The Queensland Government recently published its COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Workers in a high-risk setting Direction (the Direction). The Direction mandates vaccination requirements for workers in 'designated high-risk settings'. It includes, amongst other things, 'early childhood, primary and secondary educational settings' such as:

• schools;
• outside of school hours care and vacation care;
• kindergartens, registered and licensed early childhood settings, and family daycare providers; and
• TAFE and other education facilities that are co-located with schools.

Workers will need to comply with the vaccination requirements before attending for work at the above 'designated high-risk settings'.

What are the vaccination requirements?

From 17 December 2021, all 'workers' entering a school, kindergarten, or childcare centre will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This means that workers will need to have received two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration approved COVID-19 vaccine by this date. This requirement will increase to full vaccination (i.e. two doses of vaccine) from 11:59pm on 23 January 2022.

As with other industry specific vaccine mandates in Queensland, the definition of 'workers' that the Government is adopting is expansive. This is designed to capture all workers who attend the premises for work. The definition of 'workers' in education settings include:

• teachers;
• administrative officers;
• employees of another organisation providing services in an education setting – such as plumbing, electrical and building services;
• a contract teacher, or early childhood instructor, engaged for relief work;
• volunteers who assist in delivering support activities and services in education settings – such as tuckshop, reading programs, etc.;
• chaplains, entertainers, or support workers visiting education settings;
• university students on practical placement in education settings;
• psychologists or therapists providing support for individuals in education settings; or
• a dentist in a school dental clinic.

This broad definition will encompass all persons who attend the premises of a school, kindergarten, or childcare centre for work. The vaccination requirements do not apply to visitors to the premises, only 'workers' who attend the premises for work.

Further, if a person has a medical reason for not being vaccinated, they are exempt from the vaccination requirements and can continue working. This is provided that:

• the operator of the premises carries out a risk assessment, and determines that the person is permitted to continue attending the premises for work;
• the person uses Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when they are working, which is consistent with PPE guidelines and the relevant COVID safe plan for their workplace; and
• the person produces a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test each day, before the start of their shift.

Importantly, 'workers' will need to provide the 'responsible person' for the high-risk setting within their workplace with evidence of their medical reason. In the case of a worker who is an employee, this would be their employer.

What are the obligations on employers?

The implementation of mandatory vaccination requirements in schools, kindergartens, and childcare centres places certain compliance obligations on employers.

The Direction states that it is on the responsibility of an employer – being the person or entity who 'employs, contracts or engages' a 'worker' – to:

• communicate the COVID-19 vaccination requirements to workers;
• take all reasonable steps to ensure that a worker who has not complied with the vaccination requirements does not work;
• ensure that workers who are unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccination comply with the relevant PPE requirements; and
• maintain a record of COVID-19 vaccination information provided to the employer by workers, and to store this information securely.

The 'responsible person' for a high-risk setting must also communicate the vaccination requirements to workers and employers in relation to that high-risk setting. The 'responsible person' is the person with legal responsibility for the setting, including in relation to 'compliance with regulatory and other requirements for the setting'. If an employer is also the 'responsible person', it may also be the responsibility of the employer to communicate the vaccination requirements to agencies, contractors, or other businesses who the employer engages with at the high-risk setting. Employers should communicate and consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers in relation to the impact that the Direction may have on its workforce, as well as how it will be implemented.

Critical workforce shortages and emergencies

The Government's Direction contains specific provisions that permit an unvaccinated worker to attend the workplace in an emergency, or to respond to a critical workforce shortage.

In the case of an emergency – such as a plumber attending to fix a burst pipe – the worker can only attend for the duration required for the emergency. For a worker responding to a critical workforce shortage, the worker can only work for a short period (e.g. 3 months). This will be for the length of time required for recruiting, or alternative arrangements to be made, to respond to the critical workforce shortage.

Unvaccinated workers who are permitted to attend the workplace will need to comply with PPE and COVID-19 testing requirements, in accordance with the relevant COVID safe plan.

What are the next steps for operators?

If you are an operator, you will need to be prepared that there will be some workers who will not want to comply with the Direction, and you should take steps to plan for that now. These steps include having a policy detailing your organisation's requirements and expectations of workers, with regard to COVID-19 vaccination in compliance with the Direction.

It is the responsibility of school, kindergarten, and childcare centre operators to consult with, as far as reasonably practicable, and communicate the public health Direction requirements to their workers. We recommend communicating these requirements to workers as soon as possible.

To ensure there is no disruption to service delivery, it is critical to provide the following:

• clear and concise communication of the vaccination requirements;
• any exceptions to the vaccination requirements;
• appropriate deadlines for compliance; and
• your organisations expectations.

We note that the first dose vaccination date is imminent, which may cause issues for maintaining an adequate workforce during the school holiday period. It will be important for employers to be across the vaccination requirements, and the exemptions to the requirements, in order to manage this.

Proactive and regular engagement with the workforce will be key to ensuring that operators comply with their obligations under the Direction. This will also minimise the risk of legal proceedings relating to any action taken by the organisation, in response to a worker's refusal to comply with the vaccination requirements.

For more information on mandatory vaccinations, you can read our insights on the importance of work health and safety consultation in our recent article: WHS consultation crucial to enforcing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination: Fair Work Commission hands down decision in BHP case.