Skip to main content

Animal and veterinary science vaccinations

If you’re enrolling in a course in Animal or Veterinary Science, you will come into contact with animals during your program. To ensure your safety, your tetanus vaccination needs to be current and you may need to undergo screening for Q fever and if required be vaccinated.

If you are enrolled in one of the below courses, it is a requirement of your course that you are immunised against Q Fever and tetanus.

  • Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
  • Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Animal and Veterinary Bioscience)

For the following courses, vaccination requirements are determined by your unit of study selections. You will require Q fever immunisation if you are enrolled in one of the units listed in the table below.

  • Bachelor of Science
  • Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Advanced Studies
  • Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Agriculture)
Level Units of study
1000 level AVBS1002
2000 level AVBS2001, AVBS2007, BIOL2032
3000 level ANSC3102, ANSC3106, AVBS3000, AVBS3001, AVBS3002, AVBS3003, AVBS3011
4000 level AGRO4005, AGRO4006, AVBS4001, AVBS4002, AVBS4004, AVBS4008, AVBS4012
6000 level VETS6101, VETS6102, VETS6103, VETS6104, VETS6105, VETS6106, VETS6107, VETS6108, VETS6201, VETS6202, VETS6203, VETS6204, VETS6205, VETS6206, VETS6207, VETS6208, VETS6301, VETS6302, VETS6303, VETS6304, VETS6313, VETS6401, VETS6402, VETS6403, VETS6404, VETS6405, VETS6406, VETS6407, VETS6408, VETS6409, VETS6410, VETS6411, VETS6412

Q Fever

Q fever is a bacterial infection that can cause a severe flu-like illness. The bacteria are spread from animals, mainly cattle, sheep and goats. Even people who do not come into contact with animals may be infected. A safe and effective vaccine is available to protect people who are at risk. Screening is required to identify who can be vaccinated. More information is available in the NSW Health Q fever fact sheet.

You need to follow these steps to meet your Q fever immunity requirements:

It is your responsibility to ensure you are immunised against Q Fever. You will need to provide evidence when requested, so make sure you keep a copy of your screening and immunisation certificate. If you are unable to provide evidence of your Q Fever immunisation status you may not be able to progress and complete all the compulsory requirements of your course.

Q fever screening and vaccination

It is your responsibility to arrange and pay for your Q Fever screening and vaccination, and this should be done as soon as possible after enrolling in your course. Immunity granted from vaccination does not take hold immediately, it may take up to three to four weeks from the time of injection for your immunity to come into effect.

The screening and vaccination process involves two visits to a doctor, with the visits needing to be exactly seven days apart. The cost is approximately $150, however this will vary depending on the provider you use.

We recommend you arrange an appointment with a health care provider who has experience with Q fever screening and vaccination. The University Health Service at the Camperdown Campus offers this service, or you can find other providers close to the Camperdown campus listed below.

Business

Address

Phone number

University Health Service
(Dr Susan Willis - registered practitioner)

Wentworth Building (G01),
The University of Sydney

+61 2 9351 3484

International Travel Vaccination Centre

37 Bligh Street,
Sydney NSW 2000

1300 557 070

Hyde Park Medical Centre

175 Liverpool Street,
Sydney NSW 2000

+61 2 9283 1234

Sonic Health Plus

Level 32,
60 Margaret Street,
Sydney NSW 2000

+61 2 9321 9100

Namoi Medical Services

Level 4
159 Maitland Street
Narrabri

+61 2 6792 4333

Australian Q Fever Register

You need to register your Q fever immunity status with the Australian Q Fever Register.

The Australian Q Fever Register keeps a secure online record of your immunity status for life. If you need to provide evidence of immunity to Q Fever in future (for example as a workplace health and safety requirement), you can refer your employer or doctor to the register to confirm your immunity status. This prevents unnecessary testing and vaccination.

How to register

Complete the Personal Details and Consent Form and register, uploading this form, on the Q Fever website.

If you have previous immunity, you should still complete the Personal Details and Consent Form and register on the Q Fever website.

Once your details are entered into the Register, you will be emailed a Q Fever Register eStatement (which replaces the previous Q Fever Card). Your eStatement includes your registration number and can be downloaded and saved on a mobile device. You can find about more about the eStatement on the Australian Q Fever register website.

Registered employers and doctors can look up your record using your Q Fever registration number, first name, surname and date of birth.

Tetanus

If you are enrolled in one of the courses that requires contact with animals, you need to be currently immunised against tetanus.

You are responsible for ensuring that your tetanus immunisation is valid and up-to-date. You will need to provide evidence when requested.

Further information

If you have any questions, contact your Education Support Team:

Veterinary Science Education Support

School of Life and Environmental Sciences (SOLES) Education

Last updated: 22 August 2023

Website feedback

Tell us if you’ve spotted a typo or something else wrong with this page.

Thank you

Your feedback has been sent.

Sorry there was a problem sending your feedback. Please try again

You should only use this form to send feedback about the content on this webpage – we will not respond to other enquiries made through this form. If you have an enquiry or need help with something else such as your enrolment, course etc you can contact the Student Centre.

Cancel