No-jab-no-play law in 2020 excludes South Australian children not fully vaccinated from early learning centres

An Adelaide eastern suburbs early learning centre covered by the no-jab-no-play law.

No-jab-no-play laws came into force in South Australia in August 2020, with children up to age six no longer able to attend early-learning services if they have not been fully vaccinated.

The early-learning services include long day care, family day care, preschool, kindergarten and early learning centres. The law would work with the federal government scheme that withholds childcare benefits from parents of children not immunised.

Excluded from the no-jab-no-play law were primary schools, babysitting, playgroups, childminding and out-of-school care. The state’s chief public health officer could also grant exemptions in rare cases such as children with severe allergies.

The vaccination schedule for children started from birth and continued until they were four. It included vaccinations for whooping cough, measles, chicken pox, meningococcal, mumps and rubella.

Data in 2020 showed variation in South Australian areas approaching the 95% national goal of five-year-olds being fully immunised. South Australian overall rates at March 2020 were 94.7% (one year olds), 91.5% (two year olds) and 94.6% (five year olds). In the one-year age bracket, areas with rates under 93% included Adelaide city ( (89.7%) well as Adelaide Hills, Port Adelaide west, Eyre Peninsula and southwest, and Outback north and east. Areas above 95% included the mid north (97%), as well as Port Adelaide east, Burnside, Prospect-Walkerville, Tea Tree Gully, Holdfast Bay, Marion, Mitcham, Barossa, Yorke Peninsula, Limestone Coast and Murray Mallee.

An anti-vaxxer group took an injunction move to the South Australian supreme court to stop the no-jab-no-play law from passing. Judge Katrina Bochner did not support the application.