Overview
Vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect individuals from harmful infections, and to prevent the spread of these diseases in the community.
In Australia, widespread vaccination began in 1932. Major immunisation campaigns carried out in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s led to big reductions in the number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), and in the number of VPD-related deaths.
The Australian Government provides free vaccines to eligible people, including young children, older Australians, First Nations Australians, and others who are at greater risk of serious harm from VPDs, such as pregnant women.
As at April 2025, the National Immunisation Program (NIP) provides vaccines against a number of diseases, including measles, whooping cough and respiratory syncytial virus.
These data visualisations provide information about VPDs and their impact in Australia.
The data includes the total number of cases (either using disease notifications where these data are available, or modelled estimates derived from a range of data sources), hospitalisations and deaths in 2020–2022, as well as data over time.
In interpreting these data, it is important to note that changes in notifications over time may not solely reflect changes in disease prevalence or incidence. Depending on the disease, changes in testing policies, screening programs including the preferential testing of high-risk populations, the use of less invasive and more sensitive diagnostic tests, and periodic awareness campaigns may influence the number of notifications that occur each year.
