What is ‘No Jab, No Play’?

In October 2015, the Queensland Parliament, amended the Public Health Act 2005 (Qld) (the Act) with respect to vaccination for the purpose of enrolment in, and attendance at early childhood education and care services in Queensland.

The law took effect on 01 January 2016.

What is the effect of the law?

The law gives early childhood education and care services the option to refuse the enrolment an unvaccinated child, or to cancel the existing enrolment of an unvaccinated child but does not compel them to do so.

Importantly, the law does not make vaccination mandatory or prevent services from allowing unvaccinated children to be enrolled or to attend.

For this reason, you should shop around service providers if enrolment of your unvaccinated child has been refused. See next section.

Qld services are still accepting the enrolments of unvaccinated children

Based on media reports, most early childhood education and care services in Queensland have not been exercising the option to deny enrolment to or exclude unvaccinated children, despite being lawfully able to since the law took effect on 01 January 2016.

See for example, this article, an extract of which is quoted below:

Four of the state’s largest child care providers, with more than 300 operating centres — Affinity Education, C&K, Goodstart and Churches of Christ Care — are still accepting unvaccinated children.

C&K childcare runs 143 centres in Queensland and asks families to provide a record of their child’s vaccination as part of the enrolment process.

But in a statement to the ABC, C&K said: “We do not exclude children on the basis of their immunisation status.”

“We support the right of every child to have a quality early childhood education experience.”

Which types of early childhood education and care services does the law apply to?

The law applies to early childhood education and care services in Queensland providing:

• Long day care
• Kindergarten
• Family Day Care
• Outside school hours/vacation care
• Limited hours or occasional care

The law does not apply to:

• enrolment in Prep, Primary or Secondary school (see No Jab, No School? – Not True!)
• children attending an outside school hours care service (after school care, before school care, vacation care)
• casual, ad-hoc care services (for example, crèches at gyms and shopping centres)
• playgroups

Which vaccines are included in the vaccination requirement?

To be considered up-to-date for the purpose of enrolment under the Queensland law, a child must be vaccinated in accordance with the vaccination schedule recommended in the Australian Immunisation Handbook for children aged 0 to 4 years, be undergoing a catch-up schedule, or have a medical exemption, which includes contraindication or natural immunity.

Will I be eligible for Childcare Subsidy?

The Queensland law has no effect on eligibility to Childcare Subsidy.

However, due to the federal No Jab, No Pay law, parents will not receive Childcare Subsidy for their unvaccinated children unless they have a medical exemption or documented natural immunity or are on a catch-up schedule.

As such, even when your unvaccinated child qualifies for enrolment under the Queensland state law, this does not necessarily mean you will qualify for Childcare Subsidy under the federal law.

To determine if your child qualifies for an exemption, for the purpose of eligibility to Childcare Subsidy, see our guide to permitted exemptions under No Jab, No Pay.

What if my preferred early childhood education or care service is concerned about legal liability arising from enrolling my unvaccinated child?

Parents may refer early childhood education or care services to section 179 of the Public Health Act 2005 (Qld) which was amended to include certain legal protections for child-care operators exercising the option to enrol unvaccinated children.

Disclaimer

All information contained herein was, to the author’s knowledge, correct at the time of writing, but please note, this information is not intended to constitute legal advice about eligibility for enrolment in early childhood education or childcare services under Queensland law, or eligibility for Childcare Subsidy under federal law.  Parents should verify all information with their early childhood education or care provider with respect to enrolments, and Services Australia with respect to Childcare Subsidy.

This page was last reviewed and updated on 16 October 2024.