The Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) is a national immunisation register that records vaccines given to all people in Australia. This includes COVID-19 vaccines, vaccines given under the National Immunisation Program (NIP), and vaccines given privately, such as for seasonal influenza or travel.
Under the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015 it is mandatory for all vaccination providers to report the administration of COVID-19, influenza, NIP and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) vaccines to the AIR.
Legislative changes mean that from 1 March 2024, it will be mandatory for all vaccination providers to report to the AIR:
- the route of administration for JEV vaccines
- information about the vaccine type for all vaccines prescribed by the Australian Immunisation Register Rule 2015 (this includes COVID-19, influenza, NIP and JEV vaccines).
Under the ‘vaccine type’ field, vaccination providers can choose one of the following options:
- antenatal
- NIP/Commonwealth
- private
- state program.
The antenatal option should be selected when the person presenting is pregnant at the time the vaccine is administered, regardless of whether the vaccine is funded privately, under the NIP or by a state or territory program.
Reporting timely, high quality and accurate vaccination information to the AIR allows us to monitor immunisation coverage and administration across Australia. This also provides Australians with a complete record of their vaccinations, which can be used for education, employment, and travel purposes.
What to do next?
Vaccination providers can report vaccination information through the AIR site in HPOS, or through clinical software.
You should update to the latest version of your clinical software to make sure you meet reporting requirements. If these fields are not yet available in your clinical software, you can still report vaccinations to the AIR. You will be required to record the new fields through the AIR site using the ‘update encounter’ function as soon as practical.
