The Australian government could end up paying a much smaller amount to COVID-19 vaccine injury claimants, according to the latest budget figures.
Previously the Department of Social Services (DSS) estimated the government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Claim Scheme could cost taxpayers $76.9 million (US$51.98 million) over the 2022-23 period.
That figure has since been revised to $28.8 million (US$19.45 million) over the 2023-24 financial year, according to the department’s Portfolio Budget Statement.
The government has so far paid out $7.3 million to 137 claimants of its Scheme.
The Scheme was launched following the roll-out of the nationwide vaccination program that saw Australia become one of the most jabbed countries in the world.
A swathe of vaccine mandates was implemented by state and federal-level governments, which compelled many Australians to roll up their sleeves.
The Epoch Times has contacted the relevant departments to ascertain why the government has changed its estimate. A response was not available in time for publication.
The DSS is currently facing scrutiny over the Scheme after Liberal Senator Gerard Rennick criticised their reticence to provide compensation for vaccine-injured individuals.
“For the last 18 months, I have been inundated by healthy people with no prior underlying conditions who have become seriously injured within a matter of days after taking the vaccine,” he told The Epoch Times via email.
“These same people are still contacting me to tell me that the Department of Social Services is refusing to pay out on these injuries despite the victims getting the appropriate verification from numerous specialists.
“It is an absolute insult to these victims that the government is refusing to care for them whilst continuing to spend almost another billion on more COVID-19 vaccines in the next year.”
As a part of this health pledge, the Labor government will also allocate $100 million to a campaign to encourage the take-up of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In the meantime, the federal government is also contending with a class action from 500 claimants over injuries from COVID-19 vaccines.
The action targets the federal government, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Murphy, and John Skerritt, the public face of the Therapeutic Goods Administration—the country’s drug regulatory body.
“The action will argue that the Therapeutic Goods Administration [TGA] did not fulfil their duty to properly regulate the COVID-19 vaccines, resulting in considerable harm and damage to Australians,” Natalie Strijland from NR Barbi Solicitor said in a statement.
The lawsuit claims that the government’s actions in promoting the use of COVID-19 vaccines were “negligent or wrongful” and resulted in personal injury, medical expenses, and economic loss for the claimants.
“The claim now proceeds upon the basis that the government, in fact, acted negligently in approving the vaccines and also by failing to withdraw them after approval based upon the known evidence,” Strijland added.
This comes as the reality of vaccine injuries gains increasing recognition.
Previously, health authorities censured Australian medical professionals who questioned the efficacy of the jab—part of a wider effort to encourage vaccine acceptance.
Yet in December 2022—and a sign of a changing zeitgeist—former member of Parliament Dr. Kerryn Phelps revealed that she and her partner suffered serious injuries from a COVID-19 vaccine while suggesting that the actual number of adverse events linked to the jab was far higher than what official data showed.
“In my case, the injury resulted in dysautonomia with intermittent fevers and cardiovascular implications including breathlessness, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and blood pressure fluctuations,” she wrote in a submission to Parliament.
However, workers across a range of fields remain locked out of their professions over lingering vaccine mandates or, in the case of doctors, blocked from practicing again.