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                    Immunisation for young children

                    A man carrying a young child
                    Immunisation helps protect children and adults against harmful infections by using the body’s natural defence mechanism – the immune response – to build resistance to specific infections. Immunisation also helps you stay healthy by preventing serious diseases in the first place.

                    ​​The Victorian Government's 'No Jab, No Play' legislation came into effect in January 2016. This legislation aims to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases through increased immunisation rates in the community.

                    All parents and guardians wanting to enrol their child in an early childhood service in Victoria (including kindergarten) must provide evidence that the child is up-to-date with immunisations for their age or has an immunisation catch-up schedule or medical condition preventing them from being fully vaccinated. When enrolling your child for primary school or early childhood education in Victoria, it’s a legal requirement to provide an immunisation certificate. Conscientious objection is not an exemption under the law. 

                    Only parents of children who are fully immunised, or are on a recognised catch-up schedule, can receive the child care benefit, the child care rebate and the family benefit. 

                    To access your child’s immunisation certificate: 

                    Accessing your immunisation statement through MyGov

                    To access your immunisation statement. You need to login through your MyGov. If you don't have a myGov account, it's easy to create one; see Create a myGov account.

                    1. Sign in to your myGov account.

                    2. Select the Proof of COVID-19 vaccination quick link.

                    3. Select your name, and then either View immunisation history statement (PDF) or View COVID-19 digital certificate (PDF).

                    If you don't have Medicare, you'll need to link your Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) to your myGov account.

                    If you don't have one, find out how to get an IHI: How to get an Individual Healthcare Identifier - Individual Healthcare Identifiers - Services Australia.

                    Once you've linked the Medicare/IHI service:

                    1. Sign in to your myGov account.

                    2. Select the Proof of COVID-19 vaccination quick link.

                    3. Select your name, and then either View immunisation history statement (PDF) or View COVID-19 digital certificate (PDF).

                    Can't access Medicare online?

                    If you can’t access Medicare online you can:

                    If you have any issues with this and live within City of Melbourne, please contact immunisation@melbourne.vic.gov.au to get your statement. If you live in a different municipality, please contact your own local council. If you're unsure of what council you live in. Find it easily with Find a Council - Know Your Council.

                    If you or your child’s statement says they are not up to date, we may need to organise further catch-up vaccinations. Please  contact us via immunisation@melbourne.vic.gov.au or call 0417 219 089​. 

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