Fire Service Still Enforcing Mandatory Vaccination After It Was Ruled Unlawful Interstate: Victorian MP

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A Victorian parliamentarian claims more than 50 Fire Rescue Victoria firefighters are unable to respond to emergencies due to a vaccine mandate.

Liberal Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur has raised concerns the state’s fire service was still enforcing mandate vaccines.

Ms. McArthur said the minister for emergency services was “failing to take action.”

“Fire Rescue Victoria is the only fire service in Australia still enforcing mandatory vaccination,” Ms. McArthur said on April 10.

“Why are they such an outlier? It makes no medical sense. The last mandated dose was March 2022. It cannot be effective now. Nor does it apply to volunteers, who with the same vaccine status can work.”

Three COVID-19 vaccinations including a booster shot are still required to become a firefighter, according to a recruitment FAQ page on the Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) website.

“I’ve received two COVID-19 vaccinations, am I eligible to apply?” the FAQ page states.

“No, FRV requires candidates to be fully vaccinated (boosted), which is three COVID-19 vaccinations,” the page indicates.”

The Liberal MP noted the Queensland Supreme Court has recently deemed vaccine mandates unlawful for frontline workers.

“The Court recognised that such mandates contradicted human rights legislation recognising a person’s right not to be subjected to medical treatment without full, free, and informed consent,” she said.

“This vaccine mandate enforces an outdated dosage that is contrary to Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) clinical recommendations, and it is starkly without consideration to its own suppressed Risk Assessment only obtained through FOI.”

Further, Ms. McArthur noted volunteer firefighters have fallen by 998 members, from 52,807 to 51,807 in a year.

“Given this ruling, the firefighter shortage, and the fact that Victoria continues to be an outlier, when will the Minister step up and request that the FRV remove this discriminatory policy?” she asked. A spokesperson for Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) said it continues to adopt an evidence-based approach to its management of the risks associated with COVID-19 transmission and infection.

“In this respect, vaccination against COVID-19 remains an important risk control, particularly given the nature of our work,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“The vast majority of our people, more than 98 percent, are vaccinated. This is a high figure for an organisation of more than 4,500 employees.”

The fire service said its priority remains ensuring workplaces are safe and without risks to health and safety.

“This is a priority we take seriously, particularly given our firefighters’ role in delivering life-saving medical care as part of our Emergency Medical Response (EMR) partnership with Ambulance Victoria,” FRV said.

Queensland Ruling

The Supreme Court of Queensland ruled that COVID-19 vaccine mandates on police officers and ambulance workers were unlawful under section 58 of the Human Rights Act on Feb. 27.

Judge Glenn Martin held (pdf) that the police commissioner failed to give “proper consideration” to human rights when making decisions related to the vaccine mandate directions.

“I do not accept that the commissioner had either identified the human rights that might be affected by the decision or considered whether the decision would be compatible with human rights,” the judge said.

Further, the court found that the former Department of Health Director-General did not establish the COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a condition of employment for Queensland Ambulance Service staff.

Judge Martin ordered for both the police commissioner and director-general of Queensland Health to be restrained from taking any enforcement actions or disciplinary proceedings related to mandates.

The court declared the human resources policy concerning COVID-19 vaccine requirements ineffective.

“I have not held that the QPS Directions and the QAS Direction were invalid, rather I have held that they were unlawful,” the judge said.

The judge did not address the vaccine’s transmissibility or efficacy in the ruling.

What Are the ATAGI Guidelines?

The Australian government’s advisory group on vaccinations, ATAGI, gives the strongest vaccine recommendations to the elderly and severely compromised.

In a statement (pdf) dated Feb. 29, ATAGI suggests healthy adults aged between 18 and 64 consider a COVID-19 vaccine every 12 months based on a risk benefit assessment.

Only adults between 65 to 74 years or between 18 and 64 years who are severely compromised are recommended officially to take a COVID-19 vaccine every 12 months and consider a dose every six months based on risk assessment.

Adults over 75 years of age are recommended to take a COVID-19 vaccine every six months by the advisory group.

“Vaccination remains the most important measure to protect those at risk of severe disease from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines are recommended every 6 to 12 months for older adults and adults with severe immunocompromise due to their ongoing risk of severe COVID-19,” ATAGI states.

Victorian MP Receiving Inquiries From Firefighters

In Parliament on March 21, Victorian Liberal South Eastern Metropolitan MP Ann-Marie Hermans said she is receiving inquiries from firefighters who want to return to work.

Ms. Hermans said she is seeking that the Minister for Emergency Services, Anthony Carbines, revoke the mandate on unvaccinated firefighters in Victoria immediately.

“In a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearing, I must say, it was confirmed by [Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner] Rick Nugent that firefighters without the vaccine would not be working this season. We are still in a fire season even though we are no longer in summer, and we always are at risk in our summer periods,” Ms. Hermans said in parliament (pdf).

“Meanwhile, we have a Country Fire Authority with outdated and inadequate resources, and we also have firefighters unable to do their jobs because their resources have not been properly updated.