Any aged care worker in Tasmania who has not had at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose will not be allowed to work from Saturday, but it is unclear how this will be enforced and what ramifications will exist for any provider found flouting the law.
A handful of workers have resigned due to personal decisions not to have the vaccine, now unions are waiting to see whether un-vaccinated workers will come to them for assistance on Monday after the September 17 cut off date passes.
As interstate organisations call for an extension of time for mandatory aged care vaccination, Tasmania is tracking well, with aged care providers across the state reporting a 90 to 100 per cent staff vaccination rate for at least one dose.
According to the federal government data, there are three providers which have a slower rate of first dose vaccinations on the North West. This includes facilities at Devonport, Latrobe and Port Sorell, where 80 to 90 per cent of staff have had at least one dose.
It was a similar situation for Launceston where three out of nine providers had a 80 to 90 per cent rate, and the remaining sat in the 90 to 100 per cent vaccination bracket.
One provider in West Tamar had the slowest rate across the state, where 70 to 79 per cent of staff have had at least one vaccine.
Slower mandatory vaccination was also occurring at providers in the Meander Valley, with two providers in Deloraine showing an 80 to 90 per cent first dose vaccination rate.
HACSU state secretary Tim Jacobson said education processes had led to staff awareness about mandatory vaccination, and rates had significantly increased.
"We know that a number of staff have had some difficulty getting into have their first vaccine and some short term exemptions have been given on that basis, and we know that in certain areas exemptions have been given for medical reasons."
Mr Jacobson said it was not entirely clear what will happen to unvaccinated workers employment status, or providers who continue to allow those staff to work.
"What we certainly understand is that they would simply be excluded from being able to work. We are certainly not aware at this stage of employers moving to terminate employment, but it is the law for employers not to have a worker in a facility who has not been vaccinated or got an exemption."
