Immunisation requirements for child care services, kindergarten and schools

Under regulation 10C of the Public Health Regulations 2017, the Chief Health Officer may direct the relevant person in relation to a school including community kindergarten, or the persons in charge of a child care service to provide a report to the Chief Health Officer in respect of information given to that person about the immunisation status of children enrolled at the school, community kindergarten or child care service. 

Child care service enrolments: the Chief Health Officer has directed that persons in charge of child care services report a child who enrols into their child care service and whose immunisation status is ‘not up to date’. Only children that are on an approved catch-up schedule as indicated on the child’s AIR Immunisation History Statement, have a valid immunisation certificate issued or declared by the Chief Health Officer, or are exempt because of particular family circumstances, need to be reported by completing the Immunisation Status of a Child Reporting Form (external site).

Non-government schools: are required to report any enrolled child with an immunisation status of ‘not up to date’ by completing the Immunisation Status of a Child Reporting Form (external site). Reporting is due by 31 March each year.

Public schools: are not required to report this information individually. The Department of Education will provide reports in relation to children enrolled in public schools, including community kindergartens, with an immunisation status of ‘not up to date’. This will usually occur during Term 1 each year.

At other times

The Chief Health Officer, or their delegate, may request reports of the immunisation status of children enrolled at other specified times. For example, during the outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease.

Since 22 July 2019, changes to the Public Health Act 2016 (WA) and the School Education Act 1999 (WA) came into effect aiming to increase vaccination rates of children in Western Australia (WA) and better protect the community from vaccine preventable notifiable infectious diseases.

When enrolling a child into any child care service, kindergarten or school, parents/guardians are already required to provide their child’s Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) Immunisation History Statement. This statement must not be more than two months old.

Under these changes, the child’s immunisation status must be ‘up to date’ according to their AIR Immunisation History Statement to be permitted to enrol into long day care, family day care, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten.

Exceptions apply to children who have an approved medical exemption to a vaccine, have natural immunity to a specific disease, are on an approved catch-up schedule, or are identified as an exempt child because of a particular family circumstance.

WA Health provides support to families and persons in charge of child care services, kindergartens and schools in the following ways:

• where parents are not permitted to enrol their child into kindergarten due to their immunisation status or where parents require other types of immunisation support, the school can refer these parents directly to WA Health using the Request for immunisation support form (external site)
• information provided by persons in charge to WA Health is used to contact the parents/guardians of under-vaccinated children and offer support to access local immunisation services in order to get their child fully vaccinated; and
• when directed to do so, persons in charge will be supported to limit or prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable notifiable infectious disease, through various measures.