Queensland police officers have failed to convince a Queensland IRC full bench that the Police Commissioner failed to consult them on a COVID-19 vaccine workforce mandate or lacked power to issue it, but the State's Supreme Court has opened the way for another challenge.
Two of Australia's largest employers, retailers Woolworths and Coles, have today announced mandatory vaccination policies that will be rolled out in coming months.
The CFMMEU's mining and energy division has asked the FWC to halt the rollout of BHP's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Mt Arthur open cut coal mine in the Hunter Valley, claiming it is not a lawful and reasonable direction.
The FWC has thrown out a request from an ambulance paramedic sacked for refusing the influenza vaccination to refer purported questions of law to the Federal Court.
Two newly-incorporated associations of NSW paramedics and nurses want to join a legal challenge to the State's vaccination mandate for health workers, the NSW Supreme Court heard today.
The FWC has upheld the dismissal of an "intransigent" sales employee who declined on "medical" grounds to comply with her employer's lawful and reasonable direction to supply a urine sample for a random drug and alcohol test.
The proportion of employers seeking new hires who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 is rising at a rapid rate, according to a survey of job advertising.
The FWC has upheld the dismissal of two Qantas pilots unable to fly internationally after turning 65, drawing parallels with the tribunal's retirement policy while finding it might have been "considerate" to keep them in the departure lounge while they awaited a move to short-haul.
Unions and employers are embracing the use of rapid antigen testing as it ramps up in some industries, but questions remain around cost, access, administration and how it should fit with other measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at work.
