Official police staff records published in the NT Police Gazette have confirmed the top brass were obligated to rescind the forced retirements of three officers who had allegedly refused the COVID-19 vaccine, but police sources still expect the officers to lose their jobs after their internal appeals have been heard.

The NT Independent revealed on Wednesday that an officer who had taken Supreme Court action against Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker for forcibly retiring him on medical grounds before his appeal could be heard had been successful, which had ramifications for those who had been forcibly retired for not getting vaccinated.

The police executive had breached the Police Administration Act by not allowing the appeal to be heard before retiring the officer, which was the same process followed by Mr Chalker to stand down those who were not vaccinated.

The NT Independent has seen the notice of motion which was lodged in the court on January 7. One week later, on January 14, NT Police Association president Paul McCue sent a notice to members informing them in general terms about the action.

Mr McCue had said at the time that “this particular” case was not related to the COVID-19 vaccine and cited privacy reasons for not detailing the matter. But he said the decision affected six other members who had recently been subject to similar action whilst their appeals were pending before the Inability Appeal Board.

Multiple sources, including former police officers Carey Joy and Leith Phillips, told the NT Independent what Mr McCue did not disclose to his members or the public was at least some of the other “affected officers” he spoke of had been forcibly retired for refusing the vaccine before their appeals were heard.

While the NTPA president would not respond to questions, or confirm the court matter he referred to in his notice to members, and the one sparked by the notice of motion were the same, the NT Independent has searched Supreme Court records and that was the only recent civil action taken against the Police Commissioner.

The January 20 edition of the NT Police Gazette – seen by the NT Independent – contained a list under the heading of ‘rescindment of retirement’, with three names.

“The retirement of the members named below, published in Gazette 1 of 2022, has been rescinded,” it stated.

Mr Joy said those three officers had refused vaccinations and he understood all nine officers on the retired list in the Gazette list from January 6, were forcibly retired by the NT Police for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination. Four other police sources, including Mr Phillips, said they recognised two of the names on the ‘rescindment of retirement’ as being officers who refused to be vaccinated.

Mr Joy, Mr Phillips, and the three other sources, said all those officers had registration numbers which indicated they were not of average retirement age.

The NT Independent spoke to two others sources again who said several of the officers on the list did not appeal the decision, so would not be entitled to be reinstated.

Mr Joy said he believed there were four officers in total who had appealed their forced retirements over vaccination refusal, and the NT Independent knows of at least one other officer of the nine who did not appeal.

Cops on medical leave from workplace trauma could be sacked over vaccine

One of the officers on the list, Leilani Weathers, told the NT Independent she was forcibly retired on December 17 for refusing the vaccination but she did not appeal the decision.

Mr Joy said once the officers were stood down, they were forced to use their leave until it ran out, and then take leave without pay.

“Some were even on stress or medical leave, even under the care of mental health management plans created by psychologists, and doctors,” he said.

“Some were medicated to actually get through day-to-day life from workplace trauma events.

“These officers were also targeted by the vaccine mandate executive team. These members, in my opinion, were illegally forced off their sick leave entitlements and dealt with in the exact same manner as officers who were not willing to be caught up in the vaccine mandate.”

The NT Independent knows of at least two other officers who were not on the list of nine under the ‘special’ retirements list from the January 6 Gazette, who simply resigned instead of waiting to be forcibly retired.

Mr Joy said he does not know how long the four officers who were supposed to be reinstated, would have to wait for their appeals to be heard but it was up to the discretion of NT Police and other cases had taken a year.

“We have a group of officers who the Association should have been looking after, and protecting, yet now they are unemployed and not receiving financial or NTPA support for their recovery,” he said.

“It is not legal to have secondary employment without it being approved by the NT Police executive. So essentially these officers will be starved of income and most likely have to resign prior to their appeal hearings.

“Which in my opinion is what the NT Police executive will deliberately do to them.”

Chalker refuses to answer questions about officers’ appeals process

Mr Chalker did not answer the question of whether these appeals would be expedited so as not to financially strain his officers, or if he would allow officers to take other jobs to support themselves while they await their appeal.

The NT Independent knows of other officers who were forcibly retired for either not being vaccinated, or not proving they had been vaccinated, but did not appeal. However, other legal challenges are expected later this month.

One ‘notice of intention to retire’ sent by Assistant Commissioner Bruce Porter to one officer on December 24 – which was the last day officers could receive the second dose – directed them to take recreation leave, and if they ran out of that, to take long service leave or leave without pay until the any review and appeal process has finished.

Mr Chalker did not answer why NT Police had tried to force officers to retire before their appeals were heard.

The legal challenge and wait on appeals

The originating motion for Supreme Court action lodged on January 7 against the Police Commissioner showed the officer had recently been served with a second notice to be forcibly retired based on health grounds, but was first served with a notice of intention to forcibly retire him in early 2020. The officer’s name was suppressed by the court.

The motion called for the decision to be overturned because NT Police made a jurisdictional error in attempting to force him to retire before his appeal in front of the Inability Appeals Board was finished.

Under Part V of the Police Administration Act, ‘Inability of member to discharge duties‘, holds that if in the police commissioner’s opinion an officer is unable to do their job, including if it is judged they are “not fit to discharge, suited to perform or capable of efficiently performing” their duties, the officer has 14 days to respond to prove they can do their job properly. If the commissioner is not satisfied with the response they can order a review into the case by one or more members.

If the review upholds the original finding, the commissioner can take no action against the officers.

Or he has four other options: direct them to take accrued leave; stand them down on full pay on compassionate grounds for three months; move them into other duties, including a possible demotion; or force them to retire.

The Act states that if an appeal against forced retirement is allowed, the standing down of the member ends on the date on which the appeal is allowed.

NT Police have been using this part of the act to enforce the COVID-19 mandates.

The vaccine mandate is included in chief health officer Dr Hugh Heggie’s Direction 55, which the NT Government says is given power by a Declaration of Public Health Emergency, allowed under the Public and Environmental Health Act 2011.

The declaration was first made in March 2020, and the government can extend it for 90 days at a time. Once the declaration is over, the vaccine mandates will also be rescinded.

Neither Mr Chalker or Mr McCue would answer what would happen to the officers if the emergency declaration ends before the appeals are finalised, or if unvaccinated officers could return to the job after it ends.