Over 3,100 Queensland police join class action over COVID vaccine mandate

More than 3,100 current and former Queensland Police Service personnel have joined a class action contesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandate introduced in September 2021. The suit is being funded by Clive Palmer’s mining company Mineralogy and is being handled by Sibley Lawyers, whose director Justin Sibley said thousands more could still enroll before the September 18 deadline. The mandate, imposed by then-commissioner Katarina Carroll, required officers to be vaccinated or face suspension without pay for five months.

Justice Glenn Martin later found the directive unlawful because the commissioner failed to consider human-rights advice, though he did not deem all workplace vaccine requirements illegal. Participants are divided into groups based on whether they were coerced into vaccination, refused it entirely, or were denied medical exemptions. A Queensland Police Service spokesperson declined to comment pending the proceedings.