CCIWA CEO
Chris Rodwell
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) welcomes today’s announcement from the State Government on phased mandatory vaccinations.
Mandating vaccination will help to drive Western Australia’s vaccination rate higher, which is the only way we can move forward and leave border closures behind. This is critical so that our businesses can compete with those in other States and internationally.
It is important to recognize that this plan puts some of the responsibility and onus on small to medium sized businesses, particularly with respect to retaining records of vaccination and bearing financial penalties for unvaccinated workers.
A business operating in good faith may still face a $100,000 fine for incorrect book-keeping of health records, an activity many will never have undertaken before. Small businesses in particular will need continuous support and further information to manage this, and CCIWA stands ready to assist them.
CCIWA looks forward to working with the State Government to resolve some of the details and challenges to implementation, such as which organisations classify as critical industries.
CCIWA has consistently urged WA businesses to support staff to participate in the vaccination effort. This is the only way to get past the era of lockdowns and travel restrictions, and back to life and business as usual.
Further to today’s announcement, we remain eager to see a clear roadmap for our State to re-join the nation and end lockdowns and travel restrictions. This would provide the certainty which businesses of all sizes within our vast membership have consistently called for and enable them to plan for the future.
