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A previously scrapped challenge against Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate put forward by various employees and businesses across the state has been reinstated.
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on Lawyers Weekly’s sister brand, HR Leader.
A legal challenge against the Queensland state government and chief health officer over COVID-19 pandemic direction measures, including vaccine mandates, has been reinstated in Queensland’s Court of Appeal after originally being thrown out.
The cases, presented by law firm Alexander Law on behalf of two groups of up to 19 total applicants, were thrown out by the state government, which claimed that the applicants were “no longer adversely affected by the directions” and “would incur no foreseeable consequence” given that the directions were no longer in place.
Despite the removal of such directions, and the years that have passed since they were first implemented amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the differing parties in both cases have claimed that the impact of the directions infringed on their human rights, shut down their businesses and affected their overall livelihood.
One applicant who was a business owner confirmed that after police arrived to check his vaccination status, he shut down his business, hoping that the mandatory vaccination requirements “would be removed in the new year”.
According to his evidence, due to his vaccination status, he was prevented from entering the premises of his own business, prevented from hiring or retaining staff who were not fully vaccinated, and restricted in the way he could operate the business.
Multiple teachers involved in the challenge claimed that their employment was terminated on the basis that they refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine – with many citing concerns over the risks of vaccination.
Justice John Bond, who oversaw the appeal against the summary dismissal of the two cases filed by Alexander Law, concluded that the applicants deserved their day in court.
“… There is no other good reason to deny the applicants their day in court in their attempt to establish the merits of their claims for declaratory orders in relation to alleged past contraventions.
“To the contrary, there is a strong public interest in determining whether or not there is any merit in their claims,” Justice Bond said.
The applicant’s appeal was therefore reinstated, and their costs were covered for the appeal.
“We welcome the judgment of the Queensland Court of Appeal, handed down on 8 July 2025, which has upheld our clients’ appeal and set aside the orders of the Supreme Court made in February 2024,” said an Alexander Law spokesperson to HR Leader.
“This decision confirms that individuals and small-business owners affected by the former chief health officer’s pandemic-related directions have the right to seek judicial review of those actions. The court found that the applicants had legal standing to pursue their claims and dismissed the respondents’ attempts to summarily shut down the proceedings.
“The ruling is a significant affirmation of the rule of law and the right of all Queenslanders to challenge the legality of government decisions that affect their rights and livelihoods, especially where fundamental liberties and constitutional questions are involved.”
