Since the early 1960s the analytical lens of polycentricity has provided an opportunity to understand complex systems and how they intersect in a variety of environments. With a contemporary origin in governance, regulation and political science scholarship, polycentricity analysis has focused on overlap and conflict in systems and the potential for reduction in effectiveness of service provision. This paper reviews contemporary thinking on polycentricity, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It instances the unfortunate events leading to the failed application for judicial review in the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia by the tennis player, Novak Djokovic (Djokovic v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2022] FCAFC 3) as an example of the efforts that need to be made in the midst of a public health crisis in the interests of community trust in government to ensure that there is co-ordination and consistency of messaging and decision-making.
Keywords: COVID-19; Djokovic; government decision-making; pandemic; polycentricity; public health crisis.