Staff vaccination programs
Healthcare worker vaccination programs
Vaccination is important for healthcare workers: healthcare workers are at a high risk of catching diseases from infectious people. It also helps to protect vulnerable people in their care, such as young children or older people.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare's National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards requires all hospitals to have a risk-based workforce vaccine-preventable diseases screening and immunisation policy and program. Workplace operators have an obligation to protect their workers and all others who enter their premises from injury. This includes foreseeable injury that is caused by communicable diseases. Vaccination is one way to mitigate this risk.
Vaccination program requirements
Follow the advice and direction in these documents when implementing the program:
- The Australian Immunisation Handbook lists the immunisations recommended for healthcare workers.
- Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare – Section 4.2
- Queensland Health policy framework documents for vaccinations as a condition of engagement
- The National Vaccine Storage Guidelines – Strive for 5 – 2nd edition on vaccine cold chain management.
General Approval for an Immunisation program
General approvals are a type of substance authority that may be granted under the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019. A general approval may be granted for providing an immunisation program by registered nurses. These immunisation programs are not for the provision of COVID-19 vaccines.
For more information about the requirements and approval process please see the Immunisation program section of the General approvals page.
Planning annual vaccination programs
Annual workforce influenza vaccination programs (and any larger scale vaccination programs) require careful planning. Vaccination coordinators should commence planning months in advance of the vaccination program.
This can include:
- engaging with executive leaders and managers early to ensure their support for the program
- ensuring there are adequate human resources available to run and maintain the program, including clinical and data entry requirements
- liaising with pharmacy contacts to ensure adequate vaccine is ordered in advance
- booking rooms or other venues for vaccination clinics and launch days
- ordering consumables and other clinical items, such as sharps containers
- booking or ordering items such as privacy screens, tables and chairs for clinics if required
- creating promotional material such as posters, brochures, and other promotional materials may not be available from the vaccine manufacturer (see the list of resources below).
Australian Immunisation Register (AIR)
Under the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015 it is mandatory for all vaccination providers to report to the AIR:
- COVID-19 vaccinations administered.
- influenza vaccinations administered.
- National Immunisation Program vaccinations administered.
- 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, National Immunisation Program vaccines, JEV vaccines and any privately given vaccines such as for travel.
- 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.
Information taken from the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
Strategies to increase vaccine uptake
These strategies can be used for annual influenza vaccination programs, or other vaccination programs as needed.
Educate staff about the benefits of vaccination
- Deliver education sessions that address misconceptions about vaccine preventable diseases, vaccines, healthcare workers’ role in transmission and the importance of vaccination.
- Use technology to provide more information such as educational group emails, SMS, or link educational materials from your facility’s intranet homepage.
- Display posters and distribute brochures or flyers.
Promote the program
- Promote a target coverage level, and encourage a helpful element of friendly competition between work areas.
- Use leadership modelling by asking the local executive and other leaders to actively promote and support the program. This could be through verbal or written communication to the workforce, involvement in promotional activities, or being vaccinated publicly at the program launch day.
- Hand out “I’m vaccinated” badges or stickers.
- Place posters, brochures or flyers in areas that staff frequent such as tea rooms, staff lifts and nurses’ stations
- Use other promotional communication such as pay advice notices, staff newsletter and screen savers.
- Ask local media and communications staff to assist with promotions.
Make it easy to access the program
- Provide the vaccine for free, where possible.
- Make sure clinic times are accessible to all shifts.
- Use mobile vaccination trolleys.
- Visit clinical and other work areas.
- If possible, visit clinical areas after-hours to increase uptake in shift workers.
- Consider vaccination stations at staff entrances.
- Offer group or department bookings in the workplace.
- Offer vaccines opportunistically, for example at grand rounds, staff meetings and staff barbeques.
Send reminder messages
Reminders can be very effective, particularly for vaccines that require multiple doses.
- Send a SMS reminder for due dose or appointment (check with your email provider for instructions).
- Make targeted phone call reminders.
- In the initial appointment, prompt the staff member to add a reminder in their diary or calendar for the next appointment.
More information
For additional information and resources for healthcare workforce vaccination programs, please go to the Immunisation Contacts page.