LAUSR

The Australian public health community has long advocated for increased investment in health promotion and prevention.1–5 This has paralleled advocacy from consumer groups and has frequently included calls for a much sharper focus on health equity and action on the social, political, economic, environmental and commercial determinants of health.6–11 The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has cast a glaring spotlight on health and social inequities experienced by vulnerable and marginalised populations worldwide, particularly those living in poverty.12–16 These observations have been noted in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere across the globe. In some instances, it has exacerbated already well-documented health inequities,12,15–18 such as those relating to race and ethnicity,19–24 socio-economic status,25 homelessness,26–28 disability29 and ageing.30 In other instances, it has created new and unforeseen inequities, particularly with respect to education and employment.16,18,31,32 In Australia, concerns have been raised about the disproportionate impact of vulnerable populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,33,34 homeless people,26 migrant and refugee populations,35,36 people with a disability29 and those living in rural and remote communities.37 These concerns are genuine and clearly require thoughtful health (and social) policy and practice responses. In July 2020, the Consumer Health Forum of Australia established the Consumer Commission: Beyond COVID-19. The general premise of the Consumer Commission was to contribute views and ideas about the future of the Australian health and social care system. Thirty Commissioners met through online workshops on multiple occasions over the past few months to discuss topics such as mental health and wellbeing; integration and care co-ordination; digital health; and health equity. A series of communiques have been developed based on these discussions. The health equity discussion held on 12 August 2020 highlighted the following positive changes that occurred as a result of COVID-19 (39, p2):