Fears of south-west teacher shortage unfounded as vaccine mandate takes effect

From Monday, October 25 anyone working in a school, childcare or early education service had to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

When the mandate was announced in late September some teachers said they would quit rather than comply.

Kings College principal Allister Rouse said at the time it would "trigger significant teacher shortages and force schools to scrap subjects or cram students into combined classes".

He told The Standard those fears hadn't come to fruition.

"Certainly for us it is not as bad as we first anticipated," he said.

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Mr Rouse said many staff who initially were worried about the vaccine or baulked at the mandate had decided to get their first dose. Only four staff members had refused.

"We've managed to give those staff members leave until the end of the year. At that point we will see whether they want to reconsider their decision," Mr Rouse said.

He confirmed the teachers were either taking long service leave or leave without pay, saying personal leave such as sick leave was not available to them in the circumstances.

Hawkesdale P12 College principal Colan Distel said the school hadn't had a single teacher refuse to get vaccinated. "I've been very grateful, because I was worried it would cause problems but there's been no issue for us at all," he said.

The Department of Education said only 696 teachers across the state were on leave because they either refused to get vaccinated or declined to divulge their vaccination status. Of that number only 150 had openly refused to be vaccinated.

A spokesperson said as of Tuesday roughly 1.2 per cent of the state workforce were barred from working on site.

Catholic schools appeared to see similarly small numbers refusing vaccination. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited said 1.5 per cent of staff were on leave because of the mandate.

Emmanuel College principal Peter Morgan also said the requirement hadn't caused any problems.

"Staff members have been efficient in providing proof of vaccination," he said.

But some schools have been hit harder by the mandate. Good Shepherd College in Hamilton lost between five and 10 per cent of its teachers when the requirement took effect.

Principal Shane Jurecky said the school was "working through a number of options to support those staff".

"Some have the capacity to work from home, some have taken extended leave to give themselves more time, and some have moved into other fields," he said.

Independent Schools Victoria CEO Michelle Green said while the organisation did not have data on compliance with the mandate, "the overwhelming majority of staff in Victorian Independent schools accept the need for COVID-19 vaccinations".

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