Public Submissions To The COVID-19 Inquiry Close On Sunday 27 April 2025 At Midnight

Phase Two has been directed to review key decisions in certain areas made by the New Zealand Government between February 2021 and October 2022. A key decision is a decision made by the Government that has a significant impact on a large number of people or that has a significant cost at a regional or national level (or both).

The Inquiry has been asked to review key decisions regarding:

• Vaccines, specifically mandates, approvals, and vaccine safety.
• Lockdowns, specifically the lockdowns of late 2021/early 2022.
• Testing, tracing, and other public health tools, like RAT tests.

By reviewing these decisions, the Inquiry will be able to provide recommendations to the Government on how Aotearoa New Zealand could better prepare for and manage any future pandemics.

We want to hear from you about how key decisions (like the use of longer lockdowns, or making RAT tests free, for example) in the areas listed above affected or changed your life, or the lives of your whānau or friends.

You could tell us how these decisions by the Government had an effect on your work or business, your relationships, important life events, your health, or your education, for example.

Please tell us about your experiences in these areas during 2021 and 2022.

How to make a submission

To make a submission, visit www.covid19inquiry.nz or call 0800 500 306. Please note the call centre is closed on weekends and public holidays.

Making a submission is easy. You’ll be asked to read or listen to some information about the topics Phase Two is looking into, and then to share any experiences you have relating to those topics. You can either write your submission using our online form, write it in a Word document or PDF and attach it to the online submission form, or share it over the phone with our call centre staff.

After you have shared your experiences, we would appreciate you sharing some information about yourself. Providing this information is optional, but we really encourage you to share it. This information helps our Inquiry better understand your perspective and make sure we hear from a range of people. It also means we can contact you about your submission if we need to.

As well as English, submission forms and information about the process is available in te reo Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Hindi, Simplified Chinese, and NZSL. Information about making a submission is available in Easy Read, Braille, Audio, and Large Print. You can also use NZ Relay to contact the call centre.

If you have any questions or need help with your submission, please email us on InquiryintoCOVID-19lessons@dia.govt.nz. If you have any issues making a submission over the long weekend please let us know and we will make sure your submission is processed properly during the following week.

Thank you to everyone who has made a submission so far. Hearing from the public is vital to the work of the Inquiry as we build a picture of the COVID-19 response and develop recommendations to prepare for future pandemics.

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