“No jab, no pay”: Morrison clarifies “mandatory” COVID vaccine statement

Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth has raised the possibility of restrictions for people who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available.

Dr Coatsworth said rules like “No jab no pay”, which would stop welfare payments, could be put in place to make sure more Australians are immunised against the virus.

He also mentioned regulations surrounding international and interstate travel would need to be reviewed.

It comes after Scott Morrison said the coronavirus vaccine will be as “mandatory as you can possibly make it” - a comment which he has now backtracked from.

But Morrison did say he was “open to all options” to get as many Australians as possible vaccinated.

Appearing on 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister was asked whether the vaccine would be compulsory. 

To which he responded: “I would expect it to be as mandatory as you can possibly make it.”

But later that afternoon, he told 2GB’s Jim Wilson that the vaccine wouldn’t be compulsory.

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“There’s been a bit of an over-reaction to any suggestion of this, there will be no compulsory vaccine,” he said.

“What we want to achieve is as much vaccination as we possibly can.”

Dr Coatsworth said the first step was to assure Australians that the vaccine that is brought in is safe and effective.

“It’s that confidence that’s going to get the bulk of Australians getting vaccinated. I have absolutely no doubt about that,” Dr Coatsworth said.

“I suspect the majority of Australians will get vaccinated and there will be a strong public view that those who choose not to get vaccinated there needs to be some sort of incentive, perhaps through current objectives (like) no jab, no pay.

“I know that’s a very reasonable interpretation of the what the PM had to say today.”

Dr Coatsworth said other possible measures will need to be discussed with the government, but suggested these:

• Not being able to go into restaurants

• Not being able to travel internationally

• Not being able to catch public transport

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Dr Coatsworth also flagged the idea of “a yellow fever vaccination certificate” he described like what they had in the “olden days”.

“These are clearly policy decisions that need, will be discussed, but there’s no current mechanism to enforce that sort of thing at the moment,” he said.