Gaps in language translation and an inability to isolate due to overcrowding were some of the negative outcomes for First Nations people during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report has found.

Published by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the report found at-risk groups - including Indigenous communities - along with domestic violence victims, renters and casual workers bore the brunt of the pandemic response.

"The pandemic response saved lives, but it also came at a significant cost, with some Australians feeling they were overlooked in the nation's push to contain COVID-19," the reports co-author and Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, said.

The report noted many of the issues faced by First Nations and migrant communities were not specific to the pandemic and would "likely emerge again during future emergencies".

"Therefore, learning these lessons from the pandemic will enable more targeted communication which will have real-world benefits in ensuring effective future emergency responses," the report read.

First Nations communities faced barriers accessing services or essential information, with service providers in the NT telling the Commission wider translation of government messaging was needed for remote communities.

Where gaps in official translations to local languages existed, people had to rely on word of mouth, which may have been "incomplete or inaccurate", the report said.

An Indigenous respondent said one of key components of ensuring an effective response was to "recognise the relational communication and engagement to which First Nations communities respond," whilst stakeholders told the report it was vital to ensure trauma-informed responses when engaging with First Nations communities, in part to recognise the history of dispossession, colonisation and intergenerational trauma.

The Commission also heard of the "mixed perspectives" of measures put in place to restrict the movement in and out of remote communities to protect First Nations people who were assessed to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to factors such as age, access to health facilities in remote locations, and existing co-morbidities.

Whilst instituted to protect communities, the report said it came at a cost, with restrictions and social distancing not considering how many multi-generational Indigenous families and communities "functioned".

Respondents said the restrictions weren't "culturally appropriate or realistic for regional First Nations communities" where children and young people regularly go between a wide group of households.

One First Nations individual in regional NSW told of the lack of connectedness felt by Indigenous communities, "especially when they were prevented from going back to Country for ceremonial cultural activities such as attending funerals or sorry business".

Broad pandemic responses also failed to consider the sometimes-arbitrary nature of state and territory borders for some First Nations communities who "organise their lives around mob boundaries rather than government administrative boundaries".

Nonetheless, one First Nations stakeholder said the autonomy given to some communities over the pandemic response was empowering and demonstrated the "success of trusting Indigenous leadership".

On Palm Island for example, the report said successful strategies included Elders, prioritising shared decision making, and allowing the local council to identify the needs and solutions specific to the community.

However, even though autonomy was given to remote communities during the pandemic, this did not result in long-term change.

"...once we weren't in that pandemic stage anymore, all that responsibility, all that autonomy… things just go back to the way they were before, and relatively quickly," one respondent said.

There was also a largely punitive response by law enforcement which focused overwhelmingly on low socio-economic communities.

A report in May found disadvantaged and First Nations children in NSW were targeted by police during the COVID-19 pandemic, with fines up to $5000 being issued, pushing families into financial hardship. The NSW government has been forced to withdraw 60,000 COVID-19 notices.

In the aftermath of the lockdowns, a Dharriwaa Elders Group from Walgett in north-western NSW released a statement arguing the harm caused by NSW police in their COVID-19 response had damaged community-police relations.

In Victoria, First Nations people were two-and-a-half times more likely to be fined for COVID-19 breaches.

Other issues faced by the wider population but exacerbated in communities already pre-disposed to hardship included being trapped with their abuser, food shortages, inability to isolate due to overcrowding, and long-term trauma.

Commissioner Finlay urged governments to strike a better balance between individual freedoms and health responses in future disasters and urged them to adopt a currently developed Emergency Response Framework.

She said their research heard "devastating stories" of hardships, people being unable to say goodbye to loved ones, and women trapped in violent households, noting whilst the response saved lives, it came at a cost.

"These experiences should never be ignored or repeated," she said.