Immunisation

The free 2023 influenza (flu) vaccine is now available at our council immunisation sessions for anybody who is eligible through the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

Please ensure you make an appointment to attend one of our community immunisation sessions to receive the flu vaccine.

The following people are more at risk of influenza and eligible:

• Children aged 6 months to under 5 years
• Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy
• People aged 65 years or over.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over
• People aged 6 months or over who have medical conditions that mean they have a higher risk of getting serious disease:
  • cardiac disease
  • chronic respiratory conditions
  • chronic neurological conditions
  • immunocompromising conditions
  • diabetes and other metabolic disorders
  • renal disease
  • haematological disorders
  • children aged six months to 10 years on long term aspirin therapy.

Children under nine years receiving their influenza (flu) vaccination for the first time require two doses of vaccine, spaced by a minimum of one month.

For more information visit: Influenza (flu) immunisation service | Australian Government Department of Health or contact us via email: immunisation@melton.vic.gov.au. 

Please note: if you are not eligible to receive your flu vaccine through council, please visit your local pharmacy or GP.

Melton City Council will follow the Immunisation Schedule Victoria.  Your baby cannot be immunised any earlier than 6 weeks of age. If your child has a cough or cold, they may still be able to receive their scheduled vaccines.  Please contact us, before attending your immunisation appointment.

When you attend a Council immunisation session please bring your child’s health book and Medicare details (if you or your child are eligible for vaccines, you can still receive the vaccines without a medicare card).  Please ensure you book an appointment for your child to attend a community immunisation session.

If you have any questions regarding immunisation, our nurses will be able to assist.  It is important to note that you will be asked to wait for 15 minutes post immunisation to ensure the wellbeing of the person vaccinated.

If your child was immunised overseas, we can upload copies of your child’s immunisation records onto AIR (Australian Immunisation Register). However, your child may require catch-up vaccinations to get up-to-date with the Victorian Immunisation schedule. Please contact our Immunisation team on 9747 7200, who will be able to assist.

The Legislation requires all children enrolling in early childhood and care services to be up to date with their vaccinations or to have an approved exemption.  This includes long day care, kindergarten, occasional care and family day care.

For more information visit: Department of Health and Human Services.

If your child requires any vaccines to be up-to-date with the Victorian Immunisation Schedule, please attend any suitable Immunisation session, from the calendar or if you have any questions, please call our Immunisation team on 9747 7200.

Parents/Guardians are required to provide proof of their child’s immunisation status prior to starting primary school which is a School Entry Immunisation Status Certificate.

You will automatically receive an Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) when your child is 5 years of age (after your child has received their 4 year old vaccine). If the certificate has not been received, you can obtain a copy by:

• contacting AIR at anytime on 1800 653 809
• logging onto your Medicare Online account, through myGov.  If you do not have a myGov account you can create one
• contacting our Immunisation Officer who can email you a copy from AIR
• using the Express Plus Medicare mobile app. If you do not have the app, you can download it to your mobile device.

The booster DTPa is recommended at 4 years of age

Children who receive their 18 month dose of DTPa vaccine should wait until their 4th birthday for the second booster DTPa dose (dose 5), usually provided as DTPa-IPV.

If for some reason your child's immunisation records are incomplete or missing, please contact the relevant provider who administered the missing or incorrect vaccine/s. If you require assistance, contact our Immunisation team on 9747 7200.

If your child has never been vaccinated or was vaccinated overseas, contact our Immunisation team who will be able to assist.

Council offers free vaccinations to students, as per the Secondary School Immunisation Program. Council will visit throughout the year, all secondary schools located within the municipality, to provide the scheduled vaccines to students, whose parents or guardians have consented.

If your child has missed any vaccinations at school, you can attend a scheduled council immunisation session.

Year 7 Secondary School Immunisation Program

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (whooping cough) - Boostrix

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Students in Year 7 are offered a dose of the HPV vaccine. This is a single injection. However, if your child is immunocompromised (has a weakened immune system), they may require three doses of the HPV vaccine. Please contact the immunisation team immunisation@melton.vic.gov.au for more information.

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough)

Students in year 7 are offered a dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). This is a single injection.

Year 10 Secondary School Program

Students in Year 10 (or age equivalent in the community) are offered a dose of the Meningococcal ACWY vaccine to protect them from four strains of the Meningococcal disease. This is a single injection.

Catch Up Vaccination

Eligible individuals may attend any scheduled council immunisation session.

The free Meningococcal B (Bexsero) vaccine is currently funded through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule for risks groups, which include:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants at 2 (from 6 weeks), 4 and 12 months of age, and as age appropriate catch-up doses, up to 2 years of age until June 2023
• People of all ages with functional or anatomical asplenia, including sickle cell disease or other haemoglobinopathies, and congenital or acquired asplenia
• People of all ages with defects in, or deficiency of, complement components, including factor H, factor D or properdin deficiency
• People of all ages receiving current or future treatment with eculizumab.

The Bexsero vaccine is available at our council immunisation sessions, for anybody who is eligible.  Please ensure you make an appointment to attend one of our community immunisation sessions.

Bexsero is the only vaccination that requires paracetamol use before vaccination, due to the common side effect of a fever following this vaccine.  All children, aged less than 2 years should receive a dose of paracetamol 30 minutes prior to the Bexsero dose or as soon as practicable after vaccine.  This should also be followed by 2 further doses at 6 hourly intervals, regardless of the presence of a fever.  Dose according to weight and manufacturer’s instructions with paracetamol.

If your child is not eligible to receive the Meningococcal B (Bexsero) vaccine through the NIP, the vaccine is available to be purchased privately.  Please see your local GP.

If you have any questions, please email the immunisation team: immunisation@melton.vic.gov.au. 

If your child has been immunised overseas, please email immunisation@melton.vic.gov.au.  Council’s immunisation staff will add your child’s overseas immunisation history on to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).  If any catch up vaccinations are required to be up to date with the Victorian Immunisation Schedule, you will be informed through our immunisation team. 

If you have received a COVID vaccine overseas, we recommend you email the Department of Health for advice and direction. 

Melton City Council immunisation team are not administering any COVID vaccines.  If you do require anymore support, please do not hesitate to contact us, via email.