Threats to Public Health
To protect the Australian community from public health and safety risks, you must be free from a disease or condition considered to be a threat to public health or a danger to the Australian community in order to meet the health requirement.
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is a serious disease which has been declared an epidemic and a global emergency.
You will be tested for tuberculosis if you are applying for a permanent visa. You must undergo testing for tuberculosis as part of the visa application process.
If you are applying for a temporary visa you may be asked to undergo tuberculosis testing on a risk management basis. Information to help you determine what health examinations are required is available.
See: Health Examinations
Test to identify tuberculosis
The Australian immigration health process mainly tests for active tuberculosis, which is the most infectious form of the disease and poses the greatest threat to public health.
You will need a chest x-ray to determine if there is any evidence of active tuberculosis. While other tuberculosis diagnostic methods exist, none of these are considered to be satisfactory for the required purpose of identifying active tuberculosis.
Exception: Applicants under 11 years of age are required to undergo a full medical examination instead of a chest x-ray.
Evidence of tuberculosis
If your chest x-ray shows evidence of possible tuberculosis, you will be asked to undergo additional health examinations to establish whether or not active tuberculosis is present.
•If you are found to have active tuberculosis you cannot be granted a visa until after you have received treatment, and are assessed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) as being free from active tuberculosis.
•If you are found to have inactive tuberculosis you may still meet the health requirement, however, you may be asked to sign a Health Undertaking.
See: Health Undertakings
HIV and hepatitis
You are required to have an HIV test if you apply for:
•a permanent visa and you are 15 years of age or older
•a temporary visa and you intend to work as, or study to become, a doctor, nurse, dentist or paramedic in Australia
•a permanent visa and you are aged less than 15 years of age and:
◦applying for an adoption visa
◦have a history of blood transfusions
◦have any other clinical indications that you may be HIV positive
◦your biological mother is (or was) HIV positive.
You will need to undergo hepatitis testing if you are:
•pregnant
•applying for an adoption visa
•an unaccompanied refugee minor
•a temporary visa applicant intending to work as, or to study to become, a doctor, nurse, dentist or paramedic in Australia.
Evidence of HIV or hepatitis
HIV and hepatitis are not generally considered to be threats to public health. If you are a temporary visa applicant assessed as having these conditions you may be found to be a threat to public health if you:
•intend to work as a doctor, dentist, nurse or paramedic whilst in Australia
•have a viral load of a certain level
•intend to undertake Exposure Prone Procedures as part of your duties. This refers to procedures where there is a risk of contact between the worker’s blood and the patients open tissue.
In all other cases, if you have HIV or hepatitis you will only be assessed by a MOC to determine whether your condition would result in significant health care or community service costs and/or ‘prejudice the access’ of Australian citizens and permanent residents to services in short supply.
See: Significant Costs and Services in Short Supply
Yellow Fever
If you are travelling to Australia you must hold an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever before travelling to Australia you are one year of age or older, and have stayed overnight or longer in a declared yellow fever infected country within six days before your arrival in Australia.
See: The Department of Health and Ageing |
楼主: dengmaoneng
发表于 16-5-2012 19:48:57
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