Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned: findings and what happened next
New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons for a future pandemic, examined in two phases.
- Country
- New Zealand
- Type
- royal commission
- Established
- 1 February 2023
- Chaired by
- Grant Illingworth KC (Phase Two chair), Professor Tony Blakely (Phase One)
- Report published
- 10 March 2026
- Recommendations
- 63
Implementation, as of 28 September 2026In July 2026 the government accepted all 63 recommendations in some form and said the Ministry of Health would lead delivery.
What the inquiry found
- The Phase One report, released on 28 November 2024, made 39 primary recommendations, starting with a central agency function to coordinate all of government pandemic preparedness.3,1
- The Phase Two report found the early elimination strategy saved lives but that the country was poorly prepared and the response was largely balanced but late, according to RNZ.4
- Phase Two said the shift to suppression was "far from smooth" and that the Auckland lockdown at the end of 2021 ran longer than needed.4
- Phase Two said "More comprehensive and robust response strategies should have been in preparation much earlier."4
- The commission said roughly half of the 60 billion dollar response and recovery stimulus was unrelated to the pandemic, according to RNZ.4
Key recommendations
- Phase One made 39 recommendations and Phase Two made 24, which the government response treated as 63 recommendations in total.3,4,6
- Phase One recommended accountability mechanisms to protect democratic and human rights during a pandemic response and a plan for financial assistance schemes.3
What happened next
- The Phase One report was completed and delivered.3,7
- The full suite of reports from both phases was submitted to the Governor-General and the inquiry concluded.7
- The Phase Two report was released, and Health Minister Simeon Brown said responses to both phases would be tabled by July.4,2
- The government said it accepted all 63 recommendations in some form, 21 in full, 36 in principle and six partially, with the Ministry of Health leading delivery.6,5
- The government response said key advice behind key decisions would be proactively released within a maximum of five working days in a future pandemic, and that the Health Act 1956 would be reviewed in its entirety rather than a standalone pandemic law passed.5,6
Read the report: www.covid19lessons.royalcommission.nz/
Sources
- Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned, Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned (28 September 2026)
- Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned, Meet the Commissioners
- RNZ, What are the recommendations of the Covid-19 inquiry? (28 November 2024)
- RNZ, Covid-19 response inquiry finds government's response effective but late, poorly communicated (10 March 2026)
- New Zealand Government (beehive.govt.nz), Government Response to the New Zealand Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned (July 2026)
- Otago Daily Times (RNZ), Govt accepts all Covid-19 inquiry's recommendations 'in some form' (29 July 2026)
- Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned, Inquiry timeline