An inquiry into Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic will examine how the nation secured its vaccines and supported people impacted by the lockdowns.
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In South Australia on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Health Minister Mark Butler announced a 12-month inquiry into the pandemic.
The three experts appointed to the panel are former NSW Department of Health director-general Robyn Kruk, Deakin University's chair in epidemiology Professor Catherine Bennett, and health economist Dr Angela Jackson.
A final report will be handed down by September 30 next year.
The terms of reference include the provision of vaccinations, treatments and key medical supplies to Australians, mental health support for those impacted by COVID-19 and lockdowns, financial support for individuals and businesses, and assistance for Australians abroad.
It will not probe individual state and territory decisions on lockdowns, or international programs and activities assisting foreign countries.
Mr Albanese said the inquiry needed to be "forward focused".
"We need a future made in Australia, we need to be more resilient, we need to be more prepared for this in the future, and that's precisely what this inquiry will be aimed at," he said.
Some federal opposition members have taken aim at the prime minister over whether a royal commission had been pledged.
But Mr Albanese refuted this, saying "no one promised a royal commission".
During the election campaign in May last year, Mr Albanese told reporters: "I support looking at it through a measure like a royal commission. We haven't finalised what the structure would be."
Mr Albanese said on Thursday royal commissions took longer to be completed.
Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said any review without the power to compel state and territory leaders would be a waste of time.
"It's a protection racket for the states and territories and potentially a witch hunt on the previous coalition government," she told Adelaide radio station 5AA on Thursday.
Senator Ruston said the Albanese government's ongoing response to the pandemic also needed to be investigated, including why increased numbers of older Australians were dying in aged care.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews pushed back on a suggestion from former prime minister Scott Morrison that anything less than a royal commission would be obsolete because it would be unable to compel current and former state officials to appear.
He denied Mr Albanese had potentially done him a favour, and pledged his government would co-operate with the inquiry.
"I'm not here to respond to anything that Scott Morrison says," Mr Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.
"The people of Australia have passed their judgment on him."
On the sidelines of the United Nations in New York on Thursday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the world had learnt some "pretty awful lessons as humanity in terms of lives lost".
"We want to work with others to make sure we do better for Australia and for the world in the face of another pandemic," she said.
Senator Wong announced $100 million for the World Health Organisation to support global efforts to prevent and respond to any future pandemic.
Australian Associated Press
