Australians' Well-Being and Resilience During COVID-19

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the coronavirus (COVID-19) was a global pandemic. On 14 March 2020, Australia reached its first 100 cases. By 12 November 2020, almost 28,000 total cases and nearly 1,000 deaths had been recorded. In response, Australian state and federal governments enacted border closures, social distancing measures and lockdowns to curtail the impacts of the pandemic. Anecdotal reports have pointed to the negative impacts of these physical measures on Australians’ well-being and resilience; however, these potential impacts have been under-examined and empirical evidence is lacking. This report presents findings of a national survey of Australians 16 years and over (N = 1,380) conducted in November 2020 to examine Australians’ well-being and resilience within the COVID-19 pandemic context, and the factors that promoted and hindered their well-being and resilience. By the end of October 2020, the Victorian lockdown of 112 days was the longest continuous lockdown period in the world (BBC News, 2020) and was a critical time period for Australia. Given that COVID-19 is still a concern, and in preparation for future crises, these findings should be considered in the context of recovery and boosting the resilience of all Australians.