Australia’s trusted immunisation experts
18 February 2026 | NewsNational survey shows declining vaccine confidence among parentsRead the full article
This page is for immunisation providers (GPs, nurses, pharmacists) providing vaccinations to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
The purpose of this page is to provide you with information and resources that help you to have supportive, culturally appropriate vaccination conversations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. While we focus here on influenza vaccination, the principles can be applied to other vaccinations.
This information and these resources have been designed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and health providers in collaboration with the NCIRS Social Science Team, and are informed by research with immunisation providers working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
Access this resource here
Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI) is a is a source of helpful, credible and respectful information that has been designed to support conversations about vaccination between community members and healthcare professionals. Access SKAI resources here.
The Questions about vaccination publication from the Australian Government Department of Health provides answers to many common questions about vaccination. It is designed to help parents find out more about vaccines and the most recent evidence about their safety and effectiveness, and to help doctors answer questions from their patients.
The MMR decision aid is an interactive tool developed by NCIRS to help parents make informed decisions about whether to immunise their child with the MMR vaccine.
The decision aid:
There are few valid reasons to sign an Immunisation Medical Exemption form. It is important that general practitioners (GPs) understand what these are, and how to manage common vaccine concerns that may contribute to exemption requests.
'To sign or not to sign: dealing with requests for vaccination exemption' written by Dr Frank Beard and Dr Nicholas Wood of NCIRS and published in Medicine Today (April 2017, Volume 18, Issue 4) is a guide for GPs on what the true medical contraindications to vaccination are and what constitutes adequate evidence of natural immunity. It is also offers practice points on how to recognise and manage common concerns, including those about adverse events after vaccination, that may contribute to parents’ requests for completion of exemption forms.
Please note: Since this article was written, relevant legislation has been amended so that now, in addition to GPs, the following practitioners are able to notify a medical exemption to vaccination to the AIR:
