Vaccinations play an important role in keeping everyone safe, especially in our workplaces, services and facilities. Led by experts and scientific evidence, we’ve carefully considered the role of vaccinations in helping to protect people from becoming infected or falling seriously ill from COVID-19.
We’ve also been guided by central government requirements to help manage the spread of the virus, legal obligations, such as roles covered by vaccination orders, and our duty of care to look after our people and the people of Auckland.
Our approach has taken into consideration the health and safety risks to our organisation and our communities and is being reviewed regularly to ensure we continue to manage any risks and new developments as effectively as possible.
My Vaccine Pass requirements
From Tuesday 5 April 2022 vaccine passes will no longer be required to enter our sites and facilities. This is in keeping with changes to My Vaccine Pass requirements made by the government.
A vaccination policy for our people
We have reviewed the vaccination policy for our people, in consultation with our workforce.
We looked carefully at the current risk posed by COVID-19 and considered updated advice from public health experts and information provided by the Ministry of Health and other agencies. We also took into consideration updated legal advice and alignment with the government’s approach.
Based on our updated risk assessment, the council no longer requires mandatory vaccination for its people, however full vaccination remains strongly encouraged.
Vaccination will remain the primary control for COVID-19, but in a more limited way than before. We will place a greater reliance on other controls such as rapid antigen testing, hygiene controls, capacity limits, mask wearing, physical distancing and working from home to manage any potential risks of transmission and the severity of infection.
Our top priority in making this decision is the health and safety of our people and that of our customers and the communities we serve.
What you need to know:
- Being fully vaccinated will be strongly encouraged among Auckland Council employees but will no longer be a requirement in order for our people to carry out their roles and access our workplaces, apart from in certain circumstances, like when a government mandate is in place.
- This also applies to those who carry out work on our behalf, such as contractors, suppliers and volunteers, which means our contractor vaccination policy will be retired.
- We will remove the guidance put in place for elected members, who will no longer be required to be vaccinated to work in our offices and meeting spaces.
- In line with this new approach and the government's changes, customers accessing our sites and facilities will no longer need to provide evidence of a My Vaccine Pass.
To learn more about how we developed this policy:
Our request to our customers
Follow the
Ministry of Health rules. This is for your safety and for the safety of our people.
Support us by using the full range of risk management measures that we have implemented by:
- Wearing face masks that are compliant with Government guidelines
- Physical distancing
-
Using hand sanitiser (provided)
- Staying at home if you are sick.
Like you, our people have had to navigate their way through this pandemic. This has been challenging for us all.
We are here to help you. Remember to treat our staff with kindness and respect.
Council-controlled organisations
Our policies do not apply to council-controlled organisations (CCOs) like Auckland Transport, Auckland Unlimited, Eke Panuku and Watercare. Our CCOs have their own responsibilities under the
Health and Safety at Work Act and have formed their own policies.
Official information requests
Find information provided to requestors under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
