Pharmacist immunisers must not supply or administer a vaccine and must refer persons to a medical practitioner, if they are less than 5 years of age, have any concerns regarding consent, the person has a contraindication to vaccination or has experienced a severe adverse event after vaccination or the patient has complex medical needs, and the pharmacist cannot confidently and completely address these.
NIP funded for: People aged ≥10 years to <15 years on catch-up schedule
NIP funded for:
NIP funded for (Prevenar 13 brand only):
People aged 70 years and over and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 50 years and over
The vaccines may only be administered in accordance with advice in the Australian Immunisation Handbook or Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) advice.
A registered pharmacist immuniser initiating and administering vaccines under his/her own authority must comply with the three components of clause 48A of the NSW Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008 which prescribes rules for:
* Patients MUST be educated about first aid and medical assessment for any potential exposure to rabies or Australian Bat Lyssavirus regardless of having been vaccinated.
The pharmacist immuniser must complete a training course that complies with the Australian Pharmacy Council 'Standards for the Accreditation of Programs to Support Pharmacist Administration of Vaccines' (current version).
The training course must be conducted by an Australian Pharmacy Council accredited pharmacy education program provider. The pharmacist immuniser must hold a certificate confirming competency to vaccinate following completion of an accredited training program for all authorised vaccines that they intend to administer.
The pharmacist immuniser must hold a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certificate issued within the last 12 months. If the pharmacist is administering vaccines to people aged less than 14 years of age, the CPR certificate must include paediatric CPR training.
To maintain authority to immunise, the pharmacist immuniser must annually review best practice policy for immunisation and ensure their competence for each vaccine they administer. This maybe, but is not limited to, attendance at seminars on current practices, or formal immunisation update courses.
An intern pharmacist who holds a certificate confirming competency to vaccinate following completion of an accredited training program for all vaccines they intend to administer, is only able to administer specified vaccines under the direct supervision of a pharmacist immuniser who holds certification to vaccinate for the relevant vaccine.
All vaccines must be stored within the recommended temperature range of +2°C to +8°C and protected from light at all times. Maintaining the cold chain is important to ensure that effective and potent vaccines are administered to patients.
Please refer to the vaccine storage and cold chain management webpage for further information on mandatory requirements.
For the purpose of supply and administration of any COVID-19 vaccine, a pharmacist immuniser, in addition to the above requirements, must also have read the ATAGI guidance on the use of multi-dose vials for COVID-19 vaccination and reviewed the NSW Health guidance on management of COVID-19 vaccines specific to each of the vaccines that the immuniser will be administering on the NSW Health COVID-19 vaccination webpage for immunisation providers.
For the purposes of supply and administration of any Japanese encephalitis vaccine, a pharmacist immuniser, in addition to the above requirements, must also successfully complete the Japanese encephalitis - A learning resource for immunisation providers hosted by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia or the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Additional information on the COVID-19 vaccination program for pharmacist immunisers is available on COVID-19 vaccination: information for community pharmacists.
For further information:
1Funded by the Commonwealth separate to the NIP
2Advice on eligibility for NIP catch up vaccinations for people aged 19 years and under, people aged 25 years and under who have missed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and refugees and humanitarian entrants aged five years and over is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care webpage.
3A single dose of dTpa vaccine is usually given to pregnant women at 28 weeks (can be given between 20 to 32 weeks of each pregnancy) and should be given as early as possible (from 20 weeks) to women who have been identified as being at high risk of early delivery.
4Meningococcal ACWY vaccine is free under the NIP for adolescents aged 14-16 years (primarily delivered through school-based vaccination program). Adolescents up to 20 years of age are eligible for free catch-up vaccination if they didn’t receive the vaccine at 14-16 years of age.
