Completing your student immunisation records: dentistry, medicine, midwifery and nursing
If you're studying dentistry, midwifery, nursing or medicine, you need to complete specific immunisations and disease screening to be eligible for clinical placement.
If you're enrolled in a discipline not mentioned above, check our summary page to find your requirements.
Check below to see:
What immunisations do I need?
Download a summary of program/course immunisation and screening requirements (PDF, 191.6 KB)
Prior to placements, you'll need to provide evidence of the following:
| Disease with immunisation or screening requirement | Type of evidence |
|---|---|
| Pertussis (whooping cough) | Vaccination within last 10 years |
| Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) | 2 vaccinations or evidence of immunity to all three diseases |
| Varicella (chicken pox) | 2 vaccinations or evidence of immunity |
| Hepatitis B | Full age appropriate vaccination course and evidence of immunity |
| COVID-19 | Evidence of vaccinations is required for some programs and/or placements. See Table 1 and COVID-19 information below. |
| Tuberculosis | TB self-assessment form and if required latent TB screening |
| Blood borne viruses (BBVs) | Exposure prone procedures statement completed by your medical practitioner |
| Influenza | Annual vaccination is strongly recommended during flu season (from April/May) and mandatory for some placements. |
See the 'What do I need to do' section below for more details regarding the forms you will need to have completed with your medical practitioner at the commencement of your program.
Strongly recommended vaccinations
The following vaccines are recommended for all students, and are mandatory requirements in some settings. You'll be notified if you're required to submit evidence of these vaccinations to my.UQ before your placement.
COVID-19 (coronavirus)
UQ strongly encourages all UQ healthcare students to receive the number and timing of COVID-19 vaccine doses recommended by the Australian government for their age group and health status. Some placement providers continue to mandate COVID-19 vaccination to enter their facilities for student placement.
Influenza (flu)
An influenza vaccination is strongly recommended in the autumn of each year after the latest flu vaccine has been released (usually March/April in Australia), to protect yourself and your patients. The vaccine is usually available through your healthcare provider or pharmacy from late March.
UQ Health Care on campus provides a flu vaccination service.
Certain clinical placements will only accept students who have had the influenza vaccination to allow for staff and patient safety.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A vaccinations are recommended if you're a healthcare student working in remote and Indigenous communities or with Indigenous children in NT, QLD, SA or WA, and other specified healthcare workers in some jurisdictions.
During your program, you should be aware of any follow-up or additional vaccination/screening requirements. You must also report any change to your immunisation or infectious disease status that might put you or your clients at risk.
Watch: Guide to completing your placement's immunisation requirements
What do I need to do?
1. Complete your immunisation evidence documentation
Start this process as soon as possible to avoid delays to your placements. It can take months and multiple visits to your doctor to complete your records and to be fully compliant for your placement.
Print a blank copy of the Student Immunisation Record Form B: Dentistry, Doctor of Medicine, Midwifery and Nursing Students (PDF, 343.7 KB).
Take it to a registered general practitioner (GP) for completion as soon as possible. Ensure you take your personal immunisation records to your appointment. It can take up to 7 months to complete this form if you have not had any hepatitis B vaccinations in the past.
Ensure your GP has completed the exposure prone procedures statement in section 3 of your Student Immunisation Record form.
Complete pages 1-3 of the Tuberculosis Self-Assessment Form for Students (PDF, 515.6 KB). Note: See the Tuberculosis (TB) Screening Information Sheet (PDF, 369.5 KB) for further information. It can take up to 4 months to complete this requirement if latent TB testing is needed.
Discuss the costs with your doctor. You'll be required to pay for any vaccinations and immunisation screening required for your program or course.
If you're an international student, you can complete the records prior to your arrival in Australia. Forms must be completed/translated in English.
Information for international students
If you're an international student coming to Australia to study, we encourage you to seek the immunisation requirements in your home country before you start your studies at UQ.
It can take some time to complete all immunisation requirements. You'll also need to provide documents to us in English, so if you need to translate documents, you will need find a suitable institution to complete this.
Before you depart
Before leaving your home country, we recommend that you:
- obtain a written record of all your vaccination or blood test results – this should be in English if possible, and must be signed, dated and stamped by the medical practitioner or immunisation provider.
