The Qantas Group announced on 18 August that it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus (COVID-19) as part of its commitment to safety. Frontline employees — including cabin crew, pilots and airport workers — will need to be vaccinated by 15 November 2021 and the remainder of employees by 31 March 2022. There will be exemptions for those who are unable for documented medical reasons to be vaccinated, which is expected to be very rare.

The policy follows consultation with Qantas and Jetstar employees, including a survey sent to 22,000 people to seek their views on vaccination. The 12,000 responses received showed that of those who responded, 89% had already been vaccinated or are planning to be, and 4% were unwilling or unable to get the jab. Additionally, around three-quarters believed it should be a requirement for all employees to be vaccinated and would be concerned if other employees in the workplace were not vaccinated.

Thousands of aviation workers supporting international flights in New South Wales, South Australia and New Zealand are already required to be vaccinated by those jurisdictions. Multiple airlines around the world have also made it a requirement. Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said having a fully vaccinated workforce will safeguard people against the virus, while protecting customers and the communities that workers fly to.

“One crew member can fly into multiple cities and come into contact with thousands of people in a single day,” Joyce said. “Making sure they are vaccinated given the potential of this virus to spread is so important and I think it’s the kind of safety leadership people would expect from us. We provide an essential service, so this will help guard against the disruptions that can be caused by just one positive COVID case shutting down a freight facility or airport terminal.”

Joyce stated that vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures. “Since vaccines became available, we’ve strongly encouraged all of our people to get the jab and are offering paid time off to get it done. We were really pleased to see from the survey that more than three-quarters of those who responded have already rolled up their sleeve at least once and 60% have had both jabs,” Joyce said.

The Qantas Group employee survey on vaccinations received almost 12,000 responses, representing 60% of Australian-based Qantas Group employees. “This was one of the largest responses to any survey we’ve conducted, even with thousands of our people stood down, which shows just how important this is for them,” Joyce said. Many survey respondents said they would feel concerned about working with unvaccinated colleagues, with 89% having had at least one vaccine dose, or plans to be vaccinated. Additionally, 77% of respondents have had at least one dose, 60% are fully vaccinated and 12% are booked or planning to book an appointment to be vaccinated.

“We understand there will be a very small number of people who decide not to get the vaccine, and that’s their right, but it’s our responsibility to provide the safest possible environment for our employees and for our customers,” Joyce said. Further discussions will take place with employees, their health and safety representatives and unions over the coming weeks on the detail of the policy, including how medical exemptions will be applied, the Qantas statement said. A separate survey of more than 1000 Qantas customers found that 92% of respondents expect Qantas crew to be fully vaccinated.

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