New laws aimed at helping Victorian employers make decisions on virus control measures

Tighter regulations being introduced in Victoria will allow employers to request an employee’s Covid vaccination status.

Victorian employers will now be able to request an employee’s Covid vaccination status under new laws that would allow workplaces to set their own jab requirements.

The updated regulations will help employers decide what measures are needed to keep their workplaces and workforce as safe as possible from the virus.

They follow recent advice from the chief health officer that following the removal of some vaccination requirements under Pandemic Orders, businesses and employers should consider their own policies based on their own assessment of risk.

The regulations do not require workers to be vaccinated, but will ensure employers hold relevant information to make decisions on necessary control measures at their workplace.

The new laws follow recent advice from the chief health officer. Picture: Aaron Francis

In line with other jurisdictions around Australia, Covid-19 vaccination policies will be the responsibility of individual workplaces to consider as part of their individual working conditions.

Workers in high risk settings, like healthcare, are still required to be fully vaccinated, while staff across other sectors will still be encouraged to maintain an “up-to-date” vaccination status.

Under the OHS Act, employers must identify whether there is a risk to the health of their workers from exposure to the virus at their workplace.

If a risk is identified, employers are required to eliminate risks as far as reasonably practicable and when elimination is not possible, employers are required to implement measures to reduce cases.

Victoria is following other jurisdictions where Covid vaccination policies are the responsibility of individual workplaces. Picture: Alex Coppel

Workplace Safety Minister Ingrid Stitt said it’s important that workplaces “continue to mitigate” against the risks associated with Covid, especially through the winter months.

“These regulations will mean individual employers can choose to implement their own vaccination policies, to collect and hold Covid-19 vaccination information of their workers,” Ms Stitt said.

The regulations will be in place for 12 months from 12 July 2022.

Originally published as New laws aimed at helping Victorian employers make decisions on virus control measures