- have all outstanding vaccinations/ screening tests prior to departure (where possible).
When you arrive
Once you arrive in Australia, visit a medical practitioner or register for an appointment with UQ Health Care to receive any outstanding vaccinations and complete your Student Immunisation Record form.
When you go to your appointment, remember to bring:
- your vaccination history documentation from your home country – either in English or translated. This will assist in ensuring you may not require catch-up or additional vaccinations
- the completed TB self-assessment form.
2. Submit your immunisation evidence
You can only submit your immunisation documentation after you’ve received a ‘Student Immunisation Evidence Request’. This request will be initiated by your faculty or school.
You can upload the required documentation using the link in your email notification, or directly through your my.UQ dashboard.
UQ can't accept hard copies of your documents.
Upload the requested evidence by the task due date, even if you haven't completed all requirements by this date.
Your evidence will be assessed and securely stored by the Immunisation Records Team (IRT). If you haven't completed all requirements, the IRT will tell you what you need to do.
Your compliance status will be reported to your school or faculty to allow them to manage your placements or coursework.
Helpful tips:
- You can access the student immunisation evidence process via the ‘Notifications’ section of your my.UQ dashboard.
- Upload all documents together where possible. If your documents are too large for a single upload, try compressing them. If the file size is still too large, upload documents separately before pressing “submit”.
- Once you press submit, you won't be able to upload additional documents until the IRT verify your first upload and return the task to you.
- Keep a copy of your medical documentation for your own records.
- You can access your immunisation records in my.UQ while still enrolled at UQ.
Processing timeframes
Allow at least a week for your records to be assessed once you have submitted them. At the commencement of the semester the time frame for assessment of records may be extended. You will not be considered compliant until your records have been assessed by the IRT.
You may be granted a 'conditional’ status if you've met the minimum requirements – this allows you to commence your healthcare placement while completing the required vaccination course or screening. This is usually in the case where you are waiting for your third hepatitis B vaccination because it is not due yet, or you're waiting for an appointment at the TB clinic.
You must complete the outstanding requirements as soon as possible to avoid non-compliance, and being unable to attend future placements.
Exposure-prone procedures
As part of your Student Immunisation Record Form B, your medical practitioner will need to complete the Exposure Prone Procedure Statement in Section 3 (page 4) to confirm that you:
- have undertaken screening for the blood borne viruses within the 12 months prior to commencement of your program
- can safely perform exposure prone procedures (EPPs).
Further information is provided on the Healthcare students who perform exposure prone procedures Information Sheet (PDF, 89.6 KB).
Healthcare students who are performing EPPs are also expected to:
- be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV at least once every three years
- have appropriate and timely testing and follow up care after a potential occupational exposure associated with a risk of BBV acquisition
- have appropriate testing and follow up care after potential nonoccupational exposure, with testing frequency related to risk factors for virus acquisition
- cease performing all EPPs if diagnosed with a BBV until the criteria in the guidelines (PDF, 2.3 MB) are met.
If you have questions regarding your BBV status and eligibility to engage in exposure-prone procedures, contact the Immunisation Records Team as soon as possible for advice.
Additional requirements for dental science and dual degree nursing and midwifery students
You'll receive a request to provide evidence of repeat screening for blood borne viruses in second or third year for the following programs:
- Bachelor of Dental Science
- Bachelors of Nursing/Midwifery (4 year program).
The request will be initiated by your faculty placement team, but you shouldn't wait to receive this request prior to arranging any screening tests. To submit evidence of repeat BBV screening:
- print a blank copy of the Exposure Prone Procedures Statement (PDF, 265KB)
- take it to your registered general practitioner for completion within 3 years of the date of your previous BBV screening.
- you will receive an email when your school or faculty initiates a 'Student Immunisation Evidence Request'. When you receive this, upload your completed EPP statement.
Getting support
Administrative or placement questions should be directed to your school or faculty placement team.
Immunisation questions should be directed to your general practitioner (GP) or the UQ Immunisation Records Team (IRT) immunisation@uq.edu.au.
Read the Vaccinations and Immunisation Guideline.
Visit the Australian Immunisation Handbook for detailed information about vaccine preventable disease.