Department of Health

Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine

A free Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine is available for the following people where clinically indicated including:

  • People of all ages with functional or anatomical asplenia including sickle cell disease and haemoglobinopathies
  • Congenital or acquired asplenia
  • Functional and autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients
  • Solid organ transplant recipients

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Hepatitis B vaccine

Free Hepatitis B vaccines are available for the following people where clinically indicated. This includes non-Medicare card holders:

  • All people under 20 years of age. The catch-up schedule will need to commence on or before the child’s 20th birthday and may be completed beyond this date, as required
  • All refugees and humanitarian entrants including asylum seekers
  • People at risk of hepatitis B infection as follows:
    • All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – hepatitis B non-immune, no restrictions
    • Household contacts and sexual partners of people living with hepatitis B
    • People who inject drugs or are on opioid substitution therapy
    • People living with Hepatitis C
    • Men who have sex with men
    • People living with HIV
    • People no longer in a custodial setting who commenced but did not complete a free vaccine course while in custody
    • People born in priority hepatitis B endemic countries and arrived in Australia in the last 10 years. (Priority countries include China, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Thailand, South Korea, Myanmar (Burma) Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Cambodia)

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Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

The National Immunisation Program provides free HPV Gardasil®9 vaccine for:

  • Adolescents 12-13 years of age through the secondary school immunisation program
  • Adolescents who missed vaccination at school, a catch-up program is available for adults up to 25 years of age

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Influenza vaccine

Influenza vaccine is recommended annually for all adults who wish to protect themselves from influenza however the vaccine is only funded for eligible people.

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Measles - mumps - rubella (MMR) vaccine

A Victorian Government funded measles-containing vaccine program is available for all adults born during or since 1966 and aged from 20 years without evidence of two documented doses of valid MMR vaccine or without serological evidence of immunity. One or two free doses of M-M-R-11® vaccine can be administered to eligible adults. If two M-M-R-II® doses are required they must be given a minimum of 28 days apart.

Some adults may be non immune or only partially immune to measles, mumps and rubella because they were not captured in the Australian Measles Control Campaign in the late 1990s and the subsequent Young Adults MMR program in 2001.

It is important to check the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination status of adults with no documented history of two doses of measles- mumps and rubella vaccine, especially women of childbearing age. Immunisation providers should upload a record of all vaccines administered to the Australian Immunisation Register.

MMR vaccine should be administered to women planning pregnancy or post-partum with low or negative rubella antibody levels.

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Meningococcal vaccine

Four-in-one meningococcal vaccines are available to protect against A, C, W and Y strains of meningococcal disease. Meningococcal B vaccine is available to protect against the meningococcal B strain.

The National Immunisation Program provides a free meningococcal ACWY vaccine for:

  • children at 12 months of age
  • unimmunised people under 20 years of age who have not previously had their meningococcal C vaccine at 12 months as a free catch-up dose. secondary school students in Year 10, or age equivalent as a school-based vaccination program
  • Young people aged 15 to 19 years of age, who have not already received the vaccine in school, will be able to be vaccinated by their immunisation provider
  • People of all ages with functional or anatomical asplenia, including sickle cell disease or other haemoglobinopathies, and congenital or acquired asplenia
  • People of all ages with defects in, or deficiency of, complement components, including factor H, factor D or properdin deficiency
  • People of all ages receiving current or future treatment with eculizumab

Immunisation against meningococcal serogroup B disease is available free under the National Immunisation Program schedule for risk groups, including:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants at 2 (from 6 weeks), 4 and 12 months of age and as age appropriate catch-up doses up to 2 years of age until June 2023
  • People of all ages with functional or anatomical asplenia, including sickle cell disease or other haemoglobinopathies, and congenital or acquired asplenia
  • People of all ages with defects in, or deficiency of, complement components, including factor H, factor D or properdin deficiency
  • People of all ages receiving current or future treatment with eculizumab

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Pertussis vaccine

Pertussis-containing vaccines are available through the National Immunisation Program for the pregnant woman in every pregnancy.

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Pneumococcal vaccine

Pneumococcal vaccine is provided free on the NIP for:

  • Healthy Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people from 50 years of age
  • Healthy non indigenous people from 70 years of age
  • People with risk conditions – see the online edition of the Australian Immunisation Handbook Pneumococcal disease sectionExternal Link

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Zoster (Shingles) vaccine

Zostavax® vaccine commenced on the NIP free of charge from 1 November 2016 for people aged 70 years. There is also a five year catch-up program for people aged 71 – 79 years until 31 October 2023.

Zostavax® contains live attenuated varicella-zoster virus, containing 14 times more virus than childhood varicella vaccines and is contraindicated in immunocompromised people. Administration to people who are immunocompromised is associated with the risk of disseminated disease from the vaccine virus and even death.

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Reviewed 06 February 2023

Health.vic

Contact details

Opening hours:  9am to 5pm Monday to Friday

Immunisation Unit Department of Health

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