Victorian quarantine staff refuse vaccine

A number of workers at Victoria’s hotel quarantine program have refused the COVID-19 vaccine and have been stood down with full pay.

Quarantine staff at Melbourne Airport greet the first arrivals as Victoria resumed international flights on Thursday. Picture: Paul Jeffers

A number of workers at Victoria’s hotel quarantine program have refused the COVID-19 vaccine and have been stood down with full pay.

Some have declined the vaccine on medical grounds, but The Australian is aware of at least one worker who refused the jab out of concern it could affect her ­fertility.

A spokeswoman for COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, the agency responsible for the state’s hotel quarantine program, said they were looking for alternative work for unvaccinated staff members who were not permitted to work at the hotels.

“All staff members working at our active quarantine hotels must have had at least their first vaccination; if they have not been vaccinated, they cannot work a shift in the hotels,” she said. “We are working with the small number of staff who remain unvaccinated on alternative work arrangements outside of the hotels.”

Opposition police and crime prevention spokesman David Southwick said receiving the COVID-19 jab should have been stipulated in the contracts of hotel quarantine workers.

“Anyone has the right to refuse a vaccination but this should have been a condition of employment for working in hotel quarantine,” he said. “No one should be sitting at home on full pay doing nothing.”

But employment law expert and partner at law firm Swaab Michael Byrnes said standing down staff with full pay avoided exposure to unfair dismissal laws.

“What employers will want to do is to give employees an opportunity to put their case as to why they would not have the vaccination and accord them procedural fairness before making an ultimate decision,” he said.

Nearly 5200 first and 2600 second doses have been administered among frontline hotel quarantine staff, according to CQV, with all expected to have received both jabs by the end of April.

All hotel quarantine workers are required to provide proof of vaccination when they arrive at a site, either in the form of a vaccination card or a printout of their MyGov medical records.

The head of Victoria’s vaccine rollout, Ben Cowie said hotel quarantine workers had been ­prioritised in the jab rollout that began on February 22, with more than 95 per cent of staff now ­vaccinated.

“The vast majority of hotel quarantine workers and all those currently being deployed into hotel quarantine have had their first dose,” he said.

Staff members who refused the vaccine have been removed from active hotels as the hotel quarantine rebooted for the fourth time in Victoria on ­Thursday.

The state suspended its hotel quarantine program on February 13 after an infection control breach at the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport triggered a five-day lockdown.

Nearly two-months later, the first international flight touched down in Melbourne just before 4.30am on Thursday from the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

Ahead of a national cabinet meeting on Friday, Acting Premier James Merlino called for a consistent vaccine rollout and greater transparency on quantities being administered by the federal government in each state and territory.

“It’s not appropriate that, depending on where you live around the country, you get a different approach in terms of the rollout of the vaccination,” he said.

The Victorian government is responsible for vaccinating frontline and quarantine workers and has administered nearly 130,000 doses.