Does a child need to be immunised to enrol in childcare?

No Jab No Pay and the Child Care Subsidy

To receive Child Care Subsidy, a child younger than 20 must meet the immunisation requirements. The child must be up to date with the early childhood vaccination schedule, be on an approved catch-up schedule, or have a medical contraindication or natural immunity recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register. Services Australia checks status against the register. If a child stops meeting the requirements, the family has 63 days to meet them again before the subsidy stops.

Only a valid medical reason counts as an exemption. These rules affect the family's subsidy. They do not by themselves stop a service from enrolling a child, which is a matter for state law.

Queensland: services may refuse enrolment

Queensland's Public Health Act 2005 does not make immunisation mandatory. It lets services approved under the National Law or the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld) refuse enrolment, accept enrolment but refuse attendance, or set conditions when a child is not up to date. For enrolled children, the service can cancel enrolment, refuse attendance or impose a condition. The approach is at the service's discretion.

A service cannot refuse a child on this basis if the child has a medical contraindication or is on a recognised catch-up schedule. Before acting, the service must ask for an immunisation history statement, explain the possible consequences and allow a reasonable time, which for an enrolled child is at least 4 weeks after a schedule milestone. The red book is not accepted as proof.

States where it is mandatory

In New South Wales, under the Public Health Act 2010, a child care service must not enrol a child without approved documents showing the child is fully immunised for their age, has a medical reason not to be vaccinated, or is on a recognised catch-up schedule. Conscientious objection is not accepted. Some children, including those in out-of-home care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, can be enrolled while the service makes reasonable efforts to get the documents within 12 weeks.

In Victoria, services such as long day care, kindergarten and family day care must see an immunisation history statement showing the child is up to date before confirming enrolment, with a 16 week support period for eligible families. South Australia has required children to meet immunisation requirements to enrol in and attend early childhood services since 7 August 2020. Western Australia has required children to be up to date to enrol in child care since 22 July 2019.

What services should do

Have a written immunisation policy that reflects the law in your state, and record each child's immunisation status in the enrolment record, as regulation 162 of the National Regulations requires. Ask for an immunisation history statement from the Australian Immunisation Register rather than a handwritten record. Public health authorities can also exclude children who are not immunised during an outbreak. In Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, immunisation is not a condition of attending child care, although services may ask for an immunisation history statement. Check with your state or territory health department.