ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an ongoing health risk for First Nations people. The experience of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in Australia provided a catalyst for institutional change of governmental response to health risks for First Nations people in Australia. This experience allowed First Nations communities to gain control over their own responses to pandemics. This came into full effect during the COVID-19 pandemic. What resulted were few infections and no fatalities during 2020 for First Nations Australians. This reversed the position of a colonial heritage of governmental disease control. This model of self-determination can provide guidance for other First Nations populations in promoting community-controlled responses. The strength of this self-determination model will continue to be tested with the ongoing threat of COVID-19. Successive waves of COVID-19 in 2021 have placed increasing pressure on community health, and discriminatory policing has threatened wellbeing.
