About the event

Bookings are now closed.

If you wish to register for the Webinar today, please email us at cpd@lawsocietywa.asn.au

Employers have a singular duty to protect the health of all individuals in their workforce, and those who come into contact with their workforce – that duty is brought into sharp focus in the midst of the public health emergency we are now experiencing.

Australia is now at the stage of the Covid 19 pandemic where a number of vaccines have been developed and made available, although some individuals are choosing not to take them. How to treat this group of citizens will raise questions concerning the power of Government and the balancing of that power against individual liberties. This balance arises acutely in the employment context.

This Seminar will explore the following issues in a discussion setting:

1. Do employers have a right and/or duty to require that their employees be vaccinated or treat employees differently depending on their vaccination status?
2. Do Federal and State Governments have the power to mandate that citizens be vaccinated or enact laws that treat citizens differently depending on their vaccination status?
3. How and what are some of Western Australia’s peak organisations doing and why?

Arthur Moses SC former President of the NSW Bar Association and Law Council of Australia will introduce the topic by presenting his paper on ‘Can Employers Mandate Vaccinations’. This presentation will be followed by a panel discussion Chaired by Anthony Longland, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills and include Robert Bathurst, Senior Assistant State Solicitor, State Solicitor’s Office, Dr Clayton Golledge, Executive Director, Infections West, Marshall McKenna, Partner, Gilbert + Tobin and Gary Smith, General Manager Legal (Litigation), Wesfarmers.

Level: General