This report outlines the health, social, and economic costs associated with three different scenarios: widespread COVID-19 infections, lockdowns, and low-level community transmission. It argues that Australia can minimise the costs to the community over time by taking steps to drive active COVID-19 cases down to zero, in line with the goal set by the National...

Australia’s governments are rightly spending record amounts trying to cushion Australian workers and businesses from the worst impacts of this unprecedented crisis. This paper shows that the economic shock from COVID-19 is going to be so big that more support will be needed.