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Adrenaline Autoinjectors in Schools: How Many, Storage, Expiry and State Rules
In most states your education department requires the school to hold a general-use adrenaline autoinjector. What the policy rarely tells you is how many you need across a whole campus, where they should live, or who checks the dates before one lapses. That gap is where most adrenaline autoinjector school requirements fall down.
The rules sit across state education department policy, a Victorian Ministerial Order and national best-practice guidance, not one national standard. This guide pulls the operational answers together: the minimum by state, how many to hold once campus size and excursions come into it, storage that meets the policy, and the expiry tracking that stops a device lapsing unnoticed.
What a general-use adrenaline autoinjector is
A general-use adrenaline autoinjector is a device the school owns and holds for anyone on site, not one prescribed to a named student. It's there for a first-time reaction, or as backup when a student's own device is expired, discoloured or out of reach. The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) draws this line clearly: a student's prescribed device stays with that student's individual ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis, while general-use devices sit in the school's first aid response for the whole community.
That distinction matters for compliance. The general-use adrenaline autoinjector schools are asked to hold is a separate line item from any student-prescribed device.
How many adrenaline autoinjectors does a school need?
Victoria requires at least two general-use adrenaline autoinjectors under its Department of Education anaphylaxis policy, even with no student at risk enrolled. South Australia requires one per site. New South Wales and Queensland require at least one and add more by risk assessment, and Western Australia requires them in the first aid kit without setting a number. Tasmania makes no general-use provision.
Adrenaline autoinjector school requirements by state
The table below sets out school anaphylaxis requirements by state and territory, with each row anchored to the governing instrument. Ministerial Order 706 applies to Victoria only and should never be read across to another jurisdiction.
| State or territory | Governing instrument | General-use device expectation | Staff training |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | Ministerial Order 706, given effect by the Department of Education Anaphylaxis policy, chapter 10 (updated 11 May 2026) | Required. At least 2, held whether or not a student at risk is enrolled. EpiPen, Anapen or Jext only; Neffy cannot be bought as a general-use device. May be used on a student having a first-time reaction. | ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training every 2 years, or course 22578VIC every 3 years. General first aid training does not meet the requirement. |
| NSW | Anaphylaxis and allergy management procedures, PD-2004-0034-05 (updated 28 July 2026) | Required. Minimum one general-use EpiPen in the school first aid kit. No spare mandated; additional devices set by risk assessment on student and staff numbers, size and layout. Preschools hold a supplied EpiPen Jr. | Emergency Care e-learning on commencement, then an annual competency check, with annual practical CPR and anaphylaxis training for a significant proportion of staff. |
| QLD | Supporting students with asthma and/or at risk of anaphylaxis at school procedure, version 2.2 (effective 11 March 2022) | Required. One or more devices for first aid, with additional devices set by risk assessment, kept reachable across the grounds and on excursions, camps and special events. The risk management plan must cover undiagnosed anaphylaxis. | ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for Queensland schools plus a practical session with a trainer device. Trained-staff ratio 1:25, or 1:10 where medical and ambulance access is slow. |
| SA | Anaphylaxis and allergies procedure, OP 099, version 1.6 (approved 24 June 2026) | Required. One clearly labelled general-use device per site: 0.3mg in schools, 0.15mg in preschools. Not prescribed to any student. The procedure names one case for buying more: a multi-campus school where staff cannot reach the device quickly. Sites fund their own. | HLTAID012 first aider in attendance at all times. ASCIA e-training every 2 years encouraged, with hands-on device practice at least twice a year. |
| WA | Student Health in Public Schools procedures, Appendix H, Specific health conditions (version 5.0, effective 8 September 2026) | Required. Up-to-date emergency adrenaline injectors must be available in the first aid kit, including a lower-dose junior device if any student at the school weighs less than 20 kilograms. Under the School Education Regulations 2000 a staff member may administer a device to a student they reasonably suspect is having an anaphylactic reaction, even without consent. | Departmental online anaphylaxis training every 2 years, verified by the principal. ASCIA e-refresher and hands-on trainer-device practice recommended every 6 months. |
| TAS | Management of Student Medical Conditions Procedure, version 1.1 (7 May 2025) | No general-use provision. The procedure states that adrenaline auto-injectors are only to be used for the person for whom they are prescribed, so devices in first aid kits are for students with an existing action plan. A suspected first-time reaction in someone not previously known to be at risk routes to 000, not to a school device. | Number of trained staff set by principal risk assessment, with online training as stipulated by ASCIA. An untrained sole responder may administer under 000 guidance. |
| ACT | First Aid Policy FAP201512. The Anaphylaxis Management Procedure made under it is not published, and is marked internal access only. | Not verifiable from a public ACT source. A 2025 national audit of education department guidelines (data as at June 2024) recorded general-use devices in the ACT as discussed but not mandated, with an updated procedure then pending consultation. Confirm the current position directly with the Directorate. | ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training, or a one-hour asthma training session funded by the ACT Health Directorate, per the same 2025 audit (data as at June 2024). |
| NT | A 2025 national audit (data as at June 2024) recorded that the NT education department refers schools directly to the National Allergy Council best practice guidelines, now version 3.1 (July 2026). | Expected under the adopted guidelines: at least one 300 microgram general-use device, held even where no student at risk is enrolled, with risk assessment setting whether more are needed for camps and excursions. | Face-to-face Asthma Aware, Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management training through Asthma Foundation NT. |
Verify your own row against your department's current policy each year, because these documents are revised. Western Australia's procedures moved to version 5.0 on 8 September 2026 after a major review, and the ACT was revising its anaphylaxis procedure as at mid-2024. Most jurisdictions are converging on the National Allergy Council best practice guidelines, which the Northern Territory adopts outright, though Tasmania's procedure, which says it works within those guidelines, still makes no general-use provision. For the wider school obligations, read our guide to first aid compliance for Australian schools and the broader first aid for schools and community organisations framework.
