Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all members who spoke on this important bill, the Australian Immunisation Register Amendment (Reporting) Bill 2020. The Australian government is committed to providing all Australians with access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines as soon as available. A safe and effective vaccine available globally will dramatically improve health outcomes and societal wellbeing, and facilitate economic recovery. Mandatory reporting to the Australian Immunisation Register, the AIR, will enable the