{"id":"F2026L00326","name":"Australian Immunisation Register Rules 2026","slug":"australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":443223,"registerId":"F2026L00326-fast-fetch-1775958115970","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Immunisation Register Rules 2026","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)   \n\n \n\nAustralian Immunisation Register Rules 2026\n\nI, Mark Butler, Minister for Health and Ageing, make the following rules.\n\nDated          12 March 2026  \n\nMark Butler\n\nMinister for Health and Ageing\n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Schedules\n\n5  Definitions\n\nPart 2—Prescribed bodies\n\n6  Primary health networks\n\n7  Bodies facilitating research relating to vaccines\n\n8  Other prescribed bodies\n\n9  Officers, employees or contractors of prescribed bodies\n\nPart 3—Reporting\n\n10  Reporting requirement relating to certain relevant vaccinations administered in Australia\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nAustralian Immunisation Register Rule 2015\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Australian Immunisation Register Rules 2026.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1)  Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- The whole of this instrument 1 April 2026. 1 April 2026\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) AI register;\n\n(b) provider identification information;\n\n(c) recognised vaccination provider;\n\n(d) relevant vaccination.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015.\n\nnational immunisation program vaccine means a vaccine provided under section 9B of the National Health Act 1953.\n\nNote: In 2026, the vaccines that are authorised to be provided, and the circumstances in which those vaccines are authorised to be provided, under section 9B of the National Health Act 1953 are specified in the National Health (Immunisation Program — Designated Vaccines) Determination 2014 (No.1).\n\nspecified national immunisation program vaccine means a national immunisation program vaccine other than a vaccine for influenza or Q fever.\n\n \n\n\n\n\nPart 2—Prescribed bodies\n\n6  Primary health networks\n\n  A person is a prescribed body for the purposes of the definition of that expression in section 4 of the Act if, under a funding agreement:\n\n (a) in force with the Commonwealth; and\n\n (b) made under the program administered by the Commonwealth known as the Primary Health Network Grant Program;\n\nthe person has agreed to operate a primary health network for a region of Australia.\n\n7  Bodies facilitating research relating to vaccines\n\n  Each of the following persons is a prescribed body for the purposes of the definition of that expression in section 4 of the Act:\n\n (a) the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare;\n\n (b) the Commonwealth, to the extent that it acts through the Australian Bureau of Statistics;\n\n (c) the Commonwealth, to the extent that it acts through the Australian Institute of Family Studies;\n\n (d) The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (Randwick and Westmead) (incorporating The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children).\n\n8  Other prescribed bodies\n\n  Each of the following persons is a prescribed body for the purposes of the definition of that expression in section 4 of the Act:\n\n (a) New South Wales, to the extent that it acts through the NSW Ministry of Health;\n\n (b) Victoria, to the extent that it acts through the Department of Health;\n\n (c) Queensland, to the extent that it acts through the Department of Health;\n\n (d) Western Australia, to the extent that it acts through the Department of Health;\n\n (e) South Australia, to the extent that it acts through the Department for Health and Wellbeing;\n\n (f) Tasmania, to the extent that it acts through the Department of Health;\n\n (h) the Australian Capital Territory, to the extent that it acts through the Health and Community Services Directorate;\n\n (i) the Northern Territory, to the extent that it acts through NT Health.\n\n9  Officers, employees or contractors of prescribed bodies\n\n  A person is a prescribed body for the purposes of the definition of that expression in section 4 of the Act if:\n\n (a) the person performs work relating to the purposes of the AI register; and\n\n (b) the person performs that work because the person is an officer or employee of, or is engaged by, another person who is a prescribed body because of another section of this Part.\n\nPart 3—Reporting\n\n10  Reporting requirement relating to certain relevant vaccinations administered in Australia\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 10A(1) of the Act:\n\n (a) the following kinds of relevant vaccinations are prescribed:\n\n (i) a relevant vaccination for the coronavirus known as COVID‑19;\n\n (ii) a relevant vaccination for influenza;\n\n (iii) a relevant vaccination of a person with a specified national immunisation program vaccine;\n\n (iv) a relevant vaccination for the Japanese encephalitis virus; and\n\n (b) the prescribed circumstance is that a relevant vaccination is administered on or after 1 April 2026; and\n\n (c) the prescribed period is the period of:\n\n (i) if it is reasonably practicable to do so—24 hours after a relevant vaccination is administered; or\n\n (ii) otherwise—10 business days after a relevant vaccination is administered; and\n\n (d) the prescribed manner is an electronic form or, if that is