ACT frontline health workers still need to have COVID-19 vaccines despite mandate being dropped

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has confirmed the vaccine requirement for workers in the territory's public health system will extend beyond the current mandate.

Vaccination requirements for teachers will also be managed on a case-by-case basis, as the mandate for educators will also cease next Friday.

Ms Stephen-Smith announced on Tuesday that a public health direction which mandated COVID-19 vaccines for health workers and teachers would finish at 11.59pm on May 13.

But she sought to clarify on Wednesday that health workers in patient-facing roles will still needed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of a workplace policy.

"As far as the public health hospital system goes there is an ongoing requirement for frontline health are workers in the ACT to be vaccinated and that requirement will extend beyond the current public health direction," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

"So Canberrans who may have been concerned about hearing that the vaccination requirements for frontline health staff was being removed as a public health direction can be reassured that our frontline public health services will still require vaccination."

Health workers in the territory have also been told they will need to have received three COVID-19 vaccine doses by May 12.

Ms Stephen-Smith said there were about 38 staff in Canberra Health Services who were unable to work due to the mandate. She said while frontline health workers will still need to be vaccinated that the dropping of the mandate could allow some staff to return in another capacity.

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"Obviously those [vaccine] requirements have a significant impact on human rights and when they are made as a public health direction there is a limited capacity to nuance that to the individual needs of workplaces," she said.

"What this change will enable is that Canberra Health Services and other hospitals service providers will be able to make decisions about the type of staff who really should be required to be fully vaccinated... and other staff who may be able to return to non-patient facing roles, whether or not they have been vaccinated."

Similar arrangements could be in place for teachers. Early childhood staff, primary school staff and out-of-school care staff have been required to be vaccinated since November.

"All of those employers will also be doing the same assessment and having the same conversations with their staff around who may be in a position where a continued requirement to be vaccinated is appropriate," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

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