A group of Qantas employees who say the company did not "investigate" COVID-19 vaccines before enforcing a mandate have lost their bid to stall disciplinary action against them, while they await a court hearing to challenge the policy.
Last September Qantas Group announced all of its staff, including people who work at their subsidiary companies such as Jetstar, would need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
By November 15, all frontline employees, including pilots, cabin crew and those who work in ground services, were required to have two doses of the vaccine or face termination.
Last Friday, 24 aviation staff, including pilots and engineers from several states launched legal action in the Federal Court against the airline, alleging its vaccination policy was in breach of the Fair Work Act and privacy laws.
At the time, chief executive Alan Joyce said having a fully vaccinated workforce would "safeguard" workers against the virus, but also protect customers and the communities they serviced.
"It's clear that vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures and for a lot of Qantas and Jetstar employees that means getting back to work again," he said.
The group also applied for an urgent interim injunction to prevent the enforcement of the vaccine direction and to prevent them from losing their jobs while the legal process was underway.
During an interlocutory hearing this morning, the group told the court Qantas had not issued a "lawful or reasonable direction" as it had undertaken "insufficient investigation" into available vaccines.
They also submitted that full consultation under the company's bargaining agreement was not carried out and Qantas had relied on a company-wide survey to make its decision.
However, the group conceded there had been consultation with unions and various health and safety representatives.
The court also heard the workers would government public health orders were not lawful because they are "inconsistent with other legislation which takes precedence", but they were "unable to identify with precision the other legislation".
The group also submitted the requirement to provide copies of their vaccination certificates to their employer was in breach of their privacy.
No indication of 'damage that would be suffered'
Justice Kylie Downes told the court it was "difficult to understand" why the applicants waited until after the policy deadline to make an application for "urgent relief" from disciplinary action.
"The applicants have been aware since July but certainly by no later than September that the Qantas Group would require them to be vaccinated as a condition of their continued employment," she said.
The court heard three of the applicants had already been axed from their roles, two were currently on leave without pay and 19 were stood down but were still being paid.
Most of the applicants are currently going through a "six-stage" review process, including seven staff who were providing written responses to Qantas after being issued with a "review of employment letter" in relation to non-compliance, the court heard.
Justice Downes also heard 10 people were in stage four of the review, which meant their written responses were being considered.
John Sheahan, who represents Qantas Group, said the case was a "challenge that would fail" but he did not oppose the injunction application.
The court heard the airline would continue its review process for the remaining 21 staff, including notifying them of a decision on termination, but it would not come into effect until the court proceedings were finalised.
Lawyers for Qantas Group believed it was a "challenge that would fail" but did not oppose the application and offered to pause the review process while the case proceeded, the court heard.
Justice Downes dismissed the application, saying the group had failed to "indicate the damage that would be suffered".
"They're unable to point to any harm or any urgent intermedial harm they would suffer if the injunctions aren't granted," Justice Downes told the court.
"The affidavit material appears to discuss events relating to other employees from the Qantas Group who aren't and one anecdote, but there is nothing to indicate why it is the interim injunction should be granted."
Qantas defends vaccination mandate policy
In a statement, a Qantas spokesperson said safety was at the "core" of the company and it stood by how its vaccine policy was "developed and introduced".
"We consulted our employees … including sending a survey to 22,000 people asking them for their views," the statement read.
"The 12,000 responses we received showed overwhelming support for vaccination requirements across the business.
"We also consulted health and safety representatives, work health and safety committees, and unions on the detail of the policy and incorporated feedback into the policy."
A trial is expected to be heard in March.
