Australian Open: Novak Djokovic warned ‘no special treatment’ over vaccine exemption

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews appears to throw fresh doubt over Novak Djokovic’s eligibility for the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic in his Instagram post.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says that no individual will be “afforded any special treatment” even if they’re competing at the Australian Open, adding that any unvaccinated individual will need to supply proof they cannot get the jab.

It comes after Novak Djokovic was granted an exemption to travel to Melbourne for the grand slam, despite his repeated refusal to confirm his vaccination status.

“Any individual seeking to enter Australia must comply with our strict border requirements,” Ms Andrews said in a statement.

“While the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may permit a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it is the commonwealth government that will enforce our requirements at the Australian border.”

Ms Andrews said that while fully vaccinated visa holders have been permitted to enter Australia since December 15, unvaccinated individuals needed to provide a medical reason.

“If an arriving individual is not vaccinated, they must provide acceptable proof that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons to be able to access the same travel arrangement as fully vaccinated travellers,” she said.

“Australian Border Force will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our strict border requirements.

“No individual competing at the Australian Open will be afforded any special treatment.”

Tennis Australia says ‘no-one knew who applicant was’

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley earlier said Djokovic’s exemption allowing him to compete at the Australian Open without showing evidence of vaccination was in keeping with state government rules on mandatory jabs.

The world Number One is due to land in Melbourne today, having announced on social media overnight that he’s “heading Down Under with an exemption permission”.

“We have been saying from the beginning that anyone coming into Australia or coming onto the grounds in the Melbourne Park precinct would have to be vaccinated, or would have to have a medical exemption approved by a medical practitioner or by a medical panel,” Mr Tiley said on Wednesday.

“Tennis Australia set up the first panel, and that panel was ... made of independent doctors, epidemiologists, was designed to assess any application that was received.

“They were blind applicants that were received. In other words, no one knew who the applicant was.

“That was reviewed and assessed, and then passed on to the second (Victorian Department of Health) panel, which was set up by the government for further assessment.

“That’s not a process that the normal, an Australian coming home, or anyone coming into Australia, that would not be the process.

“They would have to apply directly to a medical practitioner to have the name eventually added to the Australian immunisation register, and when that gets added, then you are for all intents and purposes considered vaccinated and you can get the green tick that all of us have as vaccinated individuals.”

Mr Tiley said 26 players, associates, staff members or officials had made similar applications.

“There’s a handful, which were provided as an exemption, and that handful, that information only gets disclosed by those individuals, on the grounds on which they were provided an exemption,” he said.

“That’s personal, private, confidential medical information that we are not at liberty to share publicly, but it’s very clear on the ATAGI guidelines, it’s very clear on what conditions you would receive an exemption.

“To briefly, quickly summarise those, one of them is obviously having an adverse response to any kind of vaccine and having something like an anaphylactic response. Another one is if you’ve just had major surgery and may or may not be suffering from myocarditis, and another one is you’re a recovered case, so in other words, you’ve had evidence of Covid, and certified evidence of Covid over the past six months.

“If you meet any of that criteria, then it’s assessed by ... the medical panel, both panels, and if it’s granted then you’re given the exemption, and then that becomes communication between the applicant and the panel at that point.”

Mr Tiley said the process had been “very clear”.

“We completely understand and empathise with first of all, some people being upset about the fact that Novak has come in, because of his statements over the past couple of years around vaccination, but it’s ultimately up to him to discuss with the public his condition if he chooses to do that, and the reason why he received an exemption,” he said.

“We as an event, also as a state and as a country will do everything we possibly can to give everyone an equal and fair opportunity to come into the country, and if they come in and they come in through the guidelines that are set forth, and the conditions in which they can compete, then they’re granted with an exemption.

“The majority of players and the majority of people on site are vaccinated, because again, to come into the grounds, and all our patrons coming in, the critical workforce, the players coming in will have to show, through the QR code, with have to show through the Services Vic app, will have to show the green tick, and you also get that green tick if you’re medically exempt, so we don’t single out someone if they’re medically exempt, and that applies not only to players, their support staff and fans as well, and that’s the right process, and we are very confident with what we put forward, in co-operation with the Victorian government, and tennis has gone above and beyond what would normally be required coming into the country and coming into Victoria, and onto the precinct.”

‘Heading down under with exemption’

Djokovic confirmed on Instgram he will be in Melbourne for the slam which starts January 17, writing: “Happy new year I’ve spent time with my loved ones and today I’m heading down under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022.”

A vaccine mandate is in place at tournaments this summer, including the Australian Open, but tournament director Craig Tiley on Sunday confirmed a number of players had been granted exemptions.

At that stage, Tiley said he was still unaware whether Djokovic would head to Melbourne or not – but foreshadowed an imminent announcement.

A spokesman for the Victorian government said the government had worked closely with Tennis Australia to set up an “independent and rigorous process” to assess requests for medical exemptions at the Australian Open.

“Any player who is granted a medical exemption will have gone through a two-stage, independent process to verify they have a genuine medical condition that meets the criteria for an exemption,” the spokesman said.

“Requests for a medical exemption are first made to Tennis Australia and they complete the first medical assessment.

“If approved by the independent panel set up by Tennis Australia, the application is then reviewed by the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel (IMERP), which was established by the Victorian Department of Health.

“IMERP is made up of three highly qualified medical professionals, with expertise in cardiology, sports medicine and immunology.

“The personal information of any applicant is redacted to ensure the independence of the process.”

The final TA-organised charter flights are set to arrive in Australia this week.

Djokovic was a late withdrawal from Serbia’s ATP Cup team currently competing in Sydney.

Should he win a 10th title in Melbourne, Djokovic would edge ahead of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal with a total of 21 grand slam trophies to his name.

For months speculation over Djokovic’s vaccination status has been rife. Well known for his anti-vax sentiments, the Serbian has refused to confirm if he has been immunised against Covid saying it was information for his knowledge only.

Once it was announced that all players contesting the Open would have to prove their vaccination status, Djokovic’s father accused organisers of “blackmail.”

Last month, Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula said that if Djokovic chose not to be vaccinated and was not accepted by the expert committee, he would not play in the Australian Open.

“In order to enter the tournament, he must have a good excuse to explain the reason for their non-vaccination,” Pakula said at the time.

“If people think that we have done this to try to give Djokovic a chance to play the tournament they are very wrong. Everyone who participates must be vaccinated or have a significant reason why they have not.

“It is not up to me, or the Prime Minister, or any other politician to determine whether or not he can play the tournament. It will be assessed by a committee of experts.”