Anaphylaxis

6. School anaphylaxis management policy

Clause 6 of Ministerial Order 706 (PDF) specifies what a school’s anaphylaxis management policy must contain.

If a school has enrolled a student at risk of anaphylaxis, it must have a school anaphylaxis management policy. Schools without a student currently enrolled who is at risk of anaphylaxis are also encouraged to have a policy in place. A template school anaphylaxis management policy (staff login required) is available to support schools to meet their obligations under Ministerial Order 706.

For schools with multiple campuses, one school anaphylaxis management policy can be developed to cover all campus sites. In these circumstances, the school anaphylaxis policy must outline the anaphylaxis management requirements across all campuses.

A school anaphylaxis management policy must contain all of the following:

• a statement that the school will comply with the Order and Guidelines on anaphylaxis management as published by the department
• identification of the school staff who must complete anaphylaxis training that meets the requirements of the Order, and the procedures for the training (refer to Chapter 5 – Staff training)
• information about the development, implementation, monitoring and regular review of individual anaphylaxis management plans for affected students, which includes an individual ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (RED) (refer to Chapter 7 – Individual anaphylaxis management plans)
• information and guidance about the school’s management of anaphylaxis, including:
  • prevention strategies to identify anaphylactic risks and minimise the risk of an anaphylactic reaction (refer to Chapter 8 – Risk minimisation strategies)
  • clear and comprehensive school management and emergency response procedures for responding to an anaphylactic reaction (refer to Chapter 9 – School planning and emergency response)
  • clear articulation of the circumstances under which adrenaline autoinjectors for general use must be purchased by the school (refer to Chapter 10 – Adrenaline autoinjectors for general use)
  • a communication plan that ensures that all school staff (including volunteers and casual staff), students and parents/carers are provided with adequate information about anaphylaxis and the school's anaphylaxis management policy (refer to Chapter 11 – Communication plan)
  • completion of an annual risk management checklist (refer to Chapter 12 – Annual risk management checklist).

More detailed information about what must be contained in the school anaphylaxis management policy is set out in the Guidance chapters.

The school principal is responsible for developing and implementing the school anaphylaxis policy and meeting school obligations listed above. The principal can allocate these tasks to another staff member but must approve in writing the policy and decisions made by the allocated staff member. This policy must be reviewed annually and updated according to any change in individual school circumstances.

Guidance for developing a school anaphylaxis management policy is provided in the Resources tab.