2023 NIP updates

Download the updated NSW Immunisation Schedule – Oct 2023.

NIP Eligibility

Access to free National Immunisation Program vaccines requires a person to hold or be eligible for a Medicare card.

NIP Scheduled vaccines 

• NSW Immunisation Schedule updated October 2023 – order form
• NSW Childhood Vaccine poster updated October  2023– order form
• Following vaccination tear off pad – order from DOH website
• Childhood injection sites poster – updated June 2023 – order from CESPHN

NIP Catch-up vaccines

• Free catch-up immunisations are available under the NIP for people who did not receive them at the scheduled age, as well as for refugees and humanitarian entrants.

Additional free vaccines in NSW

• There are Additional vaccines provided free in NSW for patients who meet specific eligibility criteria for Hepatitis B​, MMR​, and Rabies vaccine.

NCIRS immunisation schedules

Did you know? Not all recommended vaccines are funded under the NIP.

The NCIRS immunisation schedules include recommendations for funded and non-funded vaccines in accordance with the Australian Immunisation Handbook.

• Recommendations for Non-Indigenous Australians – updated July 2020
• Recommendations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW – updated July 2020
• Recommendations for people with risk factors – updated July 2023

Australian Immunisation Handbook recommendations 

The Handbook provides guidance about  Vaccination for special risk groups.

The Handbook also have infographics that summarise immunisation needs based on Health, Age, Lifestyle, Occupation:

• Vaccination for people who care for others – People working in heath care, aged care and child care
• Vaccination for healthy ageing – Adults over 50 years old
• Vaccination for people working with animals – People working in the zoo, vet, wildlife or agriculture industry; and bat handlers.
• Vaccination for people at occupational risk – Laboratory personnel, emergency workers, plumbers, tattooist, body piercers, embalmers, funeral workers
• Vaccination for migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum
• Vaccination for women who are planning pregnancy, pregnant or breastfeeding 

NSW Health Immunisation Programs

• Information for Immunisation providers in NSW is available on the NSW Health website.
• NSW Health have developed an Immunisation Toolkit for General Practices to support general practices to implement the NSW Immunisation Program.
• There are Additional vaccines provided free in NSW for patients who meet specific eligibility criteria for Hepatitis B​, MMR​, and Rabies vaccine.

NSW Immunisation Specialist Service

• About: the NSW Immunisation Specialist Service (NSWISS) provides clinical advice and support to immunisation providers, including immunisation needs for patients with complex of unusual backgrounds or who have had an adverse event following immunisation.
• Contact: email clinical questions to NSWISS at SCHN-NSWISS@health.nsw.gov.au. Responses will be provided within 1 business day via email or phone call.
• The NSWISS email inbox will be monitored Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

Order immunisation publications

Providers can order printed copies of a NSW Health publications using order forms:

• NSW Immunisation Resource Order Form
• Influenza Publications Order Form: (English and translated)
• General Publications Order Form: (English and translated)

Ukrainians in NSW: Immunisation and health care access 

• Free catch-up immunisation for Ukrainian children, teenagers and adults – in English and Ukrainian
• Free public health care for Ukrainians in NSW (in English and Ukrainian

Australian Immunisation Handbook

• Download Handbook App (for mobile)
• Digital Handbook (for computer)
• Pre-vaccination checklist
• Catch-up Calculator (for <10 years)

Vaccine Co-administration

• Co-administration of vaccines for adults: NCIRS guide for immunisation providers

Vaxelis

• NCIRS Vaxelis factsheet
• NCIRS Vaxelis FAQs

Zoster vaccine

• Clinical use of Zoster vaccine in older adults in Australia – ATAGI October 2021
• Zostavax screening for contraindications – Australian Immunisation Handbook
• Zostavax Screening form – NSW Health

HPV vaccine

• HPV vaccine Changes to the NIP – DOH March 2023
• Gardasil-9 in the school-based NIP – ATAGI January 2022

