• Virgin Australia has concluded consultation with employees and unions over its proposal to require COVID-19 vaccination for all team members, on the basis that vaccination is necessary to keep our people, customers and the wider Australian community safe.  
• Under the final policy, frontline and airport-based team members will be required to be vaccinated by 15 November 2021, and all other office-based team members by 31 March 2022.  
• Changes to the draft policy made as a result of feedback include; 
  
  • reimbursement of a GP visit to discuss vaccination concerns; 
  • access to additional leave for team members with low leave balances who feel unwell after vaccination; 
  • short extensions available in certain circumstances where availability of vaccine has been limited for individuals based on area and eligibility;  
  • a clearer process for those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical or other reasons; 
  • clarification of the vaccination verification process. 
• Virgin Australia will continue its internal information campaign to assure and inform as many employees as possible about the safety and importance of vaccination. 
• Virgin Australia’s VA-X & WIN promotion for team members will open today following the launch of the competition for consumers on 1 September, which had a record breaking 100,000 entries in just over 24 hours. To date, we have had almost 160,000 vaccinated Australians enter. 

Thursday 16 September 2021: After a two-week consultation period with unions, employees, contractors and suppliers, Virgin Australia has announced its final policy which will require COVID-19 vaccination for all team members. The company believes that requiring vaccination is the best way to protect the health and safety of its workforce, and in turn the wider Australian community and everyone’s way of life. 

Frontline and airport-based team members will be required to be vaccinated by 15 November 2021, and all other office-based team members by 31 March 2022. Exemptions for team members with medical contraindications or other reasons that can be substantiated will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Changes to the proposed policy as a result of feedback include:  

• reimbursement of out of pocket expense of up to $100 for a GP visit to discuss vaccination concerns; 
• changes to leave allowances in relation to vaccination, giving up to two days of special circumstances leave if a team member feels unwell after being vaccinated, where the team member has two days or less of personal leave; 
• short extensions available in certain circumstances where availability of vaccine has been limited for individuals based on area and eligibility; 
• a clearer process for those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical or other reasons; 
• clarification of the vaccination verification process. 

Team members will be expected to take all reasonable steps to ensure they are able to meet the timeframes set in the policy. The vaccination requirement will apply to all workgroups, and it is the intention that the policy will also apply to all contractors who perform duties in a Virgin Australia workplace. 

Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said that while the majority of team members are already vaccinated and support the policy, the airline will continue its information program with medical experts on COVID-19 vaccination to help address concerns unvaccinated team members may have. 

“We have listened to all the feedback we have received, either directly or through unions, and made some changes to our proposed policy based on this feedback,” said Ms Hrdlicka. 

“This is the right policy for the extraordinary times we live in and is a decision that will keep our people safe. We know this will be difficult for some of our people, but we have a responsibility to do our part to protect our people, the community and our way of life. Vaccination is the way to do that. 

“Our guests can know that when they fly with us later this year, all of our frontline teams will be fully vaccinated. This is in addition to several other measures we have in place to minimise risks associated with COVID-19, which will help our guests feel comfortable and confident when flying with us. We also remain supportive of any government-led measures to ensure travellers are vaccinated,” she said. 

Virgin Australia’s team members who are vaccinated can now opt to enter Virgin Australia’s internal VA-X & WIN promotion, where prizes include additional annual leave, Lounge memberships and Business Class flights.