When Did The Government Warn Practitioners Not To Vaccinate Without Informed Consent?

Recently I wrote to Australian Health Minister Mark Butler seeking clarification regarding the Australian Government’s Operation COVID Shield guidance document Handling consent refusal by people presenting for vaccination.

This government guidance states:

“If a patient has not provided informed consent, you should not vaccinate them, even if they are mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccination to perform particular roles or enter certain settings.”

This government guidance document for practitioners was published on 15 December 2021, after COVID-19 vaccination mandates had already been implemented across many settings across Australia.

My summarised questions to Mark Butler:

• When was this government guidance first circulated to practitioners participating in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout?

• What steps were taken to ensure that practitioners responsible for obtaining voluntary informed consent were aware of this government guidance?

• How was it distributed?

• Were practitioners required to read or acknowledge it?

The email has also been copied to relevant political representatives as witnesses that this request has been raised, being sent to Senators Malcolm Roberts, Alex Antic and Ralph Babet as they have been active in questioning vaccination policy. Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston is also copied, along with Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash. MPs in my Federal and State electorates are also copied, Claire Clutterham in Sturt, and Jack Batty in Bragg.

I share the email here for the public record, reproduced in full below. It is also accessible via this link: https://vaccinationispolitical.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/re_-operation-covid-shield-handling-consent-refusal-guidance.pdf

The ‘Handling Consent Refusal’ document is also attached, along with the publication details.

From: Elizabeth Hart <elizmhart@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 2, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Subject: Re: Operation COVID Shield ‘Handling Consent Refusal’ Guidance
To: <minister.butler@health.gov.au>
Cc: <senator.ruston@aph.gov.au>, Senator Malcolm Roberts <senator.roberts@onenation.org.au>, Babet, Ralph (Senator Office) <senator.babet@aph.gov.au>, Antic, Alex (Senator) <senator.antic@aph.gov.au>, <Michelle.Rowland.MP@aph.gov.au>, <senator.michaelia.cash@aph.gov.au>, Batty, Jack <Jack.Batty@parliament.sa.gov.au>, Clutterham, Claire (MP Office) <claire.clutterham.mp@aph.gov.au>

For the attention of:
The Hon. Mark Butler MP

Minister for Health and Ageing

Dear Minister Butler

I am seeking clarification regarding the Australian Government’s Operation COVID Shield guidance document for practitioners: Handling consent refusal by people presenting for vaccination. (Copy attached.)

This government guidance document for practitioners states that:

“Informed consent is an individual’s voluntary decision to agree to a healthcare treatment, procedure or intervention, such as a COVID-19 vaccination, in its entirety, after the individual has been provided understandable, sufficient, appropriate and reliable information about the intervention, including the potential risks and benefits.”

This government document warns practitioners that they should not proceed with COVID-19 vaccination where informed consent is not given, i.e.

“A patient must provide informed consent prior to vaccination.”

“If a patient has not provided informed consent, you should not vaccinate them, even if they are mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccination to perform particular roles or enter certain settings.”

This government guidance for practitioners was published on 15 December 2021 (publication details attached), after COVID-19 vaccination mandates had already been implemented in many settings. The timing of the guidance therefore raises an additional question regarding when and how widely it was communicated to practitioners.

Could you please advise what action was taken by the Australian Government to circulate this Handling consent refusal guidance to vaccinating practitioners?

In particular:

• The government guidance for practitioners was published on 15 December 2021 - when was it first circulated to practitioners participating in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout?

• Was the government guidance provided directly to medical practitioners, nurses and pharmacists or other practitioners participating in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout?

• Was it distributed through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and National Boards, professional colleges and associations, medical schools, health departments, public and private health services, vaccination hubs, Primary Health Networks, medical defence organisations and insurers, or other channels?

• Was there any requirement or expectation that vaccinating practitioners read or acknowledge the government guidance? How was this recorded?

I would appreciate any information you can provide regarding how this government guidance was communicated to the practitioners expected to obtain voluntary informed consent during the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

I have also copied relevant political representatives as witnesses that this request has been raised.

Kind regards

Elizabeth Hart
Independent researcher on medical ethics and vaccination policy
vaccinationispolitical.net

Acknowledgement:

ChatGPT was used as a reasoning partner and drafting tool in the preparation of this correspondence. All content was initiated, developed, directed, and refined by the author.