Occupational immunisations

Working in certain jobs increases your exposure to some vaccine-preventable diseases. If you are working with vulnerable people, such as in health care, you may be exposed to and infect others with disease.

The National Health and Medical Research Council recommend occupational vaccination for:

If you are unsure which vaccines are recommended for you or you have any questions, talk to your doctor or immunisation provider. You can also speak to your employer about their policies and practices to minimise the spread of infectious diseases at work.

OccupationRecommended vaccinations
Healthcare workers 

All healthcare workers and students directly involved in patient care or the handling of human tissues

Read about Queensland Health's mandatory vaccination requirements for specified vaccine preventable diseases applicable from 1 July 2016.

Hepatitis B
Influenza
Measles
Mumps
Rubella (German measles)
Whooping cough (pertussis) 
Chickenpox (varicella)
Working in remote Indigenous communities or with Indigenous children As above plus hepatitis A
At risk of exposure to drug-resistant cases of tuberculosis As above plus consider need for tuberculosis (BCG) vaccination
People who work with children

All people working with children, including:

  • staff and students working in early childhood education and care
  • correctional staff working where infants/children cohabitate with mothers
  • school teachers (including student teachers)
  • outside school hours carers
  • child counselling services workers
  • youth services workers.
Influenza
Measles
Mumps
Rubella (German measles)
Whooping cough (pertussis)
Chickenpox (varicella)
Staff working in early childhood education and care As above plus hepatitis A
Carers
Carers of people with developmental disabilities Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Influenza
Staff of nursing homes and long-term care facilities for people of any age Influenza
Measles
Mumps
Rubella (German measles)
Chickenpox (varicella)
Providers of home care to people at risk of high influenza morbidity Influenza
Emergency and essential service workers
Police and emergency workers Hepatitis B
Influenza
Tetanus
Armed forces personnel

Hepatitis B
Influenza
Measles
Meningococcal B (MenBV)
Mumps
Rubella (German measles)
Tetanus
Other vaccines relevant to deployment

Correctional facilities staff
Detention and immigration centre staff
Hepatitis B
Influenza
Measles
Mumps
Rubella (German measles)
Tetanus
Laboratory staff
Laboratory staff handling veterinary specimens or working with Q fever organism (Coxiella burnetii) Q fever
Laboratory staff handling either bat tissues or lyssaviruses (including rabies virus and Australian bat lyssavirus) Rabies

Laboratory staff routinely working with these organisms:

Bacillus anthracis Anthrax
Vaccinia poxviruses Smallpox
Poliomyelitis virus Polio
Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) Typhoid
Yellow fever virus Yellow fever
Neisseria meningitidis Quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (4vMenCV) Meningococcal B (MenBV)
Corynebacterium diphtheria Diphtheria (dT or dTpa)
Japanese encephalitis virus Japanese encephalitis
People who work in specific remote communities
Workers who live with, or make frequent visits to, remote Indigenous communities in NT, Qld, SA and WA Hepatitis A
Workers assigned to the outer Torres Strait Islands for a total of 30 days or more during the wet season Japanese encephalitis
People who work with animals

Veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary nurses (depending on type of animals in contact with)

Influenza
Q fever
Rabies

Agricultural college staff and students (aged >15 years) exposed to high-risk animals

Q fever
  • abattoir workers and contract workers in abattoirs (excluding pig abattoirs)
  • livestock transporters
  • sheep shearers and cattle, sheep and dairy farmers
  • tanning and hide workers
  • goat farmers
  • livestock saleyard workers and those culling or processing kangaroos or camels and handling
  • animal products of conception
  • professional dog and cat breeders
Q fever
Wildlife and zoo workers who have contact with at-risk animals, including kangaroos and bandicoots Q fever
People who come into regular contact with bats (both ‘flying foxes’ and microbats), bat handlers, bat scientists, wildlife officers, zoo curators Rabies
Poultry workers and others handling poultry, including those who may be involved in culling during an outbreak of avian influenza, and swine industry workers Influenza
Other people exposed to human tissue, blood, body fluids or sewage
Embalmers Hepatitis B
Workers who perform skin penetration procedures (e.g. tattooists, body-piercers) Hepatitis B
Funeral workers and other workers who have regular contact with human tissue, blood or body fluids and/or used needles or syringes Hepatitis B
Plumbers or other workers in regular contact with untreated sewage Hepatitis A
Tetanus

Reference: The Australian Immunisation Handbook