Anglo American has revealed plans to require people to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of entry to its Australian mine sites, offices and camps from March 1.

The company said it would make a final decision after a further period of consultation on its draft COVID-19 vaccination policy, developed following risk assessments and workforce consultation over the past couple of months.

It comes after fellow miner BHP in October announced that all workers and visitors seeking access to its workplaces in Australia would be required to be fully vaccinated, effective no later than January 31, 2022.

However a full bench of the Fair Work Commission last week found against BHP’s mandatory COVID vaccination regime at Mount Arthur coal mine in New South Wales, pointing to a need for further consultation.

With Queensland’s borders opening this month, Anglo has noted the risk of an escalation in COVID cases in the areas around its coal mines.

“In developing our draft COVID-19 vaccination policy, we have taken into account expert health advice as well as the comparably low rates of vaccination in the areas we operate in,” chief executive officer of Anglo American’s business in Australia Tyler Mitchelson said.

“It’s very likely we will see COVID-19 cases increase throughout Queensland over coming months and we believe we have an obligation to help protect the more than 5,500 people who work for us in Queensland, as well as our local communities.

“Vaccination is the best way to help keep our people and communities safe.

“Many of our workforce live in nearby local communities, but there are also people who commute to work from Mackay, Rockhampton and other regional centres as well as South-East Queensland.

“We recognise that once COVID-19 cases do start to occur more frequently in Queensland, the risk of transmission due to people movements will be higher.”

Mr Mitchelson said the company understood there were cases where people could not get vaccinated, and that it would work with these individuals to assess their individual circumstances under an exemption process within the draft policy.

Anglo American is providing opportunities for employees and embedded contractors to be vaccinated during work time.

CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland District President Stephen Smyth said the union did not support mandatory vaccination policies imposed by employers where there were no public health orders in place.

“Furthermore, the Fair Work Commission has reinforced that workers have rights to be consulted over matters affecting their health and safety under state laws and the relevant terms in their enterprise agreements,” he said.

“We support achieving high rates of vaccination through education and incentives and we continue to encourage members to seek medical advice to address any health concerns they may have.”