INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Council's Environmental Health Unit is responsible for the investigation of outbreaks of infectious diseases in conjunction with the State Government's Department of Health.

Please contact The Department of Human Services or an Environmental Health Officer to discuss matter related to the above in more detail.

Sharps Disposal

A free sharps disposal service is provided for Insulin dependant persons. Sharps must be stored in an approved sharps container and delivered to the Environmental Health Unit for disposal (25 Armstrong Street South, Ballarat). A replacement container will be provided free of charge.

This service is not available to businesses.

Please note : The City of Ballarat does NOT provide syringes under any circumstances.

Syringe bin locations

The City of Ballarat provide syringe bins in all public toilets which is monitored and maintained by a contracting service, should you have a concern regarding the maintenance of these bins please contact Ian Rowland on 5320 5587.

The locations of public toilets within the City of Ballarat are available from the The National Public Toilet Map.

Guidelines for needle stick injury

For information on needle-stick injuries please refer to the Better Health Channel

Syringe Collection

A syringe collection and disposal service is provided for syringes on public land. If you do observe syringes on public land please contact the Environmental Health Unit on 5320 5702 to arrange for their safe disposal. Please be prepared to provide a detailed description of the location of the syringe.

NOTE: Syringes on private property are the responsibility of the owner/occupier.

Safe retrieval and disposal of needles and syringes

Do

 1) Tell Children never to pick up needles and syringes, but to call an adult.
 2) Place used needles in a suitable container (i.e. sharps container)
 3) Store the container in areas that are child and animal proof.
 4) Pick up the syringe by the barrel end (blunt end) with gloves or metal tongs

Don't

1) Toss syringes loose in the bin
2) Clip needles with scissors
3) Dispose of syringes in the toilet
4) Place syringes in aluminium cans or glass containers
5) Place the "Sharps Container" in the bin. This presents some risks to waste collection workers because even heavy duty containers will break under sufficient pressure.

For more information please contact the Syringe Disposal Hotline on 1800 55 23 55 (toll free) or call Council's Environmental Health Unit on 5320 5702.

Child and Community Health

For information or enquires regarding Council's immunisation schedule please see Child and Maternal Health at the below link.

Child and Maternal Health Immunisation Schedule