Vaccines are the best protection of serious illness and hospitalisation in older people (1). From 1 November 2025, the new Aged Care Act 2024 strengthened the requirement for residential aged care providers to provide access to recommended vaccinations for their residents. This includes vaccines such as influenza, COVID-19, shingles and pneumococcal.
As the festive season approaches, it’s important to make sure aged care residents and workers keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination, as cases normally increase over this period. COVID-19 vaccines are free and recommended:
- every 6 months for people aged 75 and over
- every 12 months for people aged 65 to 74
- every 12 months for adults who are severely immunocompromised
Important Information for Aged Care Providers
Aged Care Providers are responsible for providing timely access to recommended vaccines for residents and workers, in line with the National Immunisation Program Schedule.
Providers are also required to continue to integrate vaccination planning into routine clinical care, maintain accurate records of vaccination status, consent, and exemptions, uphold robust infection prevention and control (IPC) practices while promoting the benefits of vaccines for residents and workers.
Actions and Resources for Aged Care Providers
Facility and clinical managers can apply for access to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) to:
- track who is due or overdue for vaccination
- ensure accurate reporting of a person’s vaccination status
There are also a range of eLearning modules and infographic sheets available on the Services Australia AIR eLearning website. Relevant eLearning modules include:
- How to register as a recognised provider on the AIR (Residential Care Facilities (RCFs) will need to do this to access the AIR)
- Register an organisation in PRODA to access the AIR (RCFs will need to register as an organisation in PRODA also)
- Accessing the AIR
- Logging into the AIR site using HPOS (this is how an RCF would log into the AIR)
- Submitting information to the AIR Site
- How to correctly identify an individual on the AIR
- Check the accuracy of your encounter details before sending to the AIR
Aged Care Providers can also organise access to GPs, pharmacists or accredited immunisers for vaccinations
- arrange consent early
- book clinics well in advance
- if needed, contact WentWest for support at racfsupport@wentwest.com.au
For further information about the new Aged Care Act, please refer to the department’s website