What is the Australian Immunisation Register?
The Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) is a national register which records vaccines given to all people Australia. This includes:
- COVID-19 vaccines
- vaccines given under the National Immunisation Program (NIP)
- vaccines given privately, such as for seasonal influenza or travel.
Recognised vaccination providers should record all vaccines given to patients − including through school vaccination programs − on the AIR.
The AIR can also be used to:
- check which vaccines your patients have had
- check if your patients are overdue for any vaccines
- report medical contraindications online or natural immunities – eligible vaccination providers only.
Checking your patient's immunisation history
You can check your patient’s immunisation history before you vaccinate through:
- clinical software, if integrated with the AIR
- the AIR site in Health Professional Online Services (HPOS).
Identifying people who are overdue for their vaccines
AIR reports that can help you identify children who are overdue for immunisation include:
- AIR010A – AIR Due/Overdue Practice Report
- AIR011A – Due/Overdue report by locality
- AIR011B – Due/overdue report by vaccination provider
Visit the AIR site in Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) to see these reports.
Recording vaccines given to your patients
It’s important to record the vaccines you give to your patients on the AIR at the time of vaccination. Information on the AIR needs to be accurate and up to date so that:
- families can receive their appropriate childcare and Family Tax Benefit (FTB) payments on time
- children can enrol in school or adults can start certain jobs on time
- the AIR can inform public health management and research of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Recognised vaccination providers should report to the AIR all vaccinations they give to their patients in Australia. They should also record those given overseas if they have appropriate documentation.
If your practice software does not automatically report vaccinations to the AIR, you will need to report these vaccinations directly using the AIR website.
Information about sending or receiving immunisation data from the AIR is available on the AIR site.
Mandatory reporting
Under the Australian Immunisation Register Act
- COVID-19 vaccinations administrated on or after 20 February 2021
- Influenza vaccinations administered on or after 1 March 2021
- NIP vaccinations administered on or after 1 July 2021, and
- Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) vaccines administered on or after 21 December 2022.
The Australian Immunisation Register Rule 2015 lists the specific vaccines, the data elements to report, and how and when to report these. These 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.
Ensuring records are accurate
Encourage your patients to update the personal details they have recorded with Medicare (including their address and whether they identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people). The AIR uses Medicare details in its records, so the details need to be right so that the AIR will be accurate.
Patients can update their Medicare details online using the Medicare online account through myGov, or through the Express Plus Medicare mobile app.
Vaccination provider information payments
Eligible vaccination providers get an information payment for:
- completing a National Immunisation Program (NIP) Schedule for a child under 7 years old and recording it on the AIR
- following up and vaccinating a child under 7 years old, who is more than 2 months overdue for their childhood vaccinations under the NIP Schedule, and recording it on the AIR.
The information payments are:
- up to $6 per completed immunisation schedule for children under 7 years old
- $6 per completed catch-up schedule for children under 7 years old
- paid by Electronic Funds Transfer on the second last Tuesday of each month.
To get a payment, you need to provide your bank account details when you:
- register as a vaccination provider with the AIR
- complete the AIR Bank Account Details for Vaccination Providers form
To update your bank account details on the AIR:
- use Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) or
- complete the AIR Bank Account Details for Vaccination Providers form.
You’ll get an immunisation payment statement summary each month. You can access the statement on the AIR site.
Immunisation details submitted to AIR during the last month will be included in the Immunisation Notifications Reconciliation report. This report is available on the AIR site on the second last Tuesday of each month.