dorey wrote another blog disputing the mccafferys' version of events, the treatments and effects dana suffered and the diagnosis of pertussis. dana's mother attempted to get the government intervene, to stop the harassment. in a subsequent television interview for abc lateline, dorey admitted she had accused the mccafferys of "turning their daughter into a martyr because she supposedly died of whooping cough". in 2012 the avn continued to target the mccafferys. avn member and university of wollongong researcher judy wilyman was published on avn's website accusing the state government of using the imagery of four-week-old dana's death to push the vaccine stating it was the "government and the media who have been using the mccafferys to promote a vaccine". she also questioned whether the mccafferys had been paid to promote the whooping cough vaccine. the mccaffery family vigorously denied these claims. in march 2016 wilyman continued to repeat that such child deaths are "anecdotal" and provoke the parents of the deceased children saying they are "promoting the death of their child to whooping cough, and lobby groups ... have provided awards to these parents for their efforts they receive financial rewards from pro-vaccine lobby groups for their efforts". campaign against the swine flu vaccine in september 2009, avn campaigned against the swine flu vaccine, calling it "madness" to use a vaccine which they claimed was "laden with toxic mercury." dorey further argued that more testing was needed on the vaccine before it was offered to the public and that it could prove to be more dangerous than the flu itself. she told the australian broadcasting corporation that the swine flu should be treated no differently from the seasonal flu and that the government was wasting money by spending over a hundred million dollars on the vaccine. dorey's claims were rejected by the australian medical association and other medical experts. anti-vaccination seminars and public talks in may 2010 the avn announced that they would be hosting a seminar in perth, western australia, to be held at the uniting church in the city (ucic) on 14 may. however following a campaign by members of the church, the medical community and members of the stop the avn group, the church announced that they would not allow the avn to use their premises for the seminar, as they were "concerned that there may be a public perception that the ucic does not support childhood vaccinations due to the avn seminar being held at ucic's rooms". the avn rescheduled and relocated the event for 1 june at the state library of wa. the decision by the library to allow the avn to use their premises was widely criticised by the medical community and politicians, with the president of the australian medical association saying he "was worried the use of the venue could give the group credibility" and the shadow arts minister, john hyde, saying "why should a group that endangers the lives of wa children be allowed to speak and promote their cause at a taxpayer-funded venue dedicated to learning?" two days after the event, fiona stanley ac was interviewed by perth radio about the seminar, describing the views presented by the avn as "bizarre", and "so misinformed that it is scary". in dec 2011, organisers of the woodford folk festival were criticised for inviting meryl dorey to speak. the queensland health minister geoff wilson advised attendees "not to take nonsense too seriously". the australian medical association described the group's views as "dangerous", and said organisers "had a responsibility to add speakers who could provide the medically approved side of the argument" so the audience were aware of "the risk of the information being presented ". community pressure intensified resulting in andreas suhrbier, head of the immunovirology laboratory at the queensland institute of medical research, to appear and field questions from the audience. objection to "no jab no pay/play" avn have promoted the church of conscious living, described in the sydney morning herald as a "fake", and in the telegraph as a "sham" church set up to provide spurious religious exemptions from vaccination. the nsw health minister said she was "alarmed that a 'religion' would be created to thwart an important public health initiative." in april 2015 the "no jab, no pay" policy was introduced and the abbott federal government made it more difficult for people to object to vaccination on religious grounds, and required that religions register their objection to vaccination. the policy officially came into effect in january 2016 and reportedly "sparked a rush on vaccines as parents fear missing out" on family tax benefit part a supplement and childcare subsidies. avsn president tasha david and former president meryl dorey both appeared on an "expert panel" at a february 2016 anti vaccine event in mullumbimby (which has the lowest vaccination rates in australia) at which other ways of evading no jab no play/pay rules were discussed, including falsely claiming "hypersensitivity" to gelatin or yeast, in order to obtain medical exemption. it was reported in the daily telegraph that tasha david and meryl dorey were at the event to "prove that australia was a testing ground for the rest of the world". in march 2016 the avn announced its intention to legally challenge the federal 'no jab no pay' laws, with the return of spokesperson meryl dorey stating "hat the government is doing is unconstitutional, immoral and illegal, and they need to be shown the error of their ways". in one announcement avn falsely stated that royal australian college of general practitioners and the national centre for immunisation research & surveillance also opposed the 'no jab no pay' legislation. both organisations promptly rejected avn's claim and clarified they supported the legislation. by december avn had raised aud$152,000 toward the legal challenge, then on christmas day announced it was dropping the legal action, citing a "poor chance of success". covid-19 and sars-cov-2 in 2020, the group suggested sars-cov-2, the virus that causes covid-19, "is just the common cold", and people have been "fooled" by a "fear campaign on the silly sheep media". dorey questioned the covid-19 pandemic saying: "are you being lied to?" requesting that followers "take your phones and pop into the local hospital" and "let us know how crowded it is - or is not. is coronavirus really