Immunisation Weekly Update:

1. Scholarship opportunity: 2025 Immunisation Professional Development Seminar
2. Enhancements to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) – August 2025
3. Maternal RSV vaccine uptake continues to rise following inclusion on NIP
4. New Aboriginal-led immunisation education toolkit
5. Education

Scholarship opportunity: 2025 Immunisation Professional Development Seminar

Central and Eastern Sydney PHN is offering healthcare professionals working within the CESPHN region the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend this Immunisation Professional Development Day course free of charge (valued at $95).

The Benchmarque 2025 Immunisation Professional Development Seminar aims to equip healthcare professionals with updated strategies and best practices in immunisation. Throughout this one day seminar, you will upskill in various areas of Immunisation, providing you with 6 CPD hours.

Through focused sessions on Cold Chain Management, Vaccine Screening and Promotion in Adults and Older persons, and Immunisation catch ups, this one-day event seeks to enhance participant knowledge, skills and confidence in delivering effective immunisation services, ultimately improving public health outcomes in our region.

Details

Thursday 4 September 2025, 8.30am – 4.30pm

Rydges Parramatta, 116 – 118 James Ruse Drive, Rosehill NSW 2142

Link to flyer and program

Eligibility criteria

Currently employed within the CESPHN region, with current AHPRA registration as one of the following:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker
• Enrolled Nurse
• General Practice Registrar
• General Practitioner
• Nurse Practitioner
• Pharmacist
• Registered Midwife
• Registered Nurse

APPLY HERE. Applications close tomorrow 28 August 2025.

Enhancements to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) – August 2025

From 27 August 2025, the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) due and overdue rules for Pneumococcal will be updated to support changes to the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

Key updates

• Prevenar 20 and Vaxneuvance will become standard vaccines within the AIR. These vaccines will:
  • contribute towards a child’s pneumococcal vaccination status;
  • be considered equivalent with other pneumococcal vaccines in the AIR i.e. Prevenar 13. This means that if a child receives either vaccine brand, in any sequence, they will be considered up-to-date for pneumococcal vaccinations under AIR due and overdue rules.
• Providers will:
  • be able to view when a child is due for a pneumococcal vaccine through the AIR site and in software;
  • request due and overdue reports through the AIR site, helping to identify individuals who may require catch-up vaccinations.
• A child’s Immunisation History Statement (IHS) will continue to display when they are due for a pneumococcal vaccine.
• Reminder letters will be sent if a child becomes overdue.

Changes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

• All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will now display as duefor the additional dose recommended at 6 months of age.
• If an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child does not receive the additional recommended 6-month dose, it will not:
  • change the child’s NIP immunisation status that displays within the IHS i.e. they will still display as up-to-date.
  • impact Family Assistance payments.

Maternal RSV vaccine uptake continues to rise following inclusion on NIP

New NCIRS data has revealed that uptake of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo has continued to climb and 16,941 pregnant women across Australia were vaccinated with Abrysvo in May – the highest monthly total since the vaccine was funded under the NIP in February 2025.

Nationally, almost half of pregnant women who accessed Abrysvo vaccination in May received their doses in a general practice setting (46.3%); the remainder were vaccinated in hospitals (21.2%), pharmacies (14.6%) and state health/Public Health Unit settings (12.3%).

Using data for Medicare-eligible females aged 15–54 years from the Australian Immunisation Register, NCIRS researchers have found more than 62,000 pregnant women across Australia received a dose of Abrysvo – which is recommended during pregnancy from 28 weeks gestation – between 1 February and 31 May of this year.

Source: NCIRS Weekly Jab newsletter 22 August 2025. Subscribe here: ncirs.org.au/user/register

New Aboriginal-led immunisation education toolkit

A new toolkit has been released to help health workers have safe and respectful conversations about vaccination with Aboriginal communities.

The toolkit, Having the Yarn: a practical resource for health workers facilitating vaccine workshops for Aboriginal communities, is based on the Keeping Mob Safe: Yarning about Vaccinations workshops held in the Hunter New England region of NSW.

The study, led by four Aboriginal women – Elizabeth Harwood, Kylie Taylor, Katrina Clark and Kristy Crooks – showed that Aboriginal-led workshops help build vaccine knowledge, confidence and trust.

The toolkit provides practical tips to guide health workers in planning and running workshops that encourage participation and support culturally safe communication.

Education