What you need to know

• Support workers in disability settings in the ACT must be fully vaccinated by the end of November to continue working
• The first dose is required by 1 November and the second dose by 29 November 2021
• The ACT Public Health Direction will clarify worker categories that are being mandated
• Eligible NDIS providers in the ACT can claim a one-off vaccination payment for each support worker

Disability support workers in the ACT will require full vaccination against COVID-19 by the end of November, as announced in a joint statement by the ACT Minister for Health and ACT Minister for Disability on 20 October 2021.Staff must receive their first dose by 1 November 2021, and their second dose by 29 November 2021.

This decision brings vaccination requirements for disability support workers in line with those for staff in residential aged-care facilities, hospitals, schools and early childhood education and care settings.

This requirement will apply to everyone who is engaged to work in these sectors and perform these duties, whether fulltime, part-time, casually or on a voluntary basis.

Clear guidelines about the staff classifications included in the mandate will be incorporated into the Public Health Direction which is expected to be issued this week.

In other welcome news, eligible NDIS providers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Western Australia (WA) will join those in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Victoria in being able to claim a one-off payment from the NDIA for support workers to receive their COVID-19 vaccination.

The payment, of $100 per worker per dose, can be claimed directly from the NDIA retrospectively for any vaccinations that a worker has received since 20 October.

Article sourced from National Disability Services