Australians support mandatory vaccines in certain circumstances

Most Australians supporting making vaccines compulsory in certain circumstances, a new nationwide survey has revealed.

Most Australians are comfortable with making vaccines mandatory for people going to public events and travelling interstate, a new survey has found.

The survey from strategic insights consultancy Nature has found Australians broadly support giving people who are vaccinated more freedom.

According to the survey of 1000 people nationwide, 53 per cent agreed that people should only be allowed to go to public events if they were fully vaccinated.

About 54 per cent said those who aren’t vaccinated shouldn’t be allowed to travel interstate.

When it came to work, half of those surveyed said they thought employers should be allowed to insist their employees are fully vaccinated.

Interestingly, only 26 per cent thought they should be able to do whatever they wanted when they were fully vaccinated, while 43 per cent disagreed.

Vaccinating against Covid-19 is the only way for Australians to get their normal lives back, but as a nation we’re struggling.

News.com.au’s Our Best Shot campaign answers your questions about the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

It’s fair to say the vaccine rollout has confused Australians. We’ll cut through the spin and give you clear information so you can make an informed decision.

RELATED: Why some Australians are not getting vaccinated

The survey which was conducted last week between July 20-22, found 58 per cent thought NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s slow response was responsible for the state’s prolonged lockdown and the evolving situation in Victoria.

However, 64 per cent thought the Federal Government should be held responsible for the poor vaccine rollout.

Despite this, 41 per cent believe the Federal Government has done a very good job of leading Australia through the pandemic so far.

“It’s interesting to see that, in light of recent events, Australians are feeling very strongly about those who are unwilling to get vaccinated,” Nature managing partner Chris Crook said.

“Specifically, a particularly large portion of Australians agree that there should be one rule for those vaccinated and another for everyone else, affording greater freedoms to those who are.

“This hardline stance is made particularly clear by the fact 50 per cent agree employers should be able to insist on workforces being fully vaccinated.”

However, Mr Crook said a more curious finding was that 70 per cent agreed “now more than ever before is the time we need to follow the rules laid down by our leaders”.

He said this spoke to Australia being a rule compliant nation despite the majority agreeing the Federal Government’s management of the pandemic had been poor, and that Gladys Berejiklian’s actions were directly to blame for the prolonged lockdown in NSW.

While Australia’s capital cities were rocked by lockdown protests over the weekend, only 9 per cent of those surveyed said they had broken local lockdown rules in the previous week.

More than 16 per cent of Australia’s population aged over 16 years old has now been fully vaccinated with both doses, with more than 11 million doses administered.

More than one million doses are now being administered every week.

The NSW Premier has urged people to get vaccinated as cases continue to rise in the state.

Ms Berejiklian said beating Delta was almost impossible and the only way NSW could fully open up again is when the “majority are vaccinated”.

The Nature survey was comprised of a nationally representative section of the population.