The Government has confirmed it has received the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID‑19 Lessons, marking a significant milestone in New Zealand’s review of its pandemic response.
The report was formally delivered to the Governor‑General this morning, with its public release scheduled for 10 March 2026 when it is presented to Parliament.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden acknowledged the scale of public engagement that helped shape the inquiry’s expanded scope. “Thousands of Kiwis made their voices heard through submissions,” she said, noting that many New Zealanders were dissatisfied with the narrow terms of reference set for the first phase of the inquiry by the previous Government.
Both the ACT‑National and New Zealand First‑National coalition agreements included commitments to broadening the inquiry. The expansion, announced in late 2024, directed the Commission to examine key decisions made during 2021 and 2022—particularly the use of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and whether their wider social, health, educational, and economic impacts were adequately considered.
Van Velden stressed that the purpose of the inquiry is forward‑looking. “It is not simply about learning what the previous Government did wrong, it is about working out what we need to do right,” she said. She noted that the social and financial consequences of the pandemic response continue to affect households and businesses, contributing to ongoing cost‑of‑living pressures.
Health Minister Simeon Brown, who will lead the Government’s response to the report’s recommendations, highlighted the scale of restrictions New Zealanders endured. “Kiwis remember not being able to visit loved ones in hospital, struggling to secure a managed isolation spot just to return home, and keeping their kids home from school for months on end,” he said. Aucklanders, he added, experienced more than six months of cumulative lockdown—the longest of any region.
Brown said it is essential to understand why those decisions were made so future responses can better balance health protection with economic and social wellbeing.
The Government and relevant agencies will now begin reviewing the Commission’s findings ahead of a formal response later this year. The Royal Commission was originally established in December 2022 to identify lessons from New Zealand’s pandemic response, with its scope expanded in 2024 to include a deeper examination of decision‑making during the Delta and Omicron periods.