overwhelming our nation or is our nation overwhelming us with lies and killing our economy and us?" complaints, investigations and criticisms the avn has been the subject of several complaints to (and investigations by) government departments and medical authorities. medical professionals, scientists and other proponents of vaccination are highly critical of the avn. nsw health care complaints commission (hccc) in august 2009, ken mcleod filed a complaint against avn with the new south wales health care complaints commission. the complaint, which was supported by the group australian skeptics, said that the organisation was in breach of the health care complaints act because it made "unsubstantiated health claims based on 'conspiracy theories', pseudo-scientific evidence and debunked research." the complaint was also supported by australian entrepreneur dick smith. in response to the complaint, the avn submitted a 27-page document which argued that they are not actively providing health care service and therefore are not under the jurisdiction of the health care complaints commission. dorey called the complaint vexatious and a nuisance tactic. tom sidwell, a monash university immunology student, conducted a review of the sources and information provided in the avn's hccc reply. he submitted to the hccc that all of the sources quoted by dorey in the reply were either not from peer-reviewed journals as dorey had claimed, or did not actually support the conclusions she was attributing to them. in an article published in the journal of the australian skeptics, sidwell wrote: "the collection of references is, on the whole, laughable. at best she hasn't read the papers she cites and includes them out of ignorance, and at worst she is being deliberately deceptive." hccc ruling the hccc concluded their investigation into the avn in july 2010. the commission determined that "the health education service provided by the australian vaccination network on its website provides misleading and inaccurate information on the subject of vaccination". in addition, the commission found that the avn "misleads readers by using reliable and peer-reviewed research, but quoting selectively from it, often in contradiction to the conclusions or findings of the studies themselves". the commission ordered the avn to permanently place the following information in a prominent place on their website within 14 days: the australian vaccination network's purpose is to provide information against vaccination in order to balance what it believes is the substantial amount of pro-vaccination information available elsewhere; the information provided should not be read as medical advice; and the decision about whether or not to vaccinate should be made in consultation with a health care provider. following the avn's refusal to display the notice, on 26 july 2010 the hccc issued a public warning about the group stating "the avn's failure to include a notice on its website of the nature recommended by the commission may result in members of the public making improperly informed decisions about whether or not to vaccinate, and therefore poses a risk to public health and safety." the nsw hccc's ruling was further supported by the chief medical officer of victoria, who agreed that the avn "should make it clear what their views are and if it's an extreme view about a certain topic it should be clear that it is their view and that they're not speaking on behalf of for example the medical profession". supreme court appeal the avn appealed the hccc ruling to the nsw supreme court, arguing that the hccc does not have jurisdiction over meryl dorey or the avn. in february 2012, the court ruled that the avn is a health care provider, and therefore the hccc does have jurisdiction over their activities. however, it ruled that the original complaints to the hccc about the avn were invalid because the complaints did not include evidence that anyone had actually acted on the incorrect advice provided by the avn. the court did not make a judgement about the validity of the complaints, nor the information contained within them. changes to hccc act and new investigation the ruling resulted in a change in the law, allowing hccc to initiate proceedings based on likelihood of harm, rather than having to wait for actual injury. following the passage of the health legislation amendment bill 2013 by the parliament of new south wales, giving the hccc powers to initiate investigations, and explore medical advice provided more generally than under the previous act, the nsw premier barry o'farrell announced that the health minister has advised nsw parliament the health care complaints commission is launching an investigation into the australian vaccination network. the hccc concluded a second investigation into avn in 2014 and published a new warning statement. the second public warning went further by scientifically addressing specific medical misinformation disseminated by avn and concluded: "the commission has established that avn does not provide reliable information in relation to certain vaccines and vaccination more generally... avn’s dissemination of misleading, misrepresented and incorrect information about vaccination engenders fear and alarm and is likely to detrimentally affect the clinical management or care of its readers... the commission urges general caution is exercised when using avn’s website or facebook page to research vaccination and to consult other reliable sources, including speaking to a medical practitioner, to make an informed decision". nsw office of liquor, gaming and racing (olgr) investigation following complaints that the avn had been illegally fundraising without authority between 2 july 2007 and 2 june 2009, and a previous warning relating to the avn being in breach of its fundraising authority conditions (as it did not have a "mechanism to properly and effectively deal with complaints relating to fundraising"), the nsw office of liquor, gaming and racing (olgr) announced in february 2010 that they would conduct a full audit of the groups fundraising activities. olgr ruling on 4 august 2010, the olgr announced that their audit of the avn had "detected a number of breaches of charity fund-raising laws", including: fundraising without authority; unauthorised expenditure; failure to keep proper records of income and expenditure; possible breaches of the charitable trust act, 1993, which