Queensland Government backtracks on vaccine mandate start date

The state government has changed its tune on when the vaccine mandate will start, and has effectively pushed the date back up to 11 days.

The Queensland Government has backtracked on the start date of the vaccine mandate now saying it will come into effect on December 17, regardless of when the state reaches the 80 per cent mark.

It comes after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on November 9 that fully vaccinated Queenslanders would be “rewarded” on December 17 or once the state reaches 80 per cent double dosed.

However, a statement from the office of Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe today has revealed that this won’t be the case, and that unvaccinated Queenslanders would be banned from a range of venues on December 17 and no earlier.

“It is important to note that, regardless of how early Queensland may hit the 80% double dose vaccination rate, these measures will commence from 17 December 2021,” his statement read.

“This provides important certainty so businesses and staff can plan accordingly.”

Acting chief health officer Dr Peter Aitken said last week that the state was projected to hit the 80 per cent double dose rate anywhere between December 6 and December 12.

Meanwhile, findings from The Courier Mail have previously determined the date to be around December 14.

Queensland Government’s website was updated on Tuesday to reflect the new information with the page citing restrictions will come into effect from December 17, 2021, effectively 11 days later than Queenslanders were predicting.