Key information
- If your child is unwell and unable to go to school, it is important to tell the school and provide the reason for your child’s absence.
- If your child contracts certain infectious diseases, you must contact the Department of Health.
- During an outbreak of infectious disease, always follow advice from your school.
If your child experiences an illness that is infectious, contagious or harmful to others at the school, you should keep your child at home until they are better.
This is in the best interests of your child and protects other children from also becoming unwell. In these situations, the principal may ask you to temporarily keep your child away from school.
If there is an outbreak of vaccine preventable diseases such as rubella, measles, mumps or whooping cough in the community and your child has not been vaccinated against it, you will be asked to keep your child home from school until the outbreak is over to ensure they are not put at unnecessary risk of being infected.
You may also seek medical advice as to how to prevent your child from becoming infected.
Where to start
If your child is unwell and unable to go to school, it is important to tell the school and provide the reason for your child’s absence. You can:
- send a note or email to the school
- telephone or message the school office
- visit the school.
The principal may ask for a medical certificate to explain an extended absence for illness.
You must tell the school if your child has an illness that may be passed on to other students so that the absence can be recorded and the health of other children monitored.
Information on the types of illness and the period of non-attendance required is available from your school.
You must contact the Department of Health if your child contracts any of the following infectious diseases:
- Measels
- Meningococcal disease
- Mumps
- Whooping Cough
- German Measels
- Tuberculosis.
The Department of Health can be contacted on 1800 671 738.
If your child becomes unwell at school
If your child becomes unwell or is injured at school, your school will contact you and seek the necessary medical attention.
The best place for children to be if they are unwell is at home.
In the event of an emergency, your child may be moved to a safe place for appropriate care or treatment without prior permission. This may be by ambulance or other form of transportation.
It is therefore very important for you to keep the school updated about any medical conditions or allergies that your child has, and that you inform the school of correct contact numbers for yourself and your child’s doctor.
Schools keep records of accidents and follow guidelines for dealing with them and for removing any dangers.
What if there is an outbreak of infectious disease?
If your child is not immunised, you may be asked to keep your child at home if there is an outbreak of disease that is infectious, contagious or harmful to others.
If your child is immunised, your school will give you advice from the public health authority about whether attending school during an outbreak is safe.
Always follow the advice from your school as it is based on expert medical advice from the Department of Health.
Where can I get more information?
- Talk to your child’s teacher or principal.
- Public Health Hotline – Tasmania 1800 671 738
- You can find information about infectious diseases on the Department of Health website
- Find information related to COVID-19
- Find information on immunising your child