The Health Act 1911 (1911/034 (1 Geo. V No.45)) repealed the Health Act 1898 and remains the principal public health legislation in Western Australia. In 1911 it had a number of impacts on children in out of home care, mainly through their participation in the school system. The Act allowed the medical and dental examination of school children; it required infectious diseases in schools to be reported; and prescribed when children would be exempted from vaccination.
The ‘Health Act 1911′ also required midwives to be registered and set up the Midwives’ Registration Board for that purpose. Eventually, this led to a decrease in the number of lying-in (maternity) homes in the State.