SA Health’s vaccine mandate faces SA Employment Tribunal challenge

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier faces defending SA Health’s vaccine mandate in a challenge to be heard in the SA Employment Tribunal.

Health workers are taking SA Health to court over vaccine mandates with chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier expected to be called as a witness to defend the edict.

The hearing in the SA Employment Tribunal commencing on Tuesday will see Professor Spurrier grilled on what medical evidence she relied on for her Covid decisions including that certain SA Health workers must be vaccinated.

Teague and Ors V the Department of Health and Wellbeing is listed to run all week and involves about 100 healthcare workers contesting the lawfulness and reasonableness of a workplace mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy implemented by SA Health on November 18, 2022.

The applicants question the validity of the policy requiring healthcare workers to receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in order to work in SA hospitals.

The applicants will argue that mandating vaccination with two doses of the vaccine is ineffective against the Omicron variant, particularly considering the time elapsed since the majority of healthcare workers were vaccinated.

They say the introduction of the vaccine mandate raises concerns regarding the motives and scientific justification behind such a policy and will note the mandate does not extend to healthcare workers in SA private hospitals or in interstate jurisdictions such as WA and Tasmania.

The chief plaintiff Joanne Teague has previously lost one tribunal challenge over the vaccine mandate.

The RAH nurse claimed her employer — the state government — changed her terms of employment unlawfully with the vaccine requirement. She refused to be vaccinated.

However tribunal deputy president Stephen Lieschke rejected the bid and found SA Health was simply implementing an Emergency Management Act direction and that her grievance was the result of “her personal choice of not accepting a TGA approved vaccine.”

Deni Varnhagen (picture here with partner Jarrad Duthie and their baby girl Hali Julia) refused to be vaccinated. Pic: Instagram.

AFLW Crows player Deni Varnhagen arrives at the South Australia Supreme Court in Adelaide during her failed court challenge. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Nurse and AFLW footballer Deni Varnhagen lost Supreme Court action, and subsequent appeal, against the vaccine mandate.

She then partly won an appeal over court costs, leaving taxpayers with a $46,000 bill.

The two-time Crows premiership player sat out for two seasons rather than take the vaccine under a mandate which no longer exists.

Varnhagen was put on the Crows inactive list after becoming the first men’s or women’s AFL player to resist getting the Covid-19 vaccine – which was mandatory for a time as per the league’s policy.

SA Health confirmed Professor Spurrier would provide evidence on behalf of the department.

SA Health continues to have a mandatory vaccination policy for staff working in areas where patients receive healthcare.