Pneumococcal vaccine

• PneumoSmart Vaccination Tool – Immunisation Coalition Nov 2020
• National Immunisation Program factsheet:
  • Clinical advice for providers
  • Clinical decision tree for providers
• Australian Immunisation Handbook infographic:
  • Pneumococcal vaccination for <5 years
  • Pneumococcal vaccination for all Australians
  • Pneumococcal vaccination for people with risk conditions

Meningococcal

• Australian Prescriber 2019
  • Meningococcal vaccination by age and risk group
• Australian Immunisation Handbook infographic |
  • Meningococcal vaccination for people in a special risk group
  • Meningococcal vaccination for children and adolescents without risk factors

Measles

• Catch-up guide: Measles vaccination – NCIRS

Other vaccine information sheets

• Keeping up with vaccinations – What’s new, what’s available and who to ask for help (peer reviewed)
• Fact sheets and FAQs (NCIRS) on various diseases and vaccines such as HIB, Influenza, HPV, Meningococcal, Zoster, resources for adressing patient/parent concerns about immunisation and more
• NEW Measles vaccines for Australians (NCIRS)
• NEW Meningococcal vaccine 2019 recommendations by age and risk group – Australian Prescriber
• Q Fever information for GPs
• Rabies Vaccination and Post Exposure Protocol
• HPV fact sheet (NCIRS)
• HPV FAQs (NCIRS)
• Approach to influenza vaccination in patients with a history of Guillain–Barre Syndrome – AusVaxSafety

• Practical guide: Immunisation for individuals with additional needs – NCIRS May 2023
• Guideline: Following up overdue children – CESPHN Sept 2022
• Poster: Childhood injection sites – order from CESPHN July 2020

Anaphylaxis Kit

Minimum requirements for an anaphylaxis kit:

• Anaphylaxis response kit – requirements as per Handbook
• Adrenaline dosage card – Order form
• Managing anaphylaxis after vaccination – poster from Handbook

Anaphylaxis e-Training

The ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training course for health professionals 2021

• This course was developed by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).
• This free anaphylaxis course takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete and is suitable for all health professionals, including medical practitioners and nurses.

GP requirement: Basic Life Support

• BLS training requirements – and how often does this need to be renewed? RACGP

CPR requirements 

• Frequently asked questions for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) requirements in general practices

Adverse Events Following Immunisation

What is an AEFI?

NSW Health: What is a serious adverse event?

Health professionals are required to report suspected reactions, known as adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) particularly if they are unexpected or significant.

Reporting AEFIs

If a patient has an immediate serious reaction or is unwell in the days after a vaccination, you must report this via:

• Submit AEFI reporting form to TGA or submit online form

and

• Notify Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055 or email MOH-COVIDaefi@health.nsw.gov.au

AEFI resource for parents

• Following vaccination – what to expect – order free pad from DOH

Vaccine safety 

COVID-19 vaccine safety

• TGA: COVID-19 vaccine weekly safety report
• AusVaxSafety: COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance

General vaccine safety & resources 

• AusVaxSafety – Vaccine Safety Data 2019
• Safety data – AusVaxSafety active vaccine safety surveillance system

COVID-19 vaccine administration errors

ATAGI guidelines on the management of a range of possible vaccine administration errors, including when a replacement (repeat) dose is recommended.

General advice on vaccine errors

1. Advice relating to patient:
   • Open disclosure of the incident to the patient/parents of the patient.
   • Inform patient of any expected side effects and possible remedies to help with side effects.
   • Arrange follow up appointment for patient with GP – mainly as a health check, but also to maintaining the GP/patient relationship.
   • Give the Patient/Parents HCCC contact details in case they want to report a complaint:
     • Email: hccc@hccc.nsw.gov.au
     • Phone: 92197444
2. Advice relating to practice:
   1. • Usual incident reporting process within the practice
      • Inform the practice Insurer
      • Review practice policies/process to avoid error in future
3. Clinical advice:
   • Send patient to Emergency Department if patient clinically unwell
   • Contact NSWISS if clinical advice is required (eg revaccination advice)
     • Email: SCHN-NSWISS@health.nsw.gov.au
     • Phone: 1800679477 or 98451414
   • For accidental overdose see below.
4. Reporting
   • If patient develops any symptoms:
     • Complete an AEFI reporting form and
     • contact your local public health unit on 1300 066 055
   • For COVID-19 vaccinations, send an error report to Vaccine Operations Centre (VOC): COVID19VaccineOperationsCentre@Health.gov.au

