Immunisation requirements for child care services, kindergarten and schools

On 22 July 2019, changes to the Public Health Act 2016 (WA) and the School Education Act 1999 (WA) came into effect that will help 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 new 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.

Kindergarten enrolments

As of 22 July 2019, if enrolment of a child attending kindergarten in 2019 or 2020 has already been finalised, the enrolment is not impacted by this change.

Where an application for enrolment has not been accepted and/or finalised, the new immunisation requirements must be met.

Students enrolled at the same school for the remainder of 2019 are not affected by the changes.

Child care enrolments

As of 22 July 2019, where an application for enrolment has not been accepted and/or finalised, the new immunisation requirements must be met.

All new child care enrolment applications lodged by parents/guardians from 22 July 2019 onwards are subject to the new legislative changes.

More information

• Persons in charge of child care services, community kindergartens and schools

For more information on how to apply the new legislation during the enrolment process, please refer to:

• WA Immunisation Requirements: Guidelines for persons in charge of child care services, community kindergartens and schools (PDF 2.2MB)
• email immunisation@health.wa.gov.au

• Parents/guardians

For more information:

• read the Starting child care or kindergarten: parent fact sheet (PDF 843KB)
• visit starting or moving child care, kindergarten or school (external site)
• email immunisation@health.wa.gov.au

Parents/guardians are encouraged to ensure their children’s vaccinations are ‘up-to-date’ to avoid their application for enrolment being declined.

The Department of 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 the Department of Health using the Request for immunisation support form (external site)
• information provided by persons in charge to the Department of 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.

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.

Current reporting requirement

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 prior to 31 March 2020 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 Form, 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’ when requested to do so by the Chief Health Officer, and this will usually occur during Term 1 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’ when requested to do so by the Chief Health Officer, and 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.

For more information, refer to the WA Immunisation Requirements – Guidelines for persons in charge of child care services, community kindergartens and schools (PDF 2.2MB).