While police and most teachers now exempt from vax mandates, Fire Rescue Vic maintains them

Unvaccinated firefighters at Fire Rescue Victoria will remain off work, after it declared Covid vaccine mandates would remain in place.

Unvaccinated firefighters will remain off work indefinitely after Fire Rescue Victoria declared its Covid-19 vaccine mandate will stay in place.

Fire Rescue Commissioner Gavin Freeman last week confirmed firefighters must continue to have had a third vaccination to work, leading to claims of unfairness when so many work sectors have relaxed vaccination rules.

The decision was made in response to specific clauses of the state government’s legislation on vaccine mandates expiring on July 12.

Under the changes, agencies can continue to enforce vaccination policies. However, the mandatory collection and storage of employees’ Covid-19 data is no longer required.

Most teachers are exempt from the mandate and FRV’s move to keep vaccine orders in place comes after Victoria Police scrapped its vaccination policy in April after a four-week consultation period.

Fire Rescue Victoria at a scene in Geelong. Picture: Alan Barber.

A similar move was expected for the fire service, but the recent edict means firefighters who have not had three vaccinations will not be allowed to return to work, including some who are still on WorkCover for vaccine-related injuries.

“There is no change,” Commissioner Freeman wrote on July 11.

“We continue to maintain the vaccination requirements set out in a Notice of Interim Measure dated 12 October 2022.”

Last October, the State Government scrapped its pandemic declaration orders but vaccine mandates remained across a raft of government departments and agencies. Many private companies dumped vaccine mandates as long as two years ago.

One fireman told the Herald Sun he wanted to get back to work but could not due to not meeting the requirements.

He said the continued ban was financially devastating but also problematic as his FRV colleagues at work were doing vast amounts of overtime in response to ongoing workplace shortages and increased workloads with the recent flood disasters.

Speaking on behalf of the impacted members, Australian Firefighters Alliance’s Andrew Hughes said the move was a “breach of human rights in that they remove a person’s right to self-determination and limit a person’s right to an employment income.

“The AFA cites these breaches of legislation and regulations for the continuation of mandates to be unreasonable and unlawful in addition to the psychological and personal harms to the affected firefighters we represent,” he said.

It’s not yet clear whether any of the affected members are planning to consider further legal action.

Across Victoria vaccine mandates are no longer in place for the general public. However, some industries have kept policies or adjusted them to match the ongoing risks of individual workplaces.

Teachers no longer need to meet vaccine requirements unless working in special education facilities with vulnerable children.

Fire Rescue Victoria crews work to rescue a drowning horse from the Barwon River.

Ambulance Victoria continues its mandate that all employees, volunteers, and contractors must have had a third vaccine to work.

Similar mandates exist across other health workplaces, including hospitals and aged care facilities that are dealing with vulnerable patients, high transmission levels and Covid-19 positive cases.

An FRV spokesperson said the recent regulation change related to the collecting and storing of employees’ Covid-19 information and did not affect mandates.

“FRV continues to maintain the vaccination requirements set out in Notice of Interim Measure dated 12 October 2022 and the Commissioner’s Directions,” they said.

“FRV’s position will not lead to further costs.

“FRV continues to actively monitor medical advice regarding COVID-19 vaccination.”

The Department of Health has advice for businesses to manage their workplaces but no vaccination requirements apply to most sectors. The department urges safe practices such as ventilation, wearing a mask indoors and urging workers to stay home if unwell.

As of July 7, 580 active cases of Covid-19 were reported in Victoria with 137 in hospital and 8 in ICU.

The number of new cases was down 33 per cent from the week before, but it comes after the reporting of positive rapid antigen test results was scrapped on July 1.