VACCINATION
MEMBER EXPERT
Could a France-style vaccine mandate for public spaces work in Australia? Legally, yes, but it’s complicated Several jurisdictions overseas have introduced vaccine requirements for entry into public and private spaces such as schools, restaurants, public venues, and for domestic travel. Attention is turning to whether these policies would work in Australia and at what point they might be introduced. An important consideration is whether the mandates are seeking to protect people against COVID transmission in key sectors or spaces, or whether governments are using them as a lever to push up vaccine rates in the population at large. While both can be legitimate, they are different policy goals and governments need to be transparent about which one they are pursuing.
Katie Attwell University of Western Australia
Marco Rizzi University of Western Australia
14
Israel, the first jurisdiction to introduce a vaccine passport, has utilised this measure intermittently, depending on the transmission risk and coverage rates. This suggests the Government has used it as a strategy to increase vaccine coverage overall. EU countries are also utilising vaccine passports, but they have had design and implementation issues.
Image: Sylwia Bartyzel
Sentry
•
SEPTEMBER 2021
Despite ongoing protests to the measures in France, and to a lesser extent Italy, surveys show the majority of people in both countries approve of the measures. They have also led to a rapid increase in bookings for vaccinations. New York City has also mandated vaccination for certain public spaces – the first government in the US to do so. There is a legal basis to do so: the Supreme Court ruled in 1905 that states could require residents to be vaccinated against small pox or be fined.
CAN IT BE DONE HERE LEGALLY? There is scope for Australian governments to impose a similar 'vaccine passport'.
