Addressing vaccine preventable disease: Occupational assessment, screening, and vaccination policy
Approval date 15 July 2024
The Addressing vaccine preventable disease: Occupational assessment, screening, and vaccination policy (PDF 451KB) provides requirements for:
- the assessment, screening and vaccination to protect against specified vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) and;
- assessment and screening of tuberculosis (TB).
The intent of this policy is to minimise the risk to workers from contracting VPDs, the risk of transmission of these infections and to minimise the impact of these infections on workers and the functioning of the healthcare system. This Policy ensures a consistent approach to management of occupational assessment, screening and vaccination and facilitates SA Health meeting its duty of care and responsibility under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) to minimise the risk of disease transmission in the workplace.
Applicability
This Policy applies to all current employees*, contractors, students and volunteers of the Department for Health and Wellbeing (DHW), Local Health Networks (LHNs) including state-wide services aligned with those networks and SA Ambulance Service (SAAS).
SA Health will make provision for vaccinations as may be considered beneficial by SAAS to employees covered by the SAAS Award for the prevention of contagious infection, for so long as is required under clause 34 of the SAAS Award. For employees covered by the SAAS Award, until such time as clause 34 of the SAAS Award is varied or deleted, it shall not be compulsory for any employee to be subject to inoculations and/or vaccinations under this policy. Assessment and screening requirements set out in this policy apply to individuals covered by the SAAS Award.
Vaccine and screening requirements are set out in Mandatory Instruction 1: Risk assessment, screening and vaccination. In addition to the mandatory vaccination requirements for all SA Health roles under this Policy, SA Health workers must also comply with any vaccination requirements imposed under legislation (including any directions under the Emergency Management Act 2004 or the South Australian Public Health Act 2011) and any mandatory vaccination requirements under the terms and conditions of employment of employees.