On August 6, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the law allowed employers to give “reasonable directions” to staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 following advice he had received from the Solicitor General about situations where such directions may be considered lawful.

One might be left with the impression that this was a new or novel piece of advice about seven months after the start of the vaccine rollout. Far from it. Many of us who specialise in workplace law have been left scratching our heads for many months about the hesitancy and, quite frankly, in many cases erroneous opinions, that have been voiced and published about the right of employers to insist on vaccination as a requirement of entry to workplaces.