West Live: Law expert Andrew Stewart says COVID vaccine roll-out a legal minefield for employers

Ben O'SheaThe West Australian
VideoThe first 30,000 doses landed in Sydney on Sunday, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison hailed as a new milestone for Australia's vaccine rollout.

Would you get the COVID-19 vaccine if Prime Minister Scott Morrison told you to? Or what if it was Premier Mark McGowan? Now, what would you say if it was your boss ordering you to get the jab?

If you’re wondering if your boss even has the power to force you to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the answer is... Maybe.

Hundreds of thousands of doses of Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Australia yesterday, doubling the country’s vaccine stocks after the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine last week.

In total, Australia is expected to eventually have 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 20 million of the Pfizer option, with most Aussies likely to get the former.

The Morrison Government has promised most Australians will be vaccinated by October, but recent polling has shown many people would prefer to wait to get the jab, so they can see how the roll-out unfolds.

Read more...

This could create problems in the workplace, where some bosses could view vaccination as a condition of employment.

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University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart said the COVID vaccine roll-out was already proving to be a legal minefield for employers.

“So, this is a classic legal question, where the best answer isn’t ‘no’, it isn’t ‘yes’, it’s ‘depends’,” Professor Stewart told The West Live.

“Beyond those sectors (such as aged care, quarantine hotels and aviation) where there is a really strong case for mandatory vaccination, we get into this really murky territory.

“And I have to say I’m starting to see a lot of requests of advice from employers and they’re really being hung out to dry right now because there just isn’t clear enough guidance being issued by the Federal Government.”

Professor Stewart said employees had their own legal concerns, and he’s not just talking about the anti-vaxxer crowd worried about their rights being impinged.

“An employee could say, ‘Look, I’ve got vaccinated but you’re not requiring everyone else to get vaccinated, so it’s not reasonably safe for me to come to work and I want to keep working from home’,” Professor Stewart said.

Listen to The West Live interview above for the full story.

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