Disability service providers in Ballarat are racing to get staff fully vaccinated, with one proudly 100 per cent jabbed, and the other offering cash prizes in a raffle to finish the job.
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Vaccinating at-risk populations, including people living with a disability, remains the key to help protect the community - while not mandated yet, several campaigns have been launched by the state government to give priority access at state-run vaccine hubs.
Employers also have a responsibility to provide a safe work environment for their employees.
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McCallum Disability Services announced this week it would require all new hires to be vaccinated, or must have made arrangements to be vaccinated.
Chief executive Tyrone McCuskey said it was important, particularly as the workforce expanded.
"We've recruited 90 people this year alone, and it's a highly casualised workforce as well, so we want to make sure our customers and staff are as safe as possible," he said.
"It's a safety thing, it's not mandated yet through a public health order from the state government, but it will be at some point, so we decided we have to force this issue onto the table."
To incentivise getting vaxxed further, McCallum's running a raffle to encourage staff to get the jab.
"Apart from allowing them leave with pay to get vaccinated, we've always put some financial rewards, a raffle - people vaccinated will go into a draw to win one of five lots of $300, and we've discovered, we've been monitoring the staff conversion rates, this week we just hit 80 per cent," he said.
"Ultimately, we're relying on people, and we have people with good values, they appreciate the vulnerable people they work with.
"We're engaging with existing staff, a carrot approach, but we want the new hires to be under no doubts about what we're committed to going forward."
Workers who choose not to get vaccinated will be required to wear full personal protective equipment, he added.
"I'm horrified to still see conversion rates in our sector are still only 45 per cent - we've been given such an opportunity to get our staff priority access to vaccines, and this week we've got priority access again, any staff member can roll up and choose vaccine they want, there's just no excuses any more.
"We've got really high conversion rates for our customers as well, I know that all our residents who are in supported accommodation, we've got 100 per cent fully vaccinated for those who chose to be, that's fantastic."
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Ballarat Regional Industries has hit the 100 per cent target for its staff, according to chief executive Geoff Russell.
"We're certainly encouraging people, (and) with our people with disabilities, we're offering to help them with paperwork, we've had quite a number of our people who've taken up that option," he said.
"We see it as a responsibility to the wider population that (we) comply, and that assists the process going forward."
To book a jab, call the coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398 or go online to portal.cvms.vic.gov.au/. Or, for the UFS clinic on Dana Street, call 4320 0891 (Pfizer and AstraZeneca) or online ufs.com.au/vaccine (AstraZeneca only).
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