation.
