Figure 1: Overview of PAEDS method for surveillance using the waiver of consent plus opt-in consent for additional research of specific study arms Figure 1 demonstrates the general flow of how PAEDS hospital-based surveillance is conducted. Specialist paediatric surveillance nurses identify potential cases from various sources such as emergency and inpatient databases, laboratory and other clinical records and through contact with key clinicians. For surveillance activities, PAEDS operates under a waiver of consent. Patients that meet the case definition criteria for any of the PAEDS conditions are therefore included. PAEDS nurses obtain clinical information regarding the presentation as well as any medical history, immunisation status treatment and outcome. In some circumstances samples are collected for further clinical or public health investigation such as varicella zoster virus genotyping or stool testing of AFP cases for polio virus by the Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory (VIDRL). For select study arms, such as encephalitis, opt-in consent is offered for participation in additional research which may include long term follow up or non-routine sample collection/salvage. All information is compiled and entered into a secure web-based data management system which allows for centralised data extraction and analysis. The PAEDS team is then able to utilise the nationally acquired data in producing timely reports and comprehensive publications that inform policy and practice.