Reminder to Schools: Immunisation Status reporting – Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten

Following the school’s receipt of an email (and possibly a letter) request from the Department of Health, sent February/March, please be reminded that the Department of Health has asked for a report on all children enrolled for Term 1 2020 in Pre-kindergarten or Kindergarten whose immunisation status was ‘not up to date’.

Reporting can be completed online using the Immunisation Status of a Child Reporting FormPlease complete reporting by 31 March 2020.

Parents wanting further guidance should be directed to: https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/S_T/Starting-or-moving-schools-immunisation-records.

Please note that the Department of Health Guidelines document has been recently amended and schools should use this updated version when checking requirements and, in particular, the reporting instructions contained on page 19 of the Guidelines. 

Your attention is also drawn to the last dot point below advising that AIR Immunisation History Forms are no longer acceptable for verifying a child’s immunisation status.  A child’s Immunisation History Statement will now reflect if the child is on an approved catch-up schedule.

The key changes in the updated Guidelines are:

  • Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) Immunisation History Statements now indicate if a child has commenced on an approved catch-up schedule (see p.7 of the Guidelines for an example).
  • For new enrolments, children who have commenced on an approved catch-up schedule will need to provide AIR Immunisation History Statement dated no more than two months old, showing that the child is on an approved catch-up schedule that is active at the time of enrolment.
  • For new enrolments, AIR Immunisation History Forms are no longer sufficient documentation for the purposes of demonstrating a child’s immunisation status.

Children on a catch-up schedule who have already enrolled with an AIR Immunisation History Form can continue to attend your school. The changes listed above apply for new enrolments only. You are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with the updated Guidelines.

For clarification on this requirement please contact the Department of Health at immunisation@health.wa.gov.au

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