Changes under the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (COVID-19 Vaccination Information) Regulations 2022 permit employers to collect relevant worker information if they choose to enforce vaccination rules at their workplace.

The announcement follows the recent easing of workplace vaccine mandates and continues a shift in responsibility towards individual businesses considering the most appropriate COVID-safe settings for their workplaces.

This means workers do not have to be vaccinated but businesses and employers can consider their own policies (such as workplace vaccine mandates) based on their assessment of risk.

An exception to this is workers in high-risk settings such as healthcare still being required to be vaccinated under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 Pandemic (Workplace) Order 2022 (No. 9).

Vaccination of all workers remains strongly recommended. Under the OHS Act, employers must identify risks to the health of their workers from exposure to COVID-19 at their workplace and eliminate those risks (or reduce risks when elimination is not possible) as far as reasonably practicable.

The regulations will be in place for 12 months from 12 July 2022.

Considering your workplace options

As we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victorian Chamber is monitoring the Government’s settings and is available to provide advice and assistance to you and your business.

If you are contemplating a policy or want to assess your risk, you can contact our Workplace Relations advice line on 03 8662 5222.

Members can also access our vaccine guide, which sets out detailed information about the current range of COVID-19 measures. This and other COVID-19 resources are available here.