NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended and funded for adolescents by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in a school-based vaccination program, including:
COVID-19 vaccination is not part of the NSW School Vaccination Program. For information about COVID-19 vaccination visit COVID-19 vaccination booking.
Consent for each vaccine must be provided by parents/guardians for students to receive free vaccinations at school.
From 2024 parents/guardians can provide consent online for their child’s routine school vaccinations on the online consent portal. Select login with Service NSW Account.
To provide online consent you will need:
Read a step-by-step guide on how to provide consent online.
Translated guides are available in Arabic, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese.
If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form – available on request from schools.
Parents can withdraw consent at any time before vaccination takes place:
Students in secondary schools in 2024 will be offered the following vaccines:
Students who miss vaccination due to absence on the day of the school vaccination clinic may be offered catch-up vaccination at subsequent school clinics. Where this is not possible, parents will be advised that free catch-up vaccine is available at their local GP or pharmacist immuniser.
Parents who choose to wait for their child to be older before consenting to vaccination will be required to arrange for vaccination at their GP or pharmacist. This may incur a consultation fee. More information is available about catch-up vaccination.
Some people may experience some mild and temporary side effects following vaccination this includes:
If your child has an unexpected reaction that you are concerned about please contact your doctor or seek medical attention.
For more information refer to Following vaccination - what to expect and what to do.
Newly-arrived migrants (including refugees) attending Intensive English Centres (IECs) who may have not have previously received vaccinations routinely offered in Australia will be offered the following vaccines:
Students who are enrolled in distance education or who are home-schooled are advised to attend their GP, pharmacist immuniser, or other immunisation provider for free age-appropriate vaccinations.
For more information about the NSW School Vaccination Program in your area, contact your local public health unit (PHU) by calling 1300 066 055.