The special leave means local councils that opt-in can allow staff to get vaccinated without losing their regular sick leave.

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) is one of the biggest employers in town and mayor Col Murray said he thinks the special leave is a great way to support the almost 600 staff and protect the broader community.

"Personally I think it's in the best interest of the overall community for everyone to get vaccinated, I understand some will choose not to," he said.

"I think it's a good thing for a community organisation to do, I guess it's not the position of the council to issue health advice but from a community point of view the sooner we get the majority vaccinated, the better."

At least 105 of the state's local councils have opted-in to the temporary award.

It allows staff to take leave without a loss of pay for the time it takes to go and get a COVID-19 vaccination.

The move will hopefully encourage not only council staff but others in the community to be vaccinated, Local Government NSW (LGNSW) president Linda Scott said.

"Councils are often the dominant employer in their particular area, so their take-up of the vaccine can play a really important role in helping to keep local communities - their friends, families and neighbours - safe and healthy," she said.

"Providing leave to allow our workforce to be vaccinated, and to be redeployed where possible when in isolation, is the right thing to do.

"This latest award outcome will help councils do their bit in the battle against COVID. It will also help keep our valuable council staff safe."

Local government is one of the first to take the plunge and it's opened up a question about whether businesses in Tamworth could follow suit.

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Tamworth Business Chamber president Steph Cameron said for small businesses it may not be financially viable.

"I guess there's an opportunity for every employee to negotiate with their employer and I think every business has to make their own decision about the risk mitigation of having employees vaccinated or not," she said.

"It's a bit of a tough one, each employer has to have flexibility in the arrangement and balance the risk of employees being vaccinated with now.

"The more people who get vaccinated, the sooner we get back to business as usual."

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