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Vaccination catch-up

Sources. Australian Immunisation Handbook (ATAGI, Australian Government Department of Health) — Catch-up vaccination (updated and reviewed 30 September 2026) and the National Immunisation Catch-up Calculator. Australian Immunisation Register — Services Australia. This page is general information for health professionals, current as of 1 October 2026 (the Handbook chapter was last updated on 30 September 2026 — a terminology and table-consistency update in which “inactivated” became “non-live”; earlier in 2026 it limited MMRV as a first dose to people over 4 years of age and defined a vaccine-interval “month” as 4 weeks); it does not replace the Handbook, the NICC, clinical judgement, or state and territory guidance.

For GPs, registrars and nurses: which official tool to use, the core catch-up principles, and how to get the patient’s history. This page routes you to the right resource — it does not calculate a dose schedule.

⚠️ Always plan the actual schedule in the NICC and the live Handbook. The Australian Immunisation Handbook and the National Immunisation Program are updated periodically. Verify against the current Handbook, your state or territory schedule, and the patient’s actual AIR history before vaccinating.
Which resource do I need?
Pick the situation to jump to the right official tool, with the governing principle. The catch-up schedule itself is generated by the official NICC, not here.

Select a situation above to see the right official resource and the key principle.

National Immunisation Catch-up Calculator (NICC) →Official tool, Dept of Health — generates a catch-up schedule for everyone under 20. Handbook — Catch-up vaccination chapter →Principles, tables, the ≥10-years adult schedule, and the worksheet. AIR for health professionals (Services Australia) →Access histories via HPOS. AIR enquiries: 1800 653 809.
Core principles of catch-up
  • Build on documented doses — do not restart. In almost all cases, count previous doses regardless of the interval since the last one. The main exception is oral cholera vaccine.
  • Give one dose of every due or overdue vaccine at the first visit — do not defer. Schedule the rest at the minimum intervals.
  • Fewer doses may be needed with age. The number required can fall as a child gets older (for example, a single Hib dose if starting at 15 months), or no dose may be needed at all.
  • Minimum intervals are for catch-up only, not routine spacing. A dose given earlier than the minimum interval, or below the minimum age, may be invalid and may need repeating.
  • Inadvertent early first dose: a dose given at 28 days of age or younger is generally repeated; one given after 28 days but before 6 weeks usually does not need repeating (for meningococcal, seek expert advice).
  • AIR validity quirk: the AIR records a MenACWY, MMR or PCV dose given at 11 months or older as valid for status, even though the routine age is 12 months.
  • Unconfirmed = not given. If a dose cannot be confirmed and there are no written records, assume it was not received and offer age-appropriate catch-up. Extra doses are generally safe (Q fever is an exception; injection-site reactions can increase with repeated diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and pneumococcal polysaccharide doses).
  • Do not use childhood combination vaccines in people aged 10 and over (the exception is MMR). Antigen content differs and reactions may be more likely.
  • Spacing between vaccines: as a general rule, healthy people can receive non-live vaccines before, after or at the same time as any other vaccine registered in Australia (check the disease-specific chapters for exceptions). Multiple live parenteral vaccines can be given at the same time or at least 4 weeks apart.
  • Serology: testing to confirm immunity is only reliable for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (and may not detect vaccine-induced varicella immunity). Previous infection is not usually a contraindication, so offering the vaccine is generally more practical than testing.
Once a person is up to date, resume the standard ages and intervals of the NIP schedule.
Getting the vaccination history
  • AIR via HPOS (Health Professional Online Services), or the AIR enquiries line 1800 653 809.
  • Patient’s own Immunisation History Statement — via their myGov Medicare online account (website or myGov app), or by calling 1800 653 809.
  • School-program doses may be held by a state or territory register rather than the AIR — the state or territory health authority can advise.
  • Adults aged 20 and over: doses given before September 2016 may not have been reported to the AIR; other sources (states and territories) may hold them.
  • Overseas doses: if documentation is adequate, record them on the AIR. Note that overseas vaccines may use different brand names, antigen combinations or schedules.
  • Planned catch-up on the AIR: available for people under 20 years of age, valid for 6 months, and available once per person. A provider can record it when all overdue vaccines could not be given at the visit, serology for natural immunity is pending, vaccines have been ordered, or a child is being enrolled in an early childhood service.
  • Who is eligible for NIP-funded catch-up: all people under 20 (including refugees and humanitarian entrants) are eligible for NIP vaccines missed in childhood, except HPV, which is free up to age 26. The range of vaccines and doses differs for under 10s and 10–19s. Refugees and humanitarian entrants aged 20 and over are eligible, if missed, for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, varicella, polio, MMR and hepatitis B, plus HPV up to age 26. The NIP is free for people who have, or are eligible for, a Medicare card. Source: National Immunisation Program Schedule, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (October 2026).
If a vaccine cannot be confirmed by the provider or the AIR and no written record exists, treat it as not received.
Minimum age for the 1st dose (quick reference)
Most NIP-scheduled vaccines have a minimum first-dose age of 6 weeks (DTPa-containing, hepatitis B [excluding the birth dose], Hib, IPV, PCV, rotavirus, MenACWY, MenB). The main exceptions:
  • MMR and most varicella-containing vaccines — 12 months;
  • Varilrix (monovalent varicella) — from 9 months in special circumstances;
  • Hepatitis A (for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children) — 12 months;
  • Hepatitis B birth dose — within 7 days of birth (no catch-up birth dose if missed).
MMRV is recommended as the 2nd (not 1st) dose of MMR-containing vaccine in children under 4 years; as a first dose it can only be given after 4 years of age (Handbook update, 19 January 2026). A dose given below the minimum age may not be valid — check the Handbook’s minimum-age table and the action for inadvertent early doses before counting it.
Adults: the HALO prompt
For adults, the Handbook suggests considering HALO when deciding what is needed:
  • Health — conditions raising risk (e.g. asplenia, immunocompromise) that change which vaccines and how many doses;
  • Age — doses missed through past schedule changes (e.g. a 2nd MMR), or age-targeted vaccines;
  • Lifestyle — travel, where they have lived, other risk factors;
  • Occupation — e.g. healthcare, early childhood, animal work.
For adults 20 and over, plan from the Handbook’s catch-up schedule for people aged 10 years and over, plus the disease-specific chapters.
Adult NIP Vaccination Clinical Tool → Timing and eligibility for specific adult vaccines — Shingrix after Zostavax, pneumococcal, flu, pregnancy. Childhood immunisation schedule (patient-facing) → The routine NIP schedule by age — useful to share with a parent or carer.
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GP Vaccine Updates
Latest NIP/ATAGI changes at a glance.
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Vaccination Clinical Tool
Schedule & dosing reference.