Eligibility for the free influenza vaccine
In Victoria, the following people are eligible to receive a free seasonal influenza vaccine:
- all children aged six months to less than five years (Victorian state funded program)
- all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged from six months
- all adults aged 65 years and over
- all people aged from six months with medical conditions predisposing them to severe influenza; for example, sever asthma, lung or heart disease, low immunity or diabetes
- pregnant women (during any stage of pregnancy)
Victorian state funded free vaccination for under 5s
All children aged six months to less than five years old are eligible to receive free influenza vaccination.
All children under nine years receiving their influenza vaccination for the first time require two doses of vaccine, spaced by a minimum of one month.
Timing of influenza vaccination
Everyone should get an annual influenza vaccine anytime from mid-April onwards to be protected for the peak flu season, which is generally June to September.
However, it’s never too late to be vaccinated as influenza can spread all year round.
Vaccine order forms
A full list of government supplied vaccine order forms including Pharmacist Immuniser and Public hospital HCW influenza vaccine order forms are available for download.
Influenza vaccine pre-allocation
An annual pre-allocation of influenza vaccine for over 65s is distributed to GP clinics, Community Health Centres and Aboriginal Health Services. Search by your account number to see the quantity of Fluad® doses to be delivered to your clinic.
Download Flu pre-allocation attachment.
Report to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR)
Make sure you report all vaccinations, including influenza vaccinations, to the AIR.
Promote the free vaccine to your patients
A range of promotional materials are available via our online stakeholder toolkit.
Printed posters have been distributed to immunisation providers however additional copies can be downloaded and printed from the stakeholder toolkit or you can order printed posters from our resource ordering centre.
Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) advice
ATAGI Clinical advice statement on the administration of seasonal influenza vaccines in 2019
The Australian Immunisation Handbook
View the influenza chapter in The Australian Immunisation Handbook
Commonwealth resources
2019 seasonal influenza vaccine resources for vaccination providers and consumers