In many ways, Australia handled the COVID pandemic as well as any country in the world – but what did we get very wrong? Economically, Australia handled the COVID pandemic as well as any country in the world – and dramatically better than most. Was this inevitable? Was it luck? Was it the product of great institutions? Or the product of a few talented individuals? Conversely, Australia’s public health response was decidedly more mixed. Grave failings meant we escaped the pandemic many months after we should have and were plunged into unnecessary lockdowns. Failings that led to loss of life and economic and human damage. In Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism, internationally acclaimed economists Steven Hamilton and Richard Holden explore the public health and economic responses to the pandemic. By analysing the many successes – and startling failures – of Australia’s pandemic response Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism provides crucial lessons for future crises.