In mid-July 2024, COVERSE wrote to every single federal Senator, calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into the COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme, and drawing attention to its failures.
Below is a copy of the text of our letter…
RE: Review of COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme
Dear Senator,
We are writing as co-founders and directors of COVERSE – the national registered charity for Australians who have been harmed by the COVID-19 vaccines – to request that you now initiate, or support the initiation of a parliamentary inquiry into the COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme.1
A review of the scheme was recommended by the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committees responsible for the inquiry into the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Vaccine Indemnity) Bill 2023 on the 18th March 2024,2 and to the best of our knowledge this has not occurred. This issue is becoming more pressing as the scheme is currently scheduled to cease on 30th September 2024. It is urgent that the Senate conducts its own review.
Data published in DAEN (the TGA’s Database of Adverse Event Notifications) indicates over 22,000 reports of serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, including several thousand with cardiac inflammation, from a total of over 140,000 reports (accounting for almost ¼ of all drug reaction reports since the TGA began collecting this information over 50 years ago). These numbers likely represent a significant under-reporting of the true number of Australians seriously harmed by these vaccines. In this context it is imperative that the Vaccine Claims Scheme operates with demonstrated efficiency, fairness and compassion.
We further draw your attention to information revealed in a recent Senate Estimates session where Services Australia disclosed that, as at 31st March 2024, 91% of finalised applications have been unsuccessful (despite these applications having overwhelming medical evidence supporting their claims of Covid vaccine-induced harms).3 There were also examples provided where claimants have been waiting in excess of 455 days for an outcome. These two facts alone demonstrate that the scheme is punitive in nature and is not meeting the expectations of the Australian public who were promised “a simple and quick administrative process for compensation.”4
The experiences of individuals who have suffered adverse effects following vaccination have been shared as part of testimony at various Senate inquiries.5 They universally highlight the urgent need for a transparent, responsive, and supportive compensation scheme system. It is crucial that the claims process is streamlined and effective to maintain public trust and provide adequate assistance to those impacted. As such we would expect that the people that are most affected by this scheme – the Covid vaccine injured – be included in the review process to adequately capture where the scheme is failing the Australian public.
Based on the lived experience of our community, the following are areas of the current Covid-19 Claim Scheme that need to be addressed as part of a Senate review:
- Reflect the vast array of chronic and severe adverse reactions Australians are actually medically confirmed to be experiencing, instead of the very limited number that are currently recognised. No vaccine-injured Australian should be denied compensation simply because their reaction does not appear on a bureaucratic list.
- Correct the eligibility criteria to reflect that a significant number of impacted patients were never admitted to hospital, yet have nevertheless experienced harm that continues to devastate their lives.
- Correct the eligibility criteria that require patients to be able to demonstrate current/future losses of at least $1,000. This is prejudicial to low-income people who rely solely on public health support yet still deserve compensation for the same amount of pain and suffering endured by themselves and their families.
- Remove or streamline the administrative overhead where a Tier 2 claim is subject to multiple reviews (internal medical, external legal, internal legal, …). If a claim is supported by a specialist this should be considered sufficient medical evidence for the claim to proceed.
- Review the pain and suffering component of the scheme, particularly Tier 1 where claims receive a flat 25% of the claim total. This clause is prejudicial to those with low-income or those with access to other forms of paid leave or compensation. Regardless of the magnitude of suffering, the maximum a person could receive for a Tier 1 claim is $3,999.99. This is grossly inequitable when Tier 2 has a maximum of $693,500.
- Review the generally onerous burden of administration being encountered by victims with significant brain fog, cognitive and pain symptoms. Consider legible bank statements as appropriate proof of small to medium scale expenses where receipt keeping is particularly arduous for patients managing an illness almost entirely by themselves.
- The scheme closure date should be extended beyond 30 September 2024. It makes no fair or ethical sense for the scheme to be discontinued while the COVID-19 vaccines are still made freely available to the public and while there remains unresolved issues in regards to the current scheme for people who are already vaccine-injured.
We urge you to prioritise this Senate inquiry and ask for your commitment to work with your Parliamentary colleagues to ensure that the citizens who contributed to the collective pandemic efforts and have paid the price with their health, receive the care and assistance they need.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue. We look forward to your prompt and detailed response and to your proactive measures to ensure that Parliament does not continue to abandon these Australians. We would also point to significant impacts on public trust and accountability for newly Covid-vaccine injured Australians to encounter an entirely closed scheme.
Regards,
Dr Rado Faletič
Director, COVERSE Ltd
Naomi Smith
Director, COVERSE Ltd
Julianne Rogers
Director, COVERSE Ltd
- www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccine-claims-scheme ↩︎
- www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Finance_and_Public_Administration/VaccineIndemnity47/Report/Chapter_2_-_Key_issues_and_committee_view ↩︎
- 3rd June 2024, www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Read_Listen/ParlView/video/2509931 ↩︎
- www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/no-fault-covid-19-indemnity-scheme ↩︎
- coverse.org.au/submissions ↩︎
