Publications

2026

• (2006) Thomasson, A. A Systematic Analysis of Australian Superior Court Decisions in Cases Involving Challenges to Vaccine Mandates. Monash University Law Review. 

  
  Based on the Case Repository built by Study 5, this journal article extrapolates some interesting findings from cases in each of the areas of law used to mount challenges to mandates - including public and administrative, employment and constitutional law. By and large, vaccine mandate challenges were unsuccessful - it turns out that the law doesn't really have much to say about the substance of mandates. It does however have a bit to say about the decision-making process, particularly in jurisdictions that require a decision-maker to actively turn their mind to the human rights implications of the actions they are proposing to take.

  Government action during the COVID-19 pandemic was necessarily decisive - we can acknowledge that fact while still maintaining our commitment to the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty and the (hopefully not too controversial) idea that decisions should be transparent and based on consistent criteria.

2025

• (2025) Antonini M., Genie M.G., Attwell K., Attema A.E., Ward J.K., Melegaro A., Torbica A., Kelly B., Berardi C., Sequeira A.R., McGregor N., Kellner A., Brammli-Greenberg S., Hinwood M., Murauskienė L., Behmane D., Balogh Z.J., Hagen T.P., Paolucci F. Are we ready for the next pandemic? Public preferences and trade-offs between vaccine characteristics and societal restrictions across 21 countries. Social Science & Medicine.
  
  This study explored what people in 21 countries value most in vaccination programs during a future pandemic. Using a survey of more than 47,000 people, we found that vaccine features such as effectiveness, safety, and where the vaccine is made were viewed as more important than social restrictions or vaccine mandates. People who were already vaccinated against COVID-19 were more supportive of future vaccines, while women and younger people were more likely to be hesitant. These findings highlight the importance of building trust, ensuring equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, and strengthening local production to improve vaccine uptake in future pandemics. The results also suggest that understanding public concerns, particularly about safety, testing, and where vaccines are produced, will be crucial for effective communication and preparedness.
  
  
• (2025) Thomasson A. Learnings from Johnston v Carroll: The place of human rights in legal challenges to COVID-19 vaccine directions. UNSW Law Journal Forum.
  
  This journal article summarises the reasoning in a Queensland Supreme Court case, Johnston v Carroll, the first successful court challenge to vaccine mandates in Australia. The article explores the reasoning of Justice Martin, how similar cases might be decided and explores the implications for mandates of this kind more generally in future pandemics. It is the foundational piece of Amy's PhD, which she is undertaking through MandEval, exploring how the law addresses, or fails to adequately address at times, the tension between individual rights and public health measures in emergency settings.
  
  
• (2025) Gebremariam A.G., Genie M., Le H., Attwell K., Liu B., Regan A.K., Beard F.H., Macartney K., Paolucci F., Moore H.C., Blyth C.C. Impact of vaccine mandates and removals on COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Australia and international comparators: a study protocol. Health Economics.
  
  This protocol outlines a programme of studies designed to assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and their removal on vaccination uptake. Analyses will draw on publicly available data from France, Italy, and California (USA), while in Australia the AIR-PLIDA linked individual-level dataset will enable detailed examination across occupations and demographic groups. The studies will evaluate outcomes such as first doses, completion of primary courses, and booster uptake, using well-established statistical approaches that compare trends over time and use similar groups as a benchmark to estimate the policy’s impact. The findings will provide robust evidence to inform future pandemic preparedness and strengthen routine immunisation policy.
  
  
• (2025) Devsam B., Bortolussi K., Tippins J., Vasiliadis S., Danchin M., O'Neill J., Attwell, K., Kaufman J., The experience of seeking & granting special medical exemptions for mandated vaccines: A scoping review. Vaccine.
  
  

  Special medical exemptions are requests to be excused from a vaccine for health reasons that fall outside official medical criteria. This scoping review explored how people and clinicians experience requests for special medical exemptions to vaccines. A review of 18 studies from the USA, Australia, Croatia and Puerto Rico found that these exemptions are granted inconsistently, often due to unclear processes and limited evidence about specific medical conditions. Families usually support vaccination but have genuine health concerns, and trust in clinicians who consider individual needs strongly influences later vaccine choices. This review highlights the need for clearer, fairer, and evidence-based exemption policies that support both individual health and public confidence in vaccination systems.

• (2025) Thomasson A. Treading the link between consent and coercion: The legal treatment of the right to bodily integrity int the context of COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Australia. University of Western Australia Law Review.
  
  

  This journal article considers what it means to consent to vaccination in the face of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, particularly those that required a person to choose between becoming vaccinated or losing their job. Some might consider that this is not a 'choice' at all, but to what extent is that idea reflected by the law in Australia? After reviewing relevant case law, this article argues for internal logic and consistency in how we understand the right to bodily integrity, which underpins the law around consent. This is best achieved through the introduction of human rights legislation where the right is clearly articulated. The article also argues that Australia should make amendments to public health legislation to provide a mandate-specific decision-making framework to improve transparency and accountability.

2024

• (2024) Attwell K., Kaufman J. NSW may end its COVID vaccine mandate for health workers. That doesn’t mean it was a bad idea in the first place. The Conversation.
• (2024) Thomasson A., Attwell K. Queensland ruling doesn’t mean all COVID vaccine mandates were flawed. Here’s why. The Conversation.