Accidental overdose

1. If an accidental overdose occurs, it is recommended to observe vital signs and, if symptomatic, to treat the symptoms. There are no specific overdose symptoms to be aware of.
2. Follow the above Advice on Vaccine Errors – This error must be recorded through your normal jurisdictional medication error reporting systems.
3. For more information, the Poisons Information Centre may be contacted on 131 126.

Free catch-up vaccines

Some catch-up vaccines are available free under the NIP for people who did not receive them as children.

Planning a catch-up schedule

If a person has not received all the NIP Schedule vaccines appropriate for their age, plan and document a catch-up schedule.

Use these resources to help plan a catch-up schedule.

Catch-up for people ≥10 years of age:

• Table: Doses needed and minimum intervals
• Flowchart: Measles catch-up guide – NCIRS
• Table: HepB vaccine for adolescents and adults

Catch-up for children < 10 years of age:

• Catch-up Calculator (aged <10 years only)
• Table: Minimum age for 1st dose
• Table: Number of required doses by age
• Table: Minimum acceptable dose intervals
• Table: Hib vaccine catch-up (for <5 years only)
• Table: PCV vaccine for at-risk children (for < 5 years)
• Table: PCV vaccine for children (aged < 5 years)
• Table: Rotarix age limit (for < 25 weeks)

General catch-up guidelines

• Catch-up vaccination – Australian Immunisation Handbook
• Catch-up Vaccination for special risk group
• Catch-up immunisations – Department of Health

Overseas vaccination

• World Health Organisation – Overseas immunisation schedules
• Foreign Language Terms – aids to translating foreign immunisation records
• Service NSW document translation service
• Free Translating Service – The Australian Government has created a free service to assist in the translating of personal documents. This service allows holders of certain types of visas to get key personal documents (such as immunisation history statements and other important medical information) translated for free.

Ordering NIP vaccines

A Vaccine Account Number (VAN) is required to order NIP vaccines:

• Log in to the NSW Vaccine Centre online ordering system
• Read NSW Vaccine Centre User guide for providers (Dec 2020)
• NSW Vaccine centre phone: 1300 656 132

Vaccine Account Number (VAN)

New VAN Application

To request new a vaccine account, contact the Public Health Unit (PHU). Email practice details to:

• • South Eastern Sydney PHU: SESLHD-PublicHealthUnit-IMMTeam@health.nsw.gov.au
  • Sydney PHU: SLHD-Immunisation@health.nsw.gov.au
  • Unsure which PHU to contact? Check practice postcode 

Update VAN details

To update/amend any VAN details including new practice name, delivery address, principal GP, phone/fax number:

1. Login to NSW Vaccine Centre
2. Go to Amend Delivery Address and AHPRA (see page 5)

Alternatively, practices in SESLHD can complete the Account Change Form 

Forms

• Vaccine Account Number (VAN) – new VAN application form
• Account Change Form – update VAN details form

NSW Health – communications

• Changes to NSW vaccine centre webpage – Dec 2020

Vaccine Hesitancy training

Communicating with people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19

This NCIRS report summarises perspectives on COVID-19 vaccines of unvaccinated adults living in Australia who were interviewed in late 2021.

Recommendations for immunisation providers:

1. Seek out training to build confidence and skills around having conversations with vaccine-hesitant people such as the SKAI eLearning module and Addressing vaccine hesitancy webinar.
2. Use the “It’s worth the shot” Benefits and Decision cards to help engage and encourage discussions, and tip sheet on how to start the conversation
3. Use resources to support conversations: COVID-19 Decision Aid, Vaccination glossary
4. Make a positive recommendation to vaccinate
5. Be ready to tailor conversations to a range of positions on vaccination, from refusing to hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccines (including receiving a booster vaccine)

Yellow fever accreditation involves Clinic Accreditation AND Provider Accreditation.

