There has been work done internationally in this area. A model State Emergency Health Powers Act has been developed in the US in 2001 [7] In the preamble to this Act a rationale for its development is set out: "In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, our nation realizes that the Government's foremost responsibility is to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of its citizens. New and emerging dangers including emergent and resurgent infectious diseases and incidents of civilian mass casualties -pose serious and immediate threats to the population. A renewed focus on the prevention, detection, management and containment of public health emergencies is thus called for." The US, like Australia, is a Federal system. The model was intended to be taken up by those US states which wished to do so. To date, it has been passed in over half the US states. This bill would be an excellent starting point for development of an Australian model. There are a number of legislative mechanisms which could be used to support a nationally uniform approach to health emergency powers legislation in Australia.