Shortly after the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Australians with migrant or ethnic heritage, especially Asian-Australians, reported an increase in racism, hostility and other forms of intolerance, especially on public transport. In the period when the outbreak was still centred in Wuhan, the Australian Human Rights Commission noted that about one in four people who lodged racial discrimination complaints during January and February 2020 were targeted because of the fear that the COVID-19 disease would spread to Australia.1 Chinese and Hong Kong international students were particularly at risk because of their visible markers of difference and their prior experience of infectious diseases such as the SARS outbreak in 2002-2004. Those who had lived through similar pandemics overseas had quickly learnt of the importance of wearing protective facemasks to protect others in the community. This learned community response, however, was a marker of cultural difference that subjected some to experiences of stigmatisation or racial hostility.