Immunisation

Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases. It helps individuals and the wider community by reducing the spread of preventable diseases.

Primary Health Tasmania supports the Australian Government’s National Immunisation Program by working collaboratively with stakeholders to provide education programs and resources to improve efficiency and effectiveness of immunisation services.

The overall aim is to reduce the number of cases of diseases that are preventable by vaccination in Tasmania.

Accessing the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) Site using PRODA and HPOS

The Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) is a national register that records vaccinations given to people of all ages in Australia and provides access to vaccination data that supports the national management of preventable diseases. Data quality is fundamental to the effectiveness of the AIR.

Health professionals can connect to the AIR using:

  • practice management software, to send data about vaccines administered, and
  • the AIR Site (also known as AIR Online) to view and edit vaccination encounters, report immunisation medical exemptions, and to access reports. The AIR Site is accessed using Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) and Provider Digital Access (PRODA).

The information in this section describes accessing the AIR Site.

In March 2021, Services Australia requested that healthcare professionals and support staff transition to accessing the AIR Site using HPOS and an individual PRODA account. Access to the AIR site using authentication files will be switched off 30 September 2021.

PRODA is an online identity verification and authentication system and allows healthcare professionals to securely access government online services. Once a PRODA account is established, a range of services and programs can be accessed, including HPOS (a ‘service’) and the AIR Site (a ‘program’). Depending on the type of user (GP, pharmacist, practice manager, practice nurse etc.), these services can be accessed either as a health professional, a delegate of a health professional or as a member of an organisation.

Resources and guides

The following resources and guides may be of use:

  • An introduction to accessing and using the AIR Site: A 15-minute video presentation as shown during Primary Health Tasmania’s Immunisation Update July 2021 – navigating changes COVID-19 webinar on 28 July.
  • AIR presentation resources: Contains hyperlinks to further information, as referred to in the video presentation.
  • Supporting providers with delegations in HPOS to enable access to the AIR V1.1: A six-page resource – for healthcare professionals – with brief descriptions of PRODA, HPOS and the AIR, the benefits of and how to delegate access to HPOS and the AIR, other options for employee access to the AIR, and how to access the AIR.
  • User guide: accessing AIR using PRODA Individuals July 2020 V1.0: A 21-page step by step user guide to the registration process for an individual to access the AIR site. The guide describes how to register for an Individual PRODA account, link a PRODA account to HPOS, log on to the AIR site, and setup and manage HPOS delegations.
  • User Guide: accessing AIR using PRODA for Organisations July 2020 V1.0: A 32-page step by step user guide to the registration process for ‘other’ vaccination providers, such as medical practices, councils, pharmacies or commercial organisations that want to access the AIR site. The guide describes how to register an organisation, add a subsidiary organisation/s, add and link the organisation to the AIR, access the AIR on behalf of an organisation, and join an existing organisation.

Services Australia links

The following Services Australia links may be of use:

Additional support

Immunisation data quality

Individuals, vaccination providers and public health policy decision makers rely on AIR data.

User guides

The following user guides may be of use:

  • Vaccination data: Tips and tricks: A four-page guide to help providers minimise and identify errors in vaccination recording to ensure the information held on patient’s records and on the AIR is accurate.
  • User guide: AIR Data Quality V1.0: A 13-page guide to assist vaccination providers with ensuring the data they submit to the AIR is accurate. The guide describes common reasons for encounter ‘pend’ status, practice management software issues, quality control measures, and an overview of data cleaning using the AIR Due/Overdue Reports. For detailed information about the the AIR Due/Overdue reports, see the AIR-010A Due and Overdue Immunisation by Practice Report.

Reports available from the AIR site

The AIR produces statistical and identified reports for recognised vaccination providers, available from the AIR site.

User guide

The following user guide may be of use:

  • AIR-010A Due and Overdue Immunisation by Practice Report v1.0: An 18-page step by step guide on how to request, download, save, customise and modify an AIR-010A Due and Overdue Immunisation by Practice Report. This report is used to identify individuals seen for a Medicare service at a practice who, according to the AIR, are either due or overdue for a vaccination on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) Schedule, as well as identify vaccination details that are missing (or not yet recorded) on the AIR.

Important note: The AIR-010A report is available to Medicare medical practitioners who are attached to a practice by a Practice Incentive Program (PIP) ID only and is accessible once logged into the AIR site either as a medical practitioner or delegate. If accessing AIR using a practice provider number (organisation login), this report will not be available.

Services Australia link

The AIR produces a range of statistical and identified reports for recognised vaccination providers:

Helpful links