This paper sets out the major legal frameworks under which Australia's national and State and Territory governments have implemented emergency public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the national responsibility for the management of biosecurity threats, and State and Territory responsibility for infectious disease control. It argues that the COVID-19 experience has shown the wisdom of primary responsibility for the public health aspects of infectious disease control lying with the States and Territories, allowing Individual jurisdictions to adopt approaches that are calibrated to their circumstances, taking into account case numbers, and arange of related factors such as how much COVID-19 testing has been and is being conducted, what Is known about how the virus is being transmitted, and the capacity of the health system to respond to cases. It concludes by suggesting that lawyers should reflect on the role they can play in supporting responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including acknowledging the limitations of their training and preferred conceptual approaches to addressing difficult policy challenges.