Clinics

To become an accredited Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre:

• Contact PHU on 1300 066 055 for information on application process OR
• Refer to the Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre application package

Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre – Ongoing requirements

1. 1. Maintain a log of all practitioners prescribing the vaccine
   2. Maintain evidence that all practitioners have a valid accreditation – yellow fever training must be repeated every 3 years
   3. Check that your clinic is listed on the NSW Health – Yellow fever vaccination clinic website
   4. Re-accreditation is not require for existing Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres

Providers

To become a yellow fever accredited practitioner:

• Successfully complete the ACRRM Yellow Fever Vaccination Learning Module
• Accreditation is valid for 3 years, after which the module must be completed again
• Notify NSW Health within 7 days:
  • complete form and email to MOH-vaccreports@health.nsw.gov.au
  • applies to new yellow fever practitioners only – existing yellow fever practitioners renewing accreditation after 3 years do not have to notify NSW Health

Accredited practitioners – requirements:

• Only administer the Yellow Fever vaccine at an accredited Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre
• Provide completion certificate to the accredited Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre in which you intend to practice
• If you no longer wish to provide yellow fever vaccinations please notify your Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre.

ANI – authorised nurse immuniser can only administer yellow fever vaccination with a valid order from an authorised prescribing practitioner.

Travel resource

Destinations | Travelers’ Health CDC

Further information:

• Yellow Fever Vaccination Course
• National Guidelines for Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres and Providers
• New Individual Training Requirement for Yellow Fever Vaccination Providers
• NSW Health – Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre application package
• NSW Health – Yellow fever vaccination centres and providers FAQs

Providers can order printed copies of a NSW Health publications using order forms.

** indicates that translated resource is available

NSW Immunisation Resource Order Form:

• • NSW Immunisation Schedule (July 2023)
  • NSW Childhood Vaccine poster (July 2023)
  • Vaccine fridge – Basket stickers (July 2023)
  • Cold chain breach labels
  • Adrenaline Dosing Card

Influenza Publications Order Form:

• • Influenza posters for kids and general community **
  • Influenza brochures for pregnancy **
  • Influenza brochures for medically at risk **
  • Influenza brochure for RACF staff **

General Publications Order Form:

• • My First Baby Book
  • Adult Vaccination Record Card for Health Care Workers/Students
  • Adult-Adolescent Vaccination Card
  • Influenza brochure for pregnancy **

Printed translated resources

Order printed copies translated resources from NSW Health:

• Influenza Publications Order Form:
  • Influenza posters for kids and general community
    Translated to Arabic, Bengali, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali, Vietnamese
  • Influenza brochures for pregnancy
    Translated to Greek, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese
  • Influenza brochures for medically at risk
    Translated to Arabic, Hindi, Greek, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese
  • Influenza brochure for RACF staff
    Translated to Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Filipino, Nepali, Polish, Vietnamese
• General Publications Order Form:
  • Influenza brochure for pregnancy
    Translated to Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Korean, Tamil, Turkish, Vietnamese

Digital translated resources

Childhood vaccinations FAQ

This information sheet has answers to the most frequently asked questions about childhood vaccinations.

Translated to Arabic, Assyrian, Chinese, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Hazaragi, Thai, Vietnamese.

Childhood vaccinations – Consumer brochure

This brochure provides information about the recommended vaccines available free for children under the National Immunisation Program.

Translated to Arabic, Assyrian, Chinese, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Hazaragi, Thai, Vietnamese.

Shingles resources

Shield yourself from shingles resource collection

Factsheets

• Shield yourself from shingles – People 65 and over
• Shield yourself from shingles – First Nations

First Nations people aged 50 and over – Brochures and posters

• Shield yourself from shingles – First Nations – Brochure 1, Brochure 2, Brochure 3 and Brochure 4
• Shield yourself from shingles – First Nations – Poster 1, Poster 2, Poster 3 and Poster 4

People aged 65 and over – Brochures and posters

• Shield yourself from shingles – Brochure 5, Brochure 6, Brochure 7, and Brochure 8
• Shield yourself from shingles – Poster 5, Poster 6, Poster 7, and Poster 8