Immunisation resources

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has released advice regarding the administration of 2025 seasonal influenza vaccines.

Healthcare provider recommendation is the strongest predictor of a person's decision to vaccinate. Please familiarise yourself with the latest advice and resources and discuss these with your patients.
 

Key points

• Annual influenza vaccination is the most important measure to prevent influenza and its complications and is recommended for all people 6 months of age and over.

• Influenza vaccination is particularly important for those most at risk, with the need to improve uptake in children under 5, people who are pregnant and First Nations people.

• Influenza vaccines can be co-administered (given on the same day) with any COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines.

• Influenza vaccines provided to Maternal women can be co-administered with the Maternal RSV vaccine (between 28-36 weeks), pertussis vaccine (between 20 and 32 weeks) COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines indicated during pregnancy.

• Annual vaccination should ideally occur before the onset of each influenza season when it becomes available (likely March/April 2025).

 

Eligibility for influenza vaccines funded by the National Immunisation Program (NIP)

Annual influenza vaccination is funded under the NIP for:

• all children aged 6 months to < 5 years;

• all adults aged ≥65 years; and

• Specific populations aged 5 to <65 of age at increased risk of severe influenza ((all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people who have certain medical conditions (see ATAGI advice) and pregnant women)

Some states and territory governments also fund influenza vaccines for other groups. Please refer your state or territory health department website (links at the top of this page) for more information.
 

Key resources:

• Statement from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation on the administration of seasonal influenza vaccines in 2025
• 2025 NIP influenza vaccination program advice for health professionals
• NIP influenza vaccination consumer factsheet.  

 

Vaccine stock

All 2024 influenza vaccine stock has now expired.  To prevent a vaccine administration error, ensure all expired 2024 influenza vaccine stock has been discarded. 

2025 Influenza vaccines are anticipated to be available to order from early April.
 

Stay up-to-date

Further advice and resources will be available on the Department of Health and Aged Care  website.

You can also subscribe to receive the latest updates on National Immunisation Program (NIP) and National COVID-19 Vaccination Program (NCVP).

 

The National Immunisation Program (NIP) Schedule is a series of immunisations given at specific times from birth through to adulthood.

The Department of Health and Aged Care’s National Immunisation Program (NIP) Schedule webpage contains information on:

• the NIP Schedule
• catch-up immunisations
• State and territory immunisation schedules
• International immunisation schedules

You can subscribe to the program’s mailing list to receive all the latest updates.

State and territory health departments also fund some additional vaccines. Access further information on state and territory schedules via the appropriate link at the top of this page.
 

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine now available for eligible pregnant women under the NIP

The Abrysvo® vaccine has now been listed on the NIP, meaning eligible women who are at 28 to 36 weeks pregnancy will be able to receive the maternal RSV vaccine for free through the NIP, to protect their infant against RSV from birth and in their first few months of life.

The Department of Health and Aged Care are encouraging all GPs/general practices to:

• Order the RSV maternal vaccine, Abrysvo®, through the usual channels in your state or territory.
• Promote the free vaccine to eligible pregnant women, emphasising your recommendation as a trusted health professional.
• Consider opportunities to co-administer the RSV vaccine with the recommended whooping cough and influenza vaccines where appropriate.
• Ensure vaccine safety by verifying you are correctly administering the Abrysvo® RSV vaccine to your patient.
• Report all RSV and NIP vaccines you administer to the Australian Immunisation Register.
• Stay informed by subscribing to the NIP mailing list for the latest NIP updates.

RSV vaccine resources:

• Letter to colleagues from Chief Medical Officer Professor Anthony Lawler
• NIP RSV products Program advice for health professionals
• NIP RSV vaccine Consumer fact sheet
• Australian Immunisation Handbook - RSV
• Australian Immunisation Handbook - Vaccination for women who are planning pregnancy, pregnant or breastfeeding

 

All vaccines administered to a patient should be recorded by the vaccine provider to the AIR, irrespective of whether they were administered as part of the NIP or privately.

