RequiredLegal requirements
The Health (Immunisation) Regulations 1995 require all primary schools and kura to keep a register of the immunisation status of children attending the school.
Secondary schools may also choose to have an immunisation register to help manage outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Health (Immunisation) Regulations 1995 – New Zealand Legislation
How to keep an immunisation register
Health New Zealand covers what needs to be included in the register in their guidelines for schools and early learning services.
Immunisation guidelines for early childhood services and primary schools – HealthEd
You can use your enrolment software for your immunisation register if the software has been modified to include all the required information.
If you don't wish to use your enrolment software, Health New Zealand offers an editable PDF template.
Immunisation register for early childhood services and primary schools – HealthEd
What the register is for
Where there is a case of a vaccine-preventable disease in a school, public health officers can use the register to contact whānau | families of children with no record of immunity. They will let the families know about the outbreak and advise them about immunisation options.
For some vaccine-preventable diseases, public health officers can also use the immunisation register to preclude children from attending school during an outbreak. This means they can send students home from school and they won't be able to return until the school board allows it.
They may do this if a student:
- is a close contact of a known case, and
- cannot demonstrate immunity to the disease.
Unimmunised students may be told not to attend school where there are cases of:
- measles
- diphtheria
- whooping cough.
