Public management challenges with the emergency response for people with disability during COVID-19

For a variety of clinical and structural reasons, people with disability are at more risk in a pandemic context than those without disability - from the communicable disease itself, from other associated health risks, and from the social and economic consequences of mitigation measures. In Australia, pandemic risks for people with disability have arguably been enhanced due to recent policy trajectories, in particular reforms to increase the personalisation of disability services via individual funding mechanisms. In this chapter, we first explore the reasons behind why people with disability might fare worse in a pandemic than the general population and discuss how the move toward individualised funding in a market-based system has, while improving the lives of many, potentially put people with disability at further risk in a pandemic context. We then consider in detail two public management issues that have posed a challenge for meeting the needs of people with disability during COVID-19: working across boundaries, and policy capacity. We conclude that these perennial public management challenges require greater attention if people with disability are not to be disproportionately impacted again in future pandemics and crises.