Australia’s trusted immunisation experts
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National and state legislation in relation to immunisation requirements for child care
Your child must meet immunisation requirements if you get Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A or child care fee assistance.
Some exemptions apply, but vaccination objection is not a valid exemption.
You can read more here.
To check whether your child is fully immunised, visit the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
If your child is not fully immunised and you wish to receive family assistance payments, contact your health care provider to organise a vaccination catch-up program.
To attend child care, children must be fully immunised, or on an approved vaccination catch-up program, or have a medical reason not to be vaccinated.
If an outbreak occurs, unimmunised children may be excluded from child care for a period of time.
Children who are fully immunised will require an up-to-date immunisation history statement for enrolment. You can obtain this from the AIR.
If your child is not fully immunised, you are required to provide the child care service with one of the following forms that has been completed and signed:
Child care services can cancel or refuse enrolment or attendance of children if they are not fully immunised, unless they are undergoing a vaccination catch-up program or have a medical reason not to be vaccinated. Vaccination objection is not a valid exemption. This legislation applies to attendance at long day care, kindergarten, family day care, outside school hours care/vacation care, limited hours care or occasional care.
Child care services may require an immunisation history statement for enrolment and attendance. You can obtain this from the AIR. Alternatively, a letter from a recognised immunisation provider (e.g. GP or immunisation nurse) is acceptable.
If your child is not fully immunised and your child care service requires this, contact your health care provider to organise a vaccination catch-up program.
To have an enrolment confirmed for a child in long day care, kindergarten, family day care or occasional care, parents/carers have to provide the service with:
After a child's enrolment has been confirmed, the No Jab No Play legislation does not require services to exclude enrolled children, except in the case of a disease outbreak.
After enrolment, services are required to take reasonable steps to obtain up-to-date immunisation history statements from parents/carers, such as regularly reminding them of this obligation, and to keep the latest statement with the child's enrolment records.
Child care services will require an up-to-date immunisation history statement for enrolment. You can obtain this from the AIR.
If your child is not fully immunised, contact your health care provider to organise a vaccination catch-up program.
Western Australia
Children must have an immunisation certificate that states their immunisation status is ‘up to date’ or that they are undergoing a vaccination catch-up program to attend long day care, family day care, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten.
Provide your child’s immunisation history statement for enrolment, dated no more than 2 months old. You can obtain this from the AIR.
Children do not need to be immunised to attend child care services. However, if an outbreak occurs, unimmunised children may be excluded from child care for a period of time.
From 7 August 2020, to enrol in and attend an early childhood service, children must be fully immunised, or be on an approved catch-up vaccination program, or have an approved exemption from meeting immunisation requirements.
Children will require an up-to-date immunisation history statement for enrolment and attendance at an early childhood service. You can obtain this from the AIR.
There are no specific immunisation requirements to attend child care services. However, if an outbreak occurs, unimmunised children may be excluded for a period of time.
Atwell K, Drislane S. Australia's ‘No Jab No Play’ policies: history, design and rationales. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.