Welfare Law: Australian Government's Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

This essay discusses the welfare laws in Australia and how they helped the government in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It explains the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the acts that were introduced, including the Health and Welfare Act 1987, Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020, and Social Security Act 1991. The essay also discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and how the government provided economic relief to individuals and organizations.

WELFARE LAW

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Welfare laws are the laws that has been formed in order to help government in taking
care of needs of sates and society. These laws leads upon making welfare programs conducted
through which improvement is done within society and state. In this laws is been formed as per
the needs existing within society. Such laws has helped in dealing with various issues which is
related to COVID 19 pandemic. Also welfare laws leads towards development of proper
framework which is been used by government of Australia to deal with COVID 19 pandemic
which leads towards welfare and economic stability goals to be achieved in affective manner.
The essay presented below is dealing over those aspects which makes Australian government
deal over those aspects which has resulted in causing recovery during the COVID 19 pandemic
situation. In the end of the essay acts and legislations has been discussed that is used for dealing
with issues related to economy.
MAIN BODY
Australians has faced various challenges in relation to its health and well being since the
staring of COVID 19. As COVID-19, a viral respiratory infection, spread across the world, the
first cases were recorded in Australia on 25 January 2020. Since this was spreading through out
Australia which made its government formed National Cabinet and ministers made federal and
state territory work upon developing health system that lead over developing various rules in
order to reduce the spread. As per this new and improved treatment facilities is been developed
with protective equipment, testing facilities, contact tracing and quarantine systems, including
hotel quarantine arrangements also. Further the health agency of Australia that is AIHW which
made testing to be done to find out active cases of COVID 19 within the country. As per the
restrictions that has been formed by me has made suspension of operations and conduct tests at
large scale. Also these agencies made various kinds of rules to be implied which include
awareness over wearing masks, using sanitizers and focus upon boosting immunity. Life
standards of people got impacted since there movement was reduced due to lock down for longer
time period. Companies started focusing more on e commerce since physical contact was not
allowed. Further social contract was only possible through electronic media which made concept
of social distancing popular. Then offices were allowed to work at low strength more focus was
over work form home. This impacted economic condition of Australia in order to cope up with

its government formed two new policies which are Health and Welfare Act 1987, Economic
Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 and Social Security Act 1991 this made economy to be
stabilized during pandemic situation. These acts has helped in making welfare system of
Australia more effective in nature and has helped the country in creating satisfaction related to
health care in society. Further the Bill proposes to reduce the administrative burden on all
parties, including the Health Insurance Commission, insurers and claimants, while ensuring that
the Commonwealth can continue to identify and recover debt owed to it by successful
claimants(Fordyce, 2017). So, the act is mainly focused upon making an health facilities
improved within Australia.
Another act is there which is Health and Welfare Act 1987 the act has been formed in
order to lead over formation of Australian Institute of health and welfare which helped in
developing welfare in relation to health and safety of individual in society. This is national
agency which provides information upon health and welfare through statistics. It has helped in
developing data over various kinds of health issues that is existing within country. Also this
institute has helped government in discussing various kinds issues related to health welfare
within society that made policies formed as per condition existing within states and
territories(Lees, 2018). In constitution of Australia health and welfare services is the primary
motive of government formed over state and territories this possible with the help of statistics
that is been provided by Australian Institute of health and welfare which makes consistency
within national, state and territory developed through producing high quality of national data
with clear standards. It has released around two hundred plus reports and makes data analysis
covered about seventy five health and welfare topics. This is recognized over both national and
international statistics that is expertise and proven over track record which provides high quality
over independent evidences. This institute is been managed by data holdings and unmatched
knowledge of data that is based over health and welfare sector of Australia. The vision is based
over providing strong evidences in order to makes better decision developed over health and
welfare. In this Australian Institute of health and welfare has been offering range of services
which makes development over making data used for the right purpose since the services is
based upon improvements of health needs. It also offers a suite of products including brief and
detailed reports, data visualisation tools and data downloads to meet the different needs of their
audiences. It has been developed within the Health and Welfare Act 1987. This is one of the