It is now mandatory to upload a record of administration of the following vaccines to the AIR:

• COVID-19
• seasonal influenza
• vaccines given under the National Immunisation Program (NIP)
• Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)

Mandatory data elements when uploading a record include:

• relevant vaccines: COVID-19, influenza, NIP and JEV vaccines
• how to report: electronic, or if this is not reasonably practical then in written form
• when to report: within 24 hours, and no more than 10 working days after the vaccination
• personal information: Medicare number (if applicable), name, contact details, date of birth, gender
• vaccine information: brand name, dose number and batch number, date given, for COVID19 vaccines – vial serial number (if known)
• provider information: provider number, name and contact details.

The Department of Health and Aged Care’s Using the Australian Immunisation Register webpage contains information on:

• mandatory reporting to the AIR
• using the AIR to check a patient’s immunisation history
• identifying patients who are due/overdue a vaccine
• recording vaccine administration
• record accuracy
• vaccination information payments.

 

Antenatal reporting to be mandatory within the AIR from 1 March 2025

From 1 March 2025 it will be mandatory for all vaccination providers to report to the AIR information about whether an individual was pregnant at the time of vaccine administration.
 

The collection of antenatal data is important to ensure the AIR contains a complete and reliable dataset to enable the monitoring of:

• immunisation coverage and administration; and

• the effectiveness and safety of maternal vaccines and vaccination programs. 

A new bespoke antenatal indictor has now been added to the AIR to support this reporting requirement.

Next steps:
You can report antenatal information to the AIR through clinical software or the AIR site, using either the:

• antenatal indicator - the new indicator will be rolled out in clinical software throughout 2025. You can update to the latest version of your clinical software to make sure the latest functionality is available

• vaccine type field - if the new Antenatal indicator is not yet available in your clinical software, you must report antenatal information to the AIR using the ‘Antenatal’ option under the ‘Vaccine type’ field.

Please contact your software provider if you are wanting to know when the new antenatal indicator will be available in your clinical software.

For further information on reporting information to the AIR, please visit the Services Australia website or contact immunisation.registers@health.gov.au
 

Update to COVID-19 vaccine names with the AIR

 

The Australian Immunisation Handbook provides national clinical guidance on the safest and most effective use of vaccines.

The Handbook’s recommendations are developed by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation(ATAGI) and approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council(NHMRC).

You can find the latest statements by ATAGI on immunisation on the Department of Health and Aged Care webpage.

 

There will be scenarios where it is not appropriate to administer a vaccine due to a valid medical reason – be it temporarily or long-term. In such cases the person will require an Immunisation Medical Exemption.

Eligible GPs can provide an Immunisation Medical Exemption using the AIR site using HPOS (you’ll need an individual PRODA account) or via vaccination reporting software. If you don't have access to either of these, you can record a medical exemption using the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) - immunisation medical exemption form (IM011).

Someone who is not able to receive a vaccine may require evidence, for example, to receive family assistance payments or be eligible to attend school or childcare. Having this recorded in AIR provides that evidence.

Resources for health professionals

• The Australian Immunisation Handbook
• ‘Strive for 5’ - National Vaccine Storage Guidelines
• National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) Australia
• Immunisation Coalition

Resources for patients

• Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI) – is an NCIRS-led collaboration which has developed evidence-based communication tools aimed at improving conversations between vaccination providers and parents of young children, those who are pregnant and families about vaccination.
• Australian Academy of Science – provides information that explains the science of immunisation in clear and easy-to-understand language, with the aim of supporting community members to make good health decisions based on science.

The RACGP provided representation on the Stakeholder Advisory Group for the National Vaccination Insights Study conducted by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS). 

Social science researchers from the project conducted two surveys:

• a nationally representative survey of 2,055 adults over 18 years of age to better understand what motivates them to receive the recommended influenza (flu) vaccine
• a nationally representative survey of 2,000 parents to understand the barriers to uptake of National Immunisation Program vaccines among children under 5 years of age.

Key findings are now available on the NCIRS website for both surveys. 

 

• Poster (A4) - Flu vaccine is now available
• Poster (A3) - Flu vaccine is now available
• Posters – Patient alert
• Ventilation and air-circulating strategies in general practice
• Managing pandemics in general practice
• Guidelines for preventative activities in general practice (Red Book) - Immunisation