Immunisation is a safe and effective way to protect against harmful communicable diseases and, at the population level, prevent the spread of these diseases among the community. Several vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, rubella and diphtheria, are now rare in Australia as a result of Australia’s high immunisation rates. See Infectious and communicable diseases.
The Australian Government provides free vaccines to eligible people, including young children, older Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and others who are at greater risk of serious harm from vaccine-preventable diseases, such as pregnant women. Additional vaccines may also be funded through state and territory programs, through the workplace or bought privately by prescription.
It is important to maintain high immunisation rates to ensure that these diseases cannot spread through the community.
The Burden of Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Australia study estimated the immediate and future burden of newly diagnosed cases of disease (including premature death) and found that the rate of burden had decreased by nearly a third between 2005 and 2015. The decrease was driven by falls for diseases for which vaccines have been introduced in the past 20 years, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), pneumococcal disease and rotavirus (Table 1). The rate of burden decreased considerably among infants, children, and adolescents and young adults—age groups which are the focus of national and state and territory vaccination programs (AIHW 2019).
Disease
|
Year widespread vaccination introduced
|
Number of cases
|
DALY per 100,000 population
|
2005
|
2015
|
% change
|
2005
|
2015
|
% change
|
Rotavirus
|
2007
|
241,000
|
47,700
|
–80
|
1.9
|
0.3
|
–85
|
Chickenpox
|
2005
|
95,200
|
55,300
|
–42
|
1.7
|
0.4
|
–75
|
Human papillomavirus
|
2007 for girls,
2013 for boys
|
545,600
|
291,000
|
–47
|
48.2
|
15.8
|
–67
|
Pneumococcal disease
|
2001 for at-risk infants, 2005 for all infants and those aged 65 and over
|
1,824
|
1,576
|
–14
|
20.4
|
15.1
|
–26
|
Hepatitis A
|
2005
|
1,200
|
720
|
–40
|
0.4
|
<0.1
|
–75
|
Hepatitis B
|
Early 1980s for at-risk groups, 2000 for all infants
|
580
|
340
|
–41
|
2.1
|
1.2
|
–44
|
Meningococcal disease
|
2003
|
369
|
201
|
–46
|
6.5
|
2.7
|
–58
|
DALY disability-adjusted life years (see Glossary)
Note: Rates age-standardised to the 2001 Australian population.
All Australian children are expected to have received specific immunisations by a certain age according to the National Immunisation Program Schedule. Fully immunised status is measured at ages 1, 2 and 5 and means that a child has received all the scheduled vaccinations appropriate for their age.
In 2019, the immunisation rate for all children aged 1 was 94.3%; it was 91.6% for 2 year olds and 94.8% for 5 year olds (Figure 1). For Indigenous children in 2019, the national immunisation rates for children aged 1 and 2 were lower than the rates for all children. In contrast, the immunisation rate for 5 year old Indigenous children was higher than the rate for all children (96.9% compared with 94.8%).