The Situation

2020 began with two major crises- an unprecedented bushfire season in Australia, and a growing epidemic in China. Just as the bushfires were brought under control in Australia, the epidemic began spreading rapidly across the globe, ballooning into a pandemic as cases numbers grew rapidly in Italy and Iran.

A ban on travel from China to Australia instituted by the Australian Federal Government on the 31st of January signalled the first major disruption to the 2020 academic year. Not only were many new and returning undergraduates facing the prospect of not being able to get to campus before the start of the semester, but many graduate research students and academics who had travelled home for the holidays were potentially facing a long wait to return to their universities.

In early March the COVID-19 novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. In rapid succession countries started instituting social distancing measures and lockdowns, screening and quarantining of international arrivals, and the progressive closure of borders.

27th Feb: Australian Government acknowledges COVID19 as a pandemic.

Across the world, the impacts of COVID-19 have been felt both directly and indirectly. Thousands of lives have been lost, many have lost their jobs, and others have been separated from loved ones by border closures. However, there have also been myriad indirect impacts, such as increased anxiety, depression, a sense of helplessness, loss of social contact, and loss of routine.

This report documents the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on graduate research students enrolled at Australian universities. It paints a complex picture of the direct and indirect impacts of this public health crisis on the ability of GR students to conduct normal research activities. It is intended as a call to action for Australian universities to step-up and support this next generation of emerging scholars.