Newsflash: Public Sector Vaccination Mandate

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian Branch (ANMF) have finally received a response from the Secretary of the Department of Health in relation to questions the ANMF asked on behalf of members in light of the impending mandate to be vaccinated by Sunday 31 October 2021.

The Secretary has stated that; ‘Patient and staff safety is paramount, which the mandatory vaccination of all Department of Health employees against COVID-19 also supports” the secretary also advises that the Department is working with a small number of people who have indicated they are reluctant, or refusing, to have a vaccine and they will continue to do this until 31 October 2021.

The following answers have been provided by the Department of Health regarding members questions;

Adverse Reaction to Vaccine & Workers Compensation
If a Member has a reaction, believed to be related to vaccination, they will be able to use the usual process to access Workers Compensation where their claim will be assessed.

Options for Redeployment
The Public Health Direction mandates that all Department of Heath employees are required to be vaccinated regardless of their work location. The overarching mandate to vaccinate all health care workers means there will not be any redeployment opportunities as all health premises are included (this also means an inability to facilitate the redeployment of private sector health care workers).

Leave Without Pay (LWOP)
Members, who wish to have further time to consider becoming vaccinated, will have their application for LWOP considered on a case-by-case basis. However, large-scale LWOP applications, will not be approved as it will have an ongoing impact to back-fill positions during a COVID-19 public health emergency.

Vaccination if a Member is on Leave on 31 October
A Member who is on long term leave will be required to demonstrate their vaccination status at the expiry of the approved leave, in order to return to their rostered shifts.

Service Continuity and Operational Impact
As vaccination status is collected and reviewed, business continuity options will be assessed and referred to the Health Executive through the Chief Executive Hospitals and Chief People Officer. Current recruitment activities have been instructed to rank suitable candidates for immediate appointment.

In the current operating environment, services are already reduced or temporarily ceased where staff staffing is unable to be maintained or where a service is unable to be safely delivered. Surge staffing will continually be assessed according to vaccination status updates prior to 31 October 2021.

Other Questions
No response was received to several questions the ANMF put forward on behalf of members including the request for forums with Department of Health and Public Health representatives to enable to members to ask questions directly. The ANMF will continue to advocate for this opportunity for all members. The ANMF have also asked if there might be redeployment opportunities within the public sector but outside of health, again, we are waiting on a response to this question.

The ANMF have no further information than is available above at this time, however members can contact our Member Support Team here.

Download the PDF version here.

Updates correct as at 21 September 2021.
Authorised by Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary

ASSISTANCE & SUPPORT

Member Support Team: The ANMF Tasmanian Branch is 8000 plus members strong! Supporting nurses, midwives, and care workers as the only union in Tasmania employing nurses and care workers to represent members. This is why our Organisers and Member Support Team are uniquely positioned to understand your experiences, represent you in your workplace, and offer industrial advice that’s relevant to you. Please contact our Member Support Team if you need workplace support, would like to discuss any matters or raise a concern. Alternatively, you can send an email outlining your concerns to our team - membersupport@anmftas.org.au. Email is the preferred and fastest way of contacting the team, however if your matter is urgent, please phone (03) 6223 6777 or 1800 001 241 if you are outside of Hobart.

Member Support Team

Nurse and Midwife Support If you are seeking confidential support and advice, members have access to 24/7 phone support from Nurse and Midwife Support.

Nurse and Midwife Support

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