Childhood vaccinations

Immunisation aims to stop the spread of illness and disease. In Tasmania, you must legally provide your child’s schools or childcare operator information about their vaccinations.

Scheduled childhood vaccinations

If your child is starting school or childcare, you must provide a written statement confirming that your child is up to date with all scheduled immunisations, including:

• chicken pox (varicella)
• diphtheria
• haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• hepatitis B
• influenza
• measles
• meningococcal infection
• mumps
• pertussis (whooping cough)
• pneumococcal disease
• polio
• rotavirus
• rubella (German measles)
• tetanus

Learn about when your child should receive different vaccinations.

Your child must meet immunisation requirements if you get Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A or child care fee assistance. This includes being up-to-date with the childhood National Immunisation Program Schedule. Find out more about immunisation requirements.

View local council immunisation schedules for 2024

How to get your child's vaccination history

There are several ways to get proof of your child’s vaccination history.

• Use their Personal Health Record (if the person administering the vaccine clearly signed their name for each vaccine administered).
• Ask your doctor or local council for signed information on their letterhead. It must list the diseases that your child has been immunised against and when.
• Use the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) statement provided to you when your child turns five years of age.
• Phone the ACIR on 1800 653 809 (if your child was immunised after January 1996).

What are the side effects of immunisation?

Some children experience minor side effects following immunisation. Common side effects of immunisation are:

• redness, soreness and swelling at the injection site
• mild fever
• being grizzly or unsettled.

Most side effects only last a short time and your child will recover without any problems. You can treat minor side effects by:

• giving your child extra fluids to drink
• not overdressing them if they are hot
• using paracetamol to help ease the fever and soreness (speak to your local pharmacy or doctor).

What can I do if my child has a serious side effect?

• It is important to remember that vaccines are many times safer than the diseases they prevent.
• Serious reactions to immunisation are very rare.
• If they do occur, please consult your doctor immediately.

Why should children be immunised?

• Immunisation is the safest and most effective way of giving protection against the disease.
• The benefit of protection against the disease far outweighs the very small risks of immunisation.
• After immunisation, your child is far less likely to catch the disease if there are cases in the community.
• If your child is immunised and gets the disease, they will not be as sick as if they are not vaccinated.
• If enough people are immunised, infection can no longer be spread, and the disease dies out altogether.
• If good immunisation rates aren’t maintained, previously eliminated diseases like polio may return.

Why do children get so many immunisations?

• Babies have protection from many infectious diseases from antibodies transferred during pregnancy.
• Immunisations are required to prevent serious infections when the antibodies wear off.
• Young children’s immune systems don’t work as well as older children and adults.
• Several immunisations are required in the first few years of your child's life.
• New vaccines may be developed against serious infections.
• Some vaccines are combined into one dose.

Are there any reasons to delay immunisation?

• There are very few medical reasons to delay immunisation.
• If your child is sick with a high temperature (over 38.5ºC) then postpone immunisation until they are well. 

A child can still be vaccinated if they:

• have a runny nose but are not ill
• are on antibiotics to recover from an illness. 

Is homeopathic 'immunisation' recognised?

No. Only conventional immunisation has been proven to provide enough protection against these diseases.

School-based immunisation program

All routine school-based adolescent vaccinations are given to students in Year 7 and Year 10. These include:

• diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine - one dose (Year 7)
• human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) - one dose* (Year 7)
• meningococcal ACWY - one dose (Year 10)

*people with severely immunocompromising conditions require a 3 dose schedule

For more information about Gardasil® 9 please refer to the HPV vaccine fact sheet outlining changes under the National Immunisation Program in 2023 from the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. 

Each year, all students receive an immunisation information sheet attached to the consent form.

How to get your child immunised at school

• Complete and sign the consent forms, even if your child is not being vaccinated.
• Return the consent forms to the school by the due date, even if your child is not being vaccinated.
• If you need help to fill in the forms, contact your local library.
• If you need more information, contact the local council in your school's area.
• If your child misses a vaccination at school, your local council will write to you with information about getting the missed vaccination.

Where to get more information

For more information about immunisation requirements, speak to:

• your child's school or childcare facility
• your local council
• your doctor
• the family, child and youth health nurse in your local community
• phone the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.