From 1 October, COVID-19 vaccines will transition to the National Immunisation Program (NIP), replacing the stand-alone National COVID-19 Vaccine Program (NCVP) established during Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
Under the NIP, funded COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be available as a universal program.
Funded access will be available for eligible groups at highest risk of severe disease, consistent with existing COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.
Free COVID-19 vaccines will be available under the NIP for:
- all adults aged 75 years and over (one dose every six months)
- adults aged 65 to 74 years (one dose every 12 months)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 to 74 years (one dose every 12 months)
- all adults aged 18 years and over with severe immunocompromise (one dose every 12 months)
COVID-19 vaccines remain available under the current NCVP arrangements until 1 October.
Until the change takes place, providers should continue to recommend and administer COVID-19 vaccines in accordance with the Australian Immunisation Handbook.
Ordering arrangement before transition
To support adequate access to vaccines during the transition to the NIP, allocations of Pfizer (LP.8.1) 12 years+ (PFS) were increased to 1,000 doses on 25 July.
The final ordering window for the NCVP will close on 28 August. Please ensure all orders are placed before this date. No further ordering will be possible until after the transition to the NIP.
If you require any further information, please contact the Vaccine Operations Centre on 1800 318 208, through the ‘Enquiries’ form located under the ‘Get Help’ tab on your COVID-19 Vaccine Administrative System (CVAS) account or via email at covid19vaccineoperationscentre@health.gov.au.
More information can be found on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s website.