not reasonably practicable, a written form; and\n\n (e) the following information is prescribed:\n\n (i) the name, contact details, date of birth and gender of the individual to whom a relevant vaccination is administered;\n\n (ii) if that individual has a medicare number (within the meaning of Part VII of the National Health Act 1953)—that number;\n\n (iii) if that individual has a healthcare identifier (within the meaning of the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010)—that identifier (if known);\n\n (iv) provider identification information for the recognised vaccination provider who administers a relevant vaccination;\n\n (v) the day of the vaccination;\n\n (vi) the brand, dose number and batch number of the administered vaccine;\n\n (vii) for vaccines prescribed under subparagraph 10(a)(iv) – information about the route of administration;\n\n (viii) the vaccine type information;\n\n (ix) information about whether the individual was pregnant at the time of vaccine administration (via the antenatal field).\n\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nAustralian Immunisation Register Rule 2015\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with the original intent of the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015. It updates the 2015 rules to reflect current administrative structures (updating prescribed bodies and vaccine types) without expanding beyond the Act's purpose of maintaining a national immunisation register. The inclusion of COVID-19 and Japanese encephalitis vaccines reflects evolving public health needs rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with only 10 substantive sections plus a repeal schedule","Minimal defined terms (only 3 definitions in the instrument itself, with 4 others incorporated by reference from the parent Act)","Straightforward structure: preliminary matters, list of prescribed bodies, single reporting requirement section","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic—reporting requirements are clearly enumerated in a single section","Cross-references limited to the parent Act (Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015) and standard Commonwealth legislation (National Health Act 1953, Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010)","Prescribed bodies listed explicitly rather than defined by complex criteria"],"plain_english_summary":"From 1 April 2026, the bill overhauls how vaccination records are entered and shared in the Australian Immunisation Register. It requires healthcare providers to report specified vaccines (including COVID-19, seasonal influenza, Japanese encephalitis and routine childhood immunisations) promptly—electronically where possible—and allows a defined set of public health and research bodies access to the data.\n\nIt affects vaccinators, patients receiving those shots, public health agencies and researchers, improving real‑time surveillance, follow‑up dosing and vaccine safety research."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument expressly repeals the Australian Immunisation Register Rule 2015 (Schedule 1) and replaces it with updated prescriptions. It specifies which vaccines must be reported, the data fields, the reporting form and timelines, and lists categories of prescribed bodies (s6–10; Schedule 1), thereby changing the regulatory scope and operational duties that applied under the previous Rules."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Australian Immunisation Register Act and external determinations (authority and definitions) require consulting other instruments (s3; s5 note).","Multiple categories of prescribed bodies with different inclusion rules (Primary Health Networks, research bodies, states/territories, officers/contractors) create multi-actor access rules (s6–9).","Conditional, dual reporting timeframes: 24 hours if 'reasonably practicable', otherwise 10 business days — introduces factual judgement and potential compliance uncertainty (s10(c)).","Detailed prescribed data fields include personal identifiers, provider identifiers, vaccine brand/dose/batch, route and antenatal status, increasing data-collection burden (s10(e)(i)–(ix)).","Preferred electronic reporting with a written fallback involves operational decisions and system availability considerations (s10(d)).","Definition interactions (e.g. 'specified national immunisation program vaccine' excludes influenza and Q fever while influenza is separately prescribed) require careful interpretation (s5; s10(a)).","Full repeal of the 2015 Rules and a single commencement date concentrate transition and implementation obligations on 1 April 2026 (s2; Schedule 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Rules set who may access and use the Australian Immunisation Register and prescribe reporting for certain vaccinations. They require recognised vaccination providers to report COVID‑19, influenza, specified national immunisation program vaccines and Japanese encephalitis vaccinations given on or after 1 April 2026, and set required data, form and timeliness (24 hours if reasonably practicable, otherwise 10 business days) (rules 6–10). Providers bear the compliance burden; Commonwealth and state health departments, primary health networks and listed research bodies are prescribed bodies (s6–9)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026","history":"/api/acts/australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-immunisation-register-rules-2026/documents"}}