Department of Communities and Justice Vaccination Policy: Relevant dates and processes for exemptions - Public Service Association

Department of Communities and Justice Vaccination Policy: Relevant dates and processes for exemptions

As per the Commissioner’s instruction (2021/51 DCJ COVID-19 Vaccination Policy), all Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 with a vaccination approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia. Staff are required to have received vaccination by the following dates:

  • Dose 1 by 25 October 2021 if you work in, or have to go to, frontline workplaces. This includes Correctional Centres, Community Corrections facilities and Courts
  • Dose 1 by 1 December 2021 if you work in any other DCJ locations such as corporate or policy offices, or work from home. If this is your main location, but you sometimes go to a frontline office, then the earlier date applies
  • Dose 2 by 17 January 2022 for all DCJ staff

On Thursday 21 October the PSA met with representatives of DCJ to discuss the Vaccination Policy. The PSA sought clarity on a number of items detailed below.

Medical contraindication exemptions

Some members may have a medical contraindication exemption to receiving the vaccines currently available. Members will need a medical contraindication form completed by a registered medical practitioner and submitted to their manager or one up manager. Alternatively employees can submit this information to their People Business Partner.

Where there is contention around the medical contraindication evidence provided, DCJ has confirmed it will seek further information from the employee’s medical practitioner before the Government’s medical assessment provider if required. DCJ confirmed that employees in this situation will be placed on Special Leave while this process is undertaken. The PSA encourages members who may be in this situation to contact us so we can assist in supporting you through the process.

Exceptional circumstances

Following consultation with the PSA around the policy, DCJ has included a process for staff who feel they have exceptional circumstances, other than a medical contraindication, for non-compliance.  The PSA encourages members who cannot comply with the timeframes above to complete an Exceptional Circumstances Form and submit to their Manager/Supervisor or Manage/Supervisor one-up.  Your submission will then be reviewed by a panel led by the People Branch.

The exceptional circumstances form can be found HERE.

Employees already on leave

DCJ confirmed employees already on approved long-term leave (such as Extended leave or Parental Leave) will be required to comply with the policy before their return to the workplace. This is not necessarily the date stated above. For example, if an employee from a workplace deemed frontline is already on long term leave and will not be returning to the workplace until 2022, they will need to provide evidence of vaccination before their return to the workplace, not October 25 2021.  The PSA still encourages members in this situation to provide evidence of their vaccination as soon as they are able.

Employees on Workers’ Compensation

Similarly, members on Workers’ Compensation will not be required to provide evidence by the dates above if they have no capacity for the time period the date applies. However, if an employee on Workers’ Compensation is ready to resume either alternative duties or pre injury duties, they will need to provide evidence of their vaccination in line with the policy. Not having a vaccination is not an accepted reason for delaying a return to the workplace. If you are unable to undertake suitable duties due to lack of vaccination, your payments may be affected.  The PSA encourages members in this situation to provide evidence of their vaccination as soon as they are able to avoid complications.

Process for employees who do not comply

If an employee chooses not to comply, they will be asked to take leave (Recreation Leave, Extended Leave, Flex Leave) from the relevant date; for workplaces deemed frontline this is from Monday 25 October 2021.  Employees in this situation will:

  • be contacted within seven days of entering on to leave;
  • asked to clarify why they have not complied with the policy; and
  • notified that they may be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Dependent on the response to that communication, the Department may then decide to commence disciplinary proceedings and the employee will be suspended from that point. The employee will also have an opportunity to comply with the policy and return to the workplace at any point if there have been any extenuating circumstances that have delayed their compliance, although the PSA recommends members complete an exceptional circumstances form before any relevant date as described above if they believe they cannot comply with the policy.

What about Novavax?

The PSA understands that some members would prefer to wait for Novavax to be available before complying with the policy. While the PSA has advocated for members in this situation to be allowed to take their accrued leave until this time, there is no clarity as to when Novavax may be available, if at all. The PSA encourages members who may have been holding out for this vaccine to speak to their doctor about the three vaccines currently available and approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

 

 

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