The Queensland Labor government has announced it will review long-running vaccine mandates that have kept around 1,000 medical workers from entering the struggling public health system. Introduced in late 2021, the state government has continued its tough stance on the jab across government sectors, notably in teaching, where unvaccinated educators had their pay cut for…

The head of the start-up Red Union—formed in response to the vaccine mandates—is vowing to fight the Queensland Labor government’s decision to effectively bar the organisation from operating in the state. On Oct. 28, the Palaszczuk government passed the Industrial Relations Amendment Bill, which tightens the criteria for registering new employee organisations, side-lining Red Union…

Alternative union groups—formed in opposition to vaccine mandates—are resisting a new amendment that sharpens the powers of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, which was used during the pandemic to penalise medical practitioners for opposing government-backed lockdowns or mandates. In a submission to the Queensland Parliament, the Australian Medical Professionals Society (AMPS) and the Nurses’ Professional Association of…

Hundreds of protestors took the streets on Aug. 31 against a decision by the Queensland state government to dock the pay of unvaccinated teachers. A week earlier, Education Queensland finalised disciplinary action against 900 teachers in the state (out of 54,000 educators) who will see their pay cut by $25 to $90 per week over…