In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached Australia’s shores and caused significant disruption throughout the country. Few organisations had plans for a pandemic of this nature, duration and scale and government, business and community alike grappled with the impacts.

For Queensland local governments, capacity to respond effectively and appropriately varied depending on a range of factors. This handbook seeks to identify the approaches and processes which led to the most optimal outcomes for council and their communities and to capture the lessons learnt from the pandemic response so that future councils can be better prepared.

This analysis was commissioned by LGMA, the professional body for local government officers in Queensland, and undertaken by Gary Stevenson of Stevenson Consulting. Gary is a career local government officer and was CEO of a Queensland local government during the first year of the pandemic.

This handbook is presented in three sections:

• The overview outlines the progress of the pandemic and how councils and others responded.
• The Council Case Studies profile six Queensland councils that each faced a different COVID-19 environment.
• The Pandemic Management Framework provides a matrix of best practice mitigation and response activities and includes templates and reference material. This section is designed to assist local government practitioners.

This Handbook was announced by Gary at the 2022 Local Government Conference in Gladstone.
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