Vaccination is important for all children and adults moving to Australia.

To move to Australia, you’ll need to prove you’ve been vaccinated. If you don’t have a documented history of your vaccinations, see a GP or other vaccination service provider to get your vaccination status determined. If you don’t have the correct vaccinations, you can get up to date with a catch up schedule.

Health advice about the COVID-19 vaccine

All people aged 5 years and over can get a COVID-19 vaccine. Find out more on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Vaccines before you come to Australia

Before you and your children come to Australia, you should have the following vaccines if you can:

If you’ve missed vaccinations, you can catch up when you get to Australia. Talk to your vaccination service provider if you think you need to catch up on vaccinations.

Vaccines when you’re in Australia

All children and adults over 6 months old should get an influenza vaccination every year. It's free for some people, but there may be a consultation fee. To find out if you qualify, check with your GP or immunisation provider.

There are also other vaccinations you and your children will need to get when you’re in Australia.

Birth

All children should get a hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth. If they can’t get it at birth, they can have it up to 7 days after.

2 months old

All children should get the following vaccinations:

4 months old

All children should get the following vaccinations:

6 months old

All children should get the following vaccinations:

12 months old

All children should get the following vaccinations:

18 months old

All children should get the following vaccinations:

4 years old

All children should get a DTPa-IPV (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio) vaccination. This is given as one dose.

Year 7 students (or age equivalent)

All adolescents should get the following vaccinations:

Year 10 students (or age equivalent)

All adolescents should get the following vaccinations:

19 to 49 years old

Adults born during or after 1966, should also get an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination if they haven’t had 2 before. If this applies to you, you’ll need to get 2 doses given no more than 4 weeks apart.

65 years old and older

All adults should get an influenza vaccination. It’s free for people aged 65 or older.

70 years and older

All adults should get the following vaccinations:

They should also get a pneumococcal vaccination. This is free for non-Indigenous people who must get it at least 12 months after any previous Pneumovax 23 dose.

People with certain medical conditions have an increased risk of pneumococcal disease and need extra doses of vaccines for better protection. For more information about pneumococcal vaccines, talk to your GP or other vaccination service provider.

Vaccination information in your language

For information in your language, watch our video.

Before you start the video, select CC to choose your language.

Vaccines for adults and other information

In Australia there are some vaccines recommended and provided for free to adults.

These include vaccines for women during pregnancy for people with some medical conditions and for people older than 65 years of age.

The vaccines given during pregnancy protect the woman and the unborn baby from diseases during pregnancy and in the first few months of the new baby's life.

As we get older, our bodies defences don't work as well and we become more vulnerable to some diseases.

Immunisations can provide protection for older people from these diseases.

Talk to your doctor about your vaccination needs.

To see which vaccines are recommended and provided free under the National Immunisation Programme Schedule in Queensland go to www.vaccinate.initiatives.qld.gov.au/schedule.

If you have questions or concerns about immunisation you can talk to your doctor or your local immunisation provider.

If you need help with English when you talk to them you can use an interpreter by calling 131 450. This service is free.

Australia is one of the safest countries in the world when it comes to vaccine preventable diseases. One of the main reasons for this is because Australia has one of the best immunisation programmes in the world.

Remember, immunisation saves lives.

Help with health services

If you need help finding a GP or vaccination provider, your case worker may be able to help you.

You can also reach out to the following services:

You can also talk to a registered nurse by calling 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84).

Find out more

For more information about vaccination, contact your health provider or call 13 HEALTH(13 43 25 84) .

Find an vaccination provider

Information in your language

You can find information about vaccination in your language on the  Queensland Government website.

Last updated: September 2023