How many to hold beyond the minimum
Outside South Australia and Tasmania, the minimum rarely matches what a real school day needs. One device in the sick bay does nothing for a student having a reaction on the far oval, at the pool, or three hours into a camp. Work out how many general-use devices you actually need by mapping where a reaction could happen and how fast someone could reach a device. A single primary campus and a multi-building secondary college with four excursions running at once are not the same problem.
Scale it against a few practical questions. How large is the enrolment, and how many buildings does it span? Is the sick bay the only store, or do you need a roaming kit for yard duty? How many groups leave site at the same time for sport, excursions and camps, because each one needs its own device travelling with it.
South Australia and Tasmania work differently. South Australia's procedure sets one general-use device per site, and the only case it names for buying more is a multi-campus school where staff can't reach that device quickly. Tasmania's procedure makes no general-use provision at all, so the devices in its first aid kits are for students with an existing action plan. Check your own row in the table above before you buy.
Storage that meets the policy
An expired or overheated device can fail when it matters, so storage is a compliance item in its own right. ASCIA and the Victorian guidance both call for adrenaline devices kept at room temperature, defined as 15 to 25 degrees, in a cool dark place away from direct light and heat, and never in a fridge or freezer. If a location can't hold that range, an insulated wallet is the fix.
Access is the other half. The device must sit unlocked and easy to reach, not behind a locked cabinet that costs minutes in an emergency. Record where each device is kept in the school's anaphylaxis management and emergency response plans so any staff member can find it. Store each general-use device with a copy of the ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis, kept together as the school anaphylaxis kit, so the responder has the steps in front of them.
The expiry problem, and how to stay ahead of it
Adrenaline autoinjectors carry short shelf lives, often little more than a year, and that's where schools get caught. A school holding several general-use devices, one in the sick bay, one in a yard-duty kit and one in each excursion bag, can easily end up with a different expiry date in every location, and the device in the camp bag is the easiest to forget. A lapsed device breaches the replace-before-expiry duty in procedures such as South Australia's and, worse, may not work.
The fix is boring and it works: log every device's expiry date and location, and check the log on a schedule, not when someone remembers. Name the staff member who owns that log, and set a reminder well ahead of each date so a replacement can come through a pharmacy in time. Replace any device that has been used, and top up the rest of the kit from first aid kit refills at the same check.
Where the adrenaline nasal spray fits
Schools ask about the needle-free option. Neffy adrenaline nasal spray is now included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG numbers 469945 and 470025) and was added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from 1 July 2026. It's a prescription-only medicine approved for adults and children aged four years and over who weigh at least 15 kilograms.
Adrenaline autoinjectors are pharmacist-only medicines, so a school can buy one from a pharmacist without a prescription. A prescription is needed only for a PBS-subsidised supply. The Neffy nasal spray is prescription-only.
Either way the device comes through a pharmacy, not off a supplier's shelf. A spare EpiPen for a school in Australia, or any general-use device, is sourced that way. That's the line we hold: we supply the first aid kit around the device, never the device itself.
Get the readiness right, not just the device
The device is the pointy end. The compliance is everything around it: the right number for your campus, storage that meets the policy, and a live record of every expiry date. Build the surrounding kit from our school first aid kits range.
If you'd rather talk it through, call 03 5443 2239 or email info@firstaiddistributions.com.au.