[14] This gave government authorities permission to close schools in order to slow the spread of the disease.

The national stockpile of antiviral drugs were no longer made available to people with the flu unless there were more than mild symptoms or a high risk of dying.

[1] The first case of swine flu in Australia was reported on 9 May 2009 in a 33-year-old woman from Queensland when she touched down from a flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane.

Although it was confirmed to be not infectious (coming out as a "weak but positive result"), family members and people who were sitting close to her during the flight were contacted and urged to seek immediate medical attention if they began to show flu-like symptoms.

[21][22] On 23 May about 22 year-nine students of Mill Park Secondary College were given anti-viral Tamiflu after one of their classmates was diagnosed with swine flu.

[23] On 23 June 2009, the second swine flu related death in Victoria was reported, that of a 50-year-old woman at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

[46] The World Health Organization Influenza Centre in North Melbourne was attempting to develop a vaccine for swine flu by growing the live virus as found in California, in chicken embryos.

[47] The first one-litre batch of vaccine was announced to be ready on 29 June 2009 by the University of Queensland, but would not be available for use until it was registered as safe with the regulatory authority.

[54] The Australian Capital Territory Chief Medical Officer, Dr Charles Guest, claimed that procedures and systems were very good to detect and respond to the disease outbreak.

[56] The Victorian Government Department of Human Services had a nurse on call to answer questions on the topic.

[60] Per recommendations by the World Health Organization, Australia decided against closing their borders during the DELAY phase of the outbreak.

Customs officers checked aeroplane cabins prior to disembarkation of passengers to look for people with flu symptoms.

Another main focus of the Australian campaign was to dispel myths about the flu in order to provide citizens with the most factual information available at the time.

[62] At the peak of the outbreak, Australia had a stockpile of 8.7 million doses of Tamiflu and Relenza to combat the virus.

Widespread public fear of a similar number of deaths led to "Emergency Departments and doctor surgeries being overwhelmed" with requests for antiviral drugs, jeopardising the supply for the highest risk patients.