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La Trobe VC Professor John Dewar at its Bundoora campus . Photo : Stuart McEvoy
Our aspiration is that all members of the university community who can be vaccinated … will take that step .
No jab , no study
La Trobe first uni to mandate vaccines for staff , students .
By Conor Burke
La Trobe will become the first Australian university to mandate vaccination against COVID-19 for all staff and students .
Vice chancellor John Dewar announced a two-staged approach to safely reopening its campuses later this year once the nation hits vaccine targets .
" As a public-spirited university with a global reputation for excellence in our health disciplines , including public health , our aspiration is that all members of the university community who can be vaccinated against COVID-19 will take that step to protect themselves and others ," said Dewar .
Sources in the tertiary sector say there is a lot of discussion regarding mandatory vaccinations across university campuses , and there is a strong preference among VCs for students and staff to be vaccinated .
In August Deakin University VC Iain Martin came out in favour of sector-wide vaccine mandates , but La Trobe is the first university to pull the trigger .
Stage one of the plan , from now until November , will see the university encourage staff and students to get vaccinated , providing leave where needed and setting up a vaccination hub at the university ’ s Bundoora campus .
Stage two starts in early December , and from that point " anyone attending campus ( staff , students , contractors , visitors ) will be expected to be fully vaccinated ".
Staff and students with a medical exemption or " other legally-recognised exemption from vaccination ", will be able to continue to study and work at the university according to Dewar ' s statement .
The NTEU has for now remained neutral , supporting vaccination while not commenting directly on La Trobe ' s decision .
" The NTEU supports the expert health advice about the vital importance of vaccination as the most effective pathway to overcome the pandemic . Getting vaccinated is the best way for us to save lives and protect our society and economy . We encourage all staff in higher education to follow the health advice , speak to a doctor , and get vaccinated as soon as possible ," said NTEU national president Dr Alison Barnes .
" Decisions around our public health response should be made by government , based upon the advice of our health officials and scientists – many of whom are based at our universities . We believe it is inappropriate for employers to mandate the vaccination of staff without first consulting with health officials , government and unions ."
Employers around the world are grappling with the implications of employing such mandates .
In the US , 1,049 campuses are requiring staff and / or students to be vaccinated , including the top 25 universities in the country .
In the UK , the conservative government has ruled out making vaccination mandatory for the education sector and many institutions are worried that they would not be able to enforce such rules .
National student unions in the UK have called attempts to implement vaccine passports for students to attend lectures or live in halls " appalling ", accusing the government of " lining students up as scapegoats ".
IS IT LEGAL ? Back in Australia , the fair work ombudsman has advised that employer imposed vaccine mandates are fair where " it is lawful and reasonable " to do .
Employers may be relying on this as protection in the absence of direct law . However , Dr Giuseppe Carabetta , a senior lecturer in employment law at Sydney University , believes that this may not always be so simple .
" The university as both a service provider and employer owes a duty of care and has certain health and safety obligations . But these decisions can be tricky especially in the employment context , in the absence of direct laws such as a public health order ," he told Campus Review .
He believes mandating vaccines for students is easier to argue from a legal standpoint , " provided reasonable exemptions are made on disability and other protected grounds ".
Carabetta said that while he is sure that an organisation like La Trobe will have taken proper legal advice before they come up their policy , Australian universities may have to formulate policies more carefully when it comes to staff .
" Although there is no test case on this as yet , this will turn largely but not only , on the nature of the job and whether it involves face-to-face physical interactions ," he said .
" In other words , what risks attach to the particular job . So to whom the policy applies will be important – a blanket approach across all jobs may not work – and exemptions may again need to be made on disability or health grounds plus other protected grounds under discrimination laws ."
Carabetta also wonders whether instead of straight mandates , universities may choose other risk-minimisation techniques , such as regular COVID-19 testing .
" Exempted employees will need to be reasonably accommodated unless the discrimination is reasonably necessary to protect health and safety generally ," he adds . ■
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