SUPREME COURT RULES VACCINE MANDATES WERE UNLAWFUL

Authority, Bureaucracy, Government, Law, Vax / 3 March 2024

The Supreme Court of Queensland has ruled that COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by the Queensland state government on emergency workers during the pandemic were unlawful under the state’s own human rights laws.

On Feb. 27, the Supreme Court issued rulings on multiple lawsuits against the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) over their con-traversal compulsory vaccine requirements for employees between 2021 and 2022.

Police officers and emergency service workers were required to take COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots or be subject to disciplinary actions from their employers, including being stood down from their positions or getting fired.

The Supreme court found that Commissioner of Police, Katarina Carroll failed to consider staff’s human rights when making decisions in relation to the vaccine mandates.

Additionally it found that former Department of Health Director-General Dr. John Wakefield was unable to provide evidence that QAS’s vaccine mandates fell under the terms of employment contracts of ambulance service workers.

While the judges believed the mandates imposed by the two agencies were reasonable given the emergency situation of the pandemic, they found that the directions breached the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) as workers were forced to go through medical procedures without full consent.

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