You must be covered by an appropriate level of immunisation against infectious diseases before you start your clinical placement.
All students and trainees must comply with the Canberra Health Services' Occupational, Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
You must cover the cost of immunity checks.
Evidence of immunity checks
One month before your placement starts, your education provider must gather and verify you have received the required occupational assessment, screening, education and immunisation when they upload your details to the InPlace Network.
If you aren't attached to an education provider, you'll need to submit screening and immunisation history to the Clinical Placement Office.
The evidence can be either:
- a record of vaccination provided and signed by an accredited vaccination provider
- or serological confirmation of protection.
Dental, medical and midwifery students
You will need to show documented evidence of serological testing for the following blood borne viruses in addition to the regular evidence of protection as required by other students:
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus: HIV Ab/Ag test
- Hepatitis C virus - HCV Antibody.
Student vaccination requirements
| Disease | Evidence of vaccination | And/or | Serology results | And/or | Other evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis | One adult dose of diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis vaccine (dTPA) within the past 10 years Not ADT | Serology will not be accepted | Not applicable | ||
| Hepatitis B | History of completed age-appropriate course of hepatitis B vaccine | And | Anti-HBs greater than or equal to 10mIU/ml | Or | Documented evidence of anti-HBc |
| Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) | 2 doses of MMR vaccine at least four weeks apart | Or | Positive IgG for measles, mumps and rubella | Not applicable | |
| Varicella (chicken pox) | 2 doses of varicella vaccine at least four weeks apart (evidence of one dose is sufficient if the person was vaccinated before 14 years of age) | Or | Positive IgG for varicella | Or | History of chicken pox or physician-diagnosed shingles (varicella IgG preferred is uncertain) |
| Tuberculosis (TB) | Not applicable | Interferon-Gamma Release Immunoassay (IGRA) - TB Quantiferon | Or | Tuberculin skin test (TST) | |
| Influenza (flu) | Annual influenza vaccination, noting it is preferable for the flu vaccine to be administered between the months of March and June through to September. This vaccine is recommended but not mandatory. | Not applicable | Not applicable | ||
| COVID-19 | One primary dose of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved or recognised COVID-19 vaccine (in accordance with the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) minimum intervals) OR Previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 as demonstrated by documentation* of detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by a medical pathology laboratory using nucleic acid amplification (also known as PCR test) OR Previous infection without immunisation against SARS-CoV-2 as demonstrated by documentation* of detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibody in the blood by a medical pathology laboratory (Note: this evidence should ONLY be used if either of the above evidence if not available) * Documentation includes a hard copy or electronic report from a Medical Pathology Laboratory. A copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate which should be carried while on placement. | Not applicable | Not applicable |
More information
Go to the Occupational Assessment Screening and Vaccination Procedure for more information.
Refer to:
- forms 1, 3 and 4
- and information sheets 2,3 and 4.
Tuberculosis (TB) screening
Documented evidence of TB screening will only be deemed acceptable if that screening was performed in an accredited TB screening facility within Australia.
The accredited TB screening facility in the ACT is the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Canberra Hospital.
Find out more about tuberculosis screening.
ACT Pathology Personnel vaccination recommendations
| Vaccination | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Bexsero (4CMenB) Recombinant multicomponent meningococcal B Vaccine | Recommended for personnel who frequently handle cultured material containing Neisseria meningitidis. |
| Menveo or Menactra (4vMenCV) Quadrivalent conjugate meningococcal A, C, W135, Y vaccine | Recommended for personnel who frequently handle cultured material containing Neisseria meningitidis. |
| Hepatitis A | Recommended for personnel who handle faecal specimens. |