On 23 January 2022, as part of the Victorian Government’s back to school plan, it was announced that education workers – school and early childhood staff – will be required to receive a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by 25 February 2022, in order to keep working in education settings.
Who does the booster deadline apply to?
The booster deadline applies to ‘education workers’, which has been defined (as per the previous CHO direction) to include:
- teaching and administrative staff at schools and early childhood centres;
- casual relief teachers, Breakfast Club suppliers, IT personnel, NDIS providers and auditors (but does not include delivery personnel);
- staff of the Department of Education and Training who attend an education facility (such as allied health personnel or Authorised Officers);
- staff of any other entity who attends an education facility;
- volunteers that attend the facility and work in close proximity to children, students or staff (including parent helpers); and
- students on placements at an education facility.
Parents and guardians are not part of the booster deadline – however, parents who volunteer at school do need to meet this booster deadline. For example, parents who are readers in the classroom, or who assist in the canteen, need to be boosted by 25 February 2022.
What if staff aren’t yet eligible for a third dose?
The time between second and third dose has been decreased to three months. Staff are eligible if their second dose was more than three months ago.
If a staff member is not eligible before 25 February 2022, they must receive a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within 3 months and 2 weeks of receiving a second dose.
Why?
The Chief Health Officer has advised a third dose will help ensure children and staff are protected, most notably individuals – both vulnerable students and staff – with significant underlying health conditions. The booster mandate may also help reduce the risk of community transmission and outbreaks in schools.
At the end of Term 4 2021, more than 99.7 per cent of school staff were double-vaccinated.
Students getting vaccinated: More than 29 per cent of children aged 5-11 have now had one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Staffing shortages: education workers are ‘critical’
Education workers have been deemed critical, meaning when an education worker is a household contact they do not need to isolate. Instead, household contacts can voluntarily continue working if they are asymptomatic and do a daily rapid antigen test.
Education workers are only required to quarantine when they themselves return a positive result, and should isolate if they display symptoms.
More detail on the implementation of the plan for schools, including surveillance testing using rapid antigen tests and mask-wearing policies, is likely be released next week by state and territory governments.
How we can help
Moores can assist employers respond to objections to government vaccination mandates or stand-alone policies. Moores can also advise on discrimination and privacy issues.
Moores can assist your school, including to:
- prepare a staff policy about COVID-19 vaccination requirements;
- understand its privacy obligation with respect to collection, use and storage of vaccination information;
- develop its procedures for dealing with medical exceptions and other grounds for exceptions made by staff; and
- prepare for dealing with staff non-compliance with the vaccination requirements.
Contact us
Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.
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