At present in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, all students applying for entry to a health related /social services programme are highly recommended to be vaccinated against COVID-19. All health sector organisations engaging health care workers have obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to take all reasonable steps to eliminate, or otherwise control, the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. The NZ government has mandated the vaccine for frontline health care workers. As a result the health care providers we work with are requiring their staff, including any students on placement, to be vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination. If you are unvaccinated or if you choose not to disclose whether or not you are vaccinated or to provide evidence if asked, then this will have an impact on healthcare placements that you can be allocated to as part of your undergraduate health programme and will have an impact on successful completion of the programme.
Employment agencies accessed by students of programmes of study other than health/social services may also choose to only accept those students for placement who are vaccinated against Covid 19. On this basis SIT cannot guarantee placements for unvaccinated students and therefore cannot guarantee programme successful completion for those students who choose not to be vaccinated against Covid 19.