Court of Appeal Decides NZDF Vaccine Mandate Unlawful

Media Release - Today the Court of Appeal upheld an appeal by members of the NZ Defence Force, and decided that the NZDF COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unlawful

Photo source: NZDF

The High Court ruled in Yardley (2022) that the government vaccine mandate for all New Zealand Defence Force and uniformed Police workers was unlawful. Despite this, the NZDF then created its own internal vaccine mandate forcing those in uniform to get vaccinated or lose their job.

“It is a fantastic result for the protection of fundamental rights in New Zealand.” - Matthew Hague, lawyer for the appellants

The Court of Appeal held that the NZDF vaccine mandate limited the right to refuse medical treatment and to manifest religious belief.

The Court of Appeal decided that the Chief of Defence Force was not justified in limiting these rights by imposing a vaccine mandate in the way that he did.

This is the third time that members of the NZDF have successfully challenged a vaccine mandate.

• Read the Court of Appeal full report

While the majority of New Zealand has moved on from mandates and the new government has promised to remove all mandates in the public sector, the NZDF internal mandate has remained in full force until today. Many highly trained and valuable service personnel have been discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine, including recently a young pregnant medic discharged earlier this month.

“Members of our Armed Forces sacrifice much in the service of our country, which means upholding their fundamental rights all the more important.”
- Matthew Hague, lawyer for the appellants

The unlawful mandate caused many uniformed professionals to be discharged from the NZDF, from new recruits through to highly decorated senior officers across all three services. It has also had many second order effects, limiting career options for those that remain and driving many to leave of their own accord due to not wanting to remain subject to it.

“Members of the NZDF are everyday New Zealanders who commit their service to serving their communities. We call on the Chief of Defence Force to apologise for the harm he has done, and to provide assurances that he will respect the basic rights of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who serve New Zealand. ” - United We Stand spokesperson

Discharging capable service members has also been counterproductive at a time where the NZDF is experiencing high levels of attrition and struggling to maintain its operational outputs due to record low manning.

NZDF is the only defence force in the Five Eyes of US, UK, Australia, Canada and NZ that has retained a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its service members.

Those affected are upset and angry about the NZDF creating its own unlawful mandate, especially as this happened after the government mandate was ruled illegal.

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