Teacher challenges jab rules
A casual relief teacher has launched a court challenge against the Victorian government's vaccine mandate.
The teacher has taken legal action in Victoria's Supreme Court against the mandate announced late last month, which she claims is not “legally or ethically justified”.
The mandate requires all authorised workers, including school staff, to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by October 15 and a second by November 26.
The teacher says the rules “do not uphold a citizen's right to autonomy and informed consent in medical treatment and procedures.”
“They are discriminatory in nature,” she said.
She is seeking an urgent injunction to stop the Victorian government from imposing its vaccine rules.
“The proposed mandate is inconsistent with international human rights provisions, federal laws, Australian policies and procedures, and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights,” the teacher wrote in her claim.
“The blanket mandate approach does not consider the human rights of those it is imposed on.”
She is representing herself in the case. Her lawsuit references the Fair Work Act, the UNESCO Statement on Bioethics and Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Australian Doctor's Code of Conduct and the Nuremberg Code.
Her legal documents also question the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
She has already asked the Supreme Court not to make her liable for damages awarded in the case, as the matter is of “public interest”.
A trial has been set down to begin on Monday, October 25.