The joint governance arrangements established by Local Hospital Networks (LHNs), Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and other stakeholders at the regional level should be an explicit structure in the national, state and regional frameworks for planning and responding in times of health emergencies and disasters. Needs assessments, planning, service integration, evaluation and funding for the response at a local level should be led through these joint governance arrangements, where the roles and responsibilities of the broad range of service providers can be defined for activation in a timely manner.
As evidenced in the coordinated response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the rapid activation of a National Cabinet, consisting of federal, state and territory representation, offered a mechanism to ensure a strong coordinated multi‐level national response to emergencies, reflective of regional diversity. The National Cabinet has allowed state, territory and federal governments to share information and align action to
implement a coherent strategy reactive to the emergent demands of the rapidly evolving emergency, yet has maintained mechanisms of regional decision making autonomy.