CORONAVIRUS — VACCINATIONS — GROUP 2
DIRECTIONS
516. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Booster Vaccination
(Restrictions on Access) Directions (No 2) and, in particular, to the dates by
which group 2 industries and occupations were to have received their booster
dose.
(1) On what basis were the dates
for group 2 industries and occupations set?
(2) Why were
court and tribunal workers required to receive their first dose by 4 February
2022 and be fully vaccinated by 4 March 2022 when all other group 2 industries
and occupations were to receive their first dose by 31 December 2021 and be
fully vaccinated by 31 January 2022?
(3) On what basis
was this special extension of time provided to court and tribunal workers?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) On 19 October 2021 and 22 October 2021, the Chief
Health Officer provided advice to government regarding the need for the
mandatory vaccination of workers in Western Australia. The mandatory
vaccination policy and legal directions were advised to occur in a staged
approach with workers being grouped either as
group 1, essential and high-risk workers, or group 2, critical workers. The
time frame of the introduction and
staging of the two groups allowed for appropriate consultation and
communication with industry and key stakeholders. Workers and employers
required time to understand the requirements and ensure appropriate systems
were in place in order to comply with the mandates.
(2) The court and tribunal workers were not included
as a listed workforce in the original group 2 critical workers. Additional advice was provided to the Premier
regarding court and tribunal workers on 21 January 2022. Following advice to
the Premier, the Court and Tribunal Worker (Restrictions on Access) Directions
were written and signed on 31 January. The
court and tribunal worker mandate required workers to receive their first dose by 5 February 2022, which was a minimum
time required to comply with the directions following signing and
publication.
(3) A special
extension was not granted to court and tribunal workers.