major development which is been made by the act and has provided information related to health
and services(Mink, 2018). Further the act has lead over collection of data regarding cases related
to COVID 19 within Australia which made Australian government analysed its impact upon the
spending within various sectors.
Another Bill is been introduced that is Economic Response Package Omnibus Act
2020 (Cth) and Social Security Act 1991 as per the act various kinds of relief packages is been
formed by government in order to makes impact of COVID 19 reduced over society. The act has
helped federal government in making better economic response achieve in more effective form
the COVI 19 pandemic. As the outbreak of pandemic within Australia has impacted total of $320
billion that has affected GDP growth drastically(Pavone, 2020). Since the outbreak was at its
peak on 23rd March 2020 various packages is been launched which makes economic stability
attained in more effective way(Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020).
As the package was announced in they year 2020 government has provided help of $189 billion
which has made GDP growth possible to an extent. This made supporting employer and
businesses that is been affected through outbreak of COVID 19. The Scheme that is been
introduced within this was Job Keeper Scheme which has allowed eligible employers who are
significantly been the outbreak of COVID 19 made government provided subsidy over
continuing paying its employees. The subsidy that has been given to employees is $1,500 per
fortnight and Job Keeper scheme has been formed within which helps is been provided of $130
billion. The legislation has been passed in order to help job keepers in the time of COVID 19.
also the act has resulted in causing great helps which has resulted in making employee free from
economic burden during the pandemic times. This establish the Job Keeper Scheme and specify
details about the scheme. For more information on the Job Keeper Scheme. Further on 21st July
2020 the federal government has been announcing over extension upon scheme till 28 March
2021(Stojanovic, 2019). In this now reduce rate with subject to key modifications over employer
entity eligibility and quantum of payments which is been made up to 28 September 2020 to 3
January 2021 which is phase one(Federal government economic response to COVID-19 ). Also
employer must meet relevant continuing decline within its turnover June and September 2020
quarters and from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021. During this phases various key changes
were been made in temporary relief for financially distressed entities within which the
stimulation package provides temporary relief in relation to insolvency taken place for business

entities. Also relief in relation to creditors is been provided from $2,000 to $20,000 and to attain
this 21 days to six months is been provided. Also tax free payments of $100,000 for SME and
non profit organizations with minimum payment of $20,000 to its employees. In this way federal
government has provided help within COVID 19 pandemic situation.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it can be concluded that welfare laws are the laws which is
been used in order to make social, economic and environmental welfare done within country of
Australia. Then in this essay concept of welfare system and acts included within Australia's
welfare state is been introduced. Also essay explains about Australian Institute of health and
welfare that has helped in collecting data over health issues and COVID 19 cases analysed in
proper manner. It lead over preparing two acts which has helped in making guidelines and
economic relief provided to bot individual and organization within Australia.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Broom, D.M., 2017. Animal welfare in the European Union. Animal welfare in the European
Union.
Burridge, C., 2021. Sethina Watson, On Hospitals: Welfare, Law, and Christianity in Western
Europe, 400-1320, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. xix+ 376.£ 80. Hdbk.
ISBN 978-0-1988-4753-3. Social History of Medicine.
Christoffersen, L., 2018. The changing position of the individual in Danish welfare law. In
Responsible Selves (pp. 131-154).
Fordyce, P.S., 2017. Welfare, law and ethics in the veterinary intensive care unit:(A discussion
of the different types of suffering that patients may endure in the veterinary intensive
care unit, the legal limits to that suffering, and the ethics underpinning at what point that
suffering becomes ‘un-necessary’). Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia, 44(2),
pp.203-211
Lees, W., 2018. Toward a harmonized approach to animal welfare law in Canada—A comment.
The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 59(5), p.459.
Mink, G., 2018. 8. Aren't Poor Single Mothers Women? Feminists, Welfare Reform, and
Welfare Justice. In Whose welfare? (pp. 171-188). Cornell University Press.
Pavone, I.R., 2020. Towards an EU Animal Welfare Law: The Case of Animal Testing and the
Limits of New Welfarism. J. Animal & Nat. Resource L., 16, p.193.
Stojanovic, N.D., 2019. Ten Years of the Animal Welfare Law of the Republic of Serbia.
Zbornik Radova, 53, p.445.
ONLINE: Federal government economic response to COVID-19:
<https://content.next.westlaw.com>
ONLINE: Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020:
<https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2020A00022>