Students > Careers and Opportunities > Work Integrated Learning and Placements > Placements and WIL > Health placements > Immunisations

Immunisations

If you are enrolled in a course with a compulsory placement, where placement will be undertaken in a health care setting, you may be required to provide immunisation/vaccination and health screening records. This is to make sure that we meet State and Territory legislative requirements, as well as contractual obligations to health care facilities, and also to help protect you from contracting vaccine-preventable diseases and/or from transmitting infection to clients. Details on disciplines with mandatory document requirements are available on the Health placements webpage.

The immunisation and health screening requirements for La Trobe University students are set out in the Immunisation and Health Record Form  [PDF 165KB] and are consistent with the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, and recommendations included in the Australian Immunisation Handbook. There is also a separate Immunisation and Health Record Form - Dentistry and Oral Health  [PDF 167KB] with a couple of extra requirements for these areas of practice.

If you are completing a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) or Teacher Education placement within a health care setting, then any immunisations required will be subject to your placement provider’s requirements. If your supervisor or a member of the WIL Team has told you that you will need to provide an immunisation history.

What do I need to do?

  1. Gather all of your existing immunisation records
    • child maternal health book, or “baby book”
    • council records
    • school vaccination program slips
    • Medicare or Australian immunisation register records
    • any other immunisation records you currently possess
  2. take all of these documents, along with a copy of the Immunisation and Health Record Form to a doctor or Immunisation Nurse
  3. provide the doctor or nurse with a copy of the Clinical Placement Immunisation Letter [PDF 355KB] to explain what they need to do
  4. have your doctor or nurse complete and sign the Immunisation and Health Record Form; and
  5. upload a copy of your signed form, along with copies of all immunisation records and reports, to your InPlace account for the Placements Team to check

Log in to InPlace

Hepatitis B

You will need to provide a documented history of a full childhood or adult primary course of 3 doses, or a full adolescent primary course of 2 doses. If you have received the 2-dose adolescent course, then your doctor or nurse will need to clearly indicate this in your Immunisation and Health Record Form. You will also need to provide evidence of a HBscAb level greater than 10mIU/ml from a blood test

Alternatively you can provide a positive HBcAb result as evidence of previous infection.

Varicella

You will need to provide a documented history of a full primary course of 2 doses OR the result of a blood test showing immunity to Varicella.

If you contracted clinical Chickenpox as a child and have immunity as a result, you will need to provide a blood test showing immunity

Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis

You will need to provide evidence of a dTpa booster from within the past 10 years. This booster cannot be ADT, as this vaccine does not cover Pertussis.

Please note that we are not able to accept blood results as evidence of this immunisation.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella

You will need to provide evidence of a full primary course of 2 doses OR blood tests showing immunity to each Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

Tuberculosis

You will need to provide the result of a recent Quantiferon Gold or Mantoux Skin Test for Tuberculosis to show your current Tuberculin status.

Information is available in the Immunisation and Health Record Form FAQ’s  [PDF232 KB] on what to do in the event of a positive test result.

Please note that we cannot accept documentation showing primary vaccination against Tuberculosis in the place of evidence of your current status

Influenza

You will need to provide evidence of the current year Influenza immunisation for each year in which you undertake health placements. Your Placement Officer will send out information each year when the vaccine becomes available, usually around March/April.

COVID-19

You will need to provide evidence of a full course of COVID-19 vaccination AND a booster (3rd dose).