Pathway to Clean Indoor Air in Victoria

The pandemic highlighted how much the air we breathe indoors impacts our health, wellbeing and productivity. 

Many of the risks from breathing hazardous air are concentrated indoors, where people spend up to 90% of their time. These risks include airborne infections, bushfire smoke, allergens, pollution, and mould. Exposure to these pollutants leads to poor indoor air quality, which is linked to a wide range of health issues including respiratory illness, fatigue and cognitive impacts. It also affects accessibility, wellbeing, and workplace productivity—contributing to absenteeism and broader economic losses. 

With support from the Victorian Government, Burnet has launched the Pathway to Clean Indoor Air in Victoria—a two-year research project that tests solutions in real-world settings to identify scalable, evidence-based solutions for improving indoor air quality in schools, public spaces and public sector offices. 

The project follows a systematic approach by: 

• implementing and evaluating feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of interventions such as HEPA filtration, ventilation upgrades, and sensor-based air monitoring; 
• developing practical guidance for managing indoor air quality across different environments; 
• exploring policy options to support long-term reform.  

Objectives

The project aims to establish a coordinated, evidence-based approach to improving indoor air quality across Victoria. The vision is to reduce the health, social and economic impacts of indoor airborne infections and pathogens across the state.  

The Pathway to Clean Indoor Air in Victoria project aims to position clean indoor air as a core component of public health, education, and workplace infrastructure. Our key objectives are to: 

• implement and test practical, evidence-based interventions to improve indoor air quality across schools, public buildings, and community spaces 
• evaluate what works by gathering real-world evidence on the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of IAQ solutions like ventilation upgrades, HEPA filtration, and sensor-based monitoring 
• support implementation through user-friendly technical guidance for facility managers 
• measure the impact by quantifying improvements in indoor air quality and drawing on existing evidence that links clean air with improved health outcomes 
• drive systemic reform by identifying scalable models, policy levers and legislative options to embed indoor air quality into long-term planning and governance frameworks.

Benefits to the community 

Clean indoor air represents the next frontier in public health, comparable to how scientific evidence and engineering transformed public health clean water and sanitation in the mid-20th century.   

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical importance of airborne transmission in the spread of infections (such as influenza, colds and other viruses). Strategies such as improved ventilation to dilute and remove contaminated air, filtration systems to capture infectious particles and air disinfection technologies that neutralise pathogens are now understood as important layers of protection that complement other public health measures. 

Beyond the pandemic, it is well-known that air pollution, including smoke from bushfires, gas stoves, tobacco and pollen, have short- and long-term impacts on our health, the economy, and society. 

Studies in schools and workplaces have shown improving air quality enhances test performance, attendance and cognitive performance. 

A study by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering in 2022 estimated that good air quality could improve productivity by around 1 to 4%.

Strengthening IAQ is both a public health imperative and a critical safeguard for maintaining business continuity, reducing reliance on disruptive emergency measures and ensuring workplaces, schools, and public spaces remain operational in times of crisis. 

One of the most powerful aspects of clean indoor air solutions is that they operate in the background as passive controls.  When delivered at scale in public settings, clean air strategies promote health equity by protecting everyone who shares the space. 

Burnet aims to develop a knowledge base that will support the provision of clean indoor air across our society. This will reduce the impact of infectious diseases, pollutants and allergens on our health, wellbeing and the economy. 

More information

To learn more, please contact cleanindoorair@burnet.edu.au.

See also: 'Grattan on Friday: Experts want Albanese to lead on indoor air quality as part of pandemic planning' published in The Conversation.