Fair Work Commission rules BHP vaccine mandate unlawful due to lack of consultation

Approximately 50 mine workers were stood down without pay last month after they were told they would be required to have had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to enter the work site after 9 November, and that they would need to be fully vaccinated by 31 January next year.

BHP is the first Australian company to have its vaccine mandate overturned.

Mine management agreed not to otherwise discipline employees on the basis of their noncompliance with the vaccination order until the commission had ruled on the matter.

Vaccination will remain a condition of entry at the Mt Arthur coal mine while the company undertakes the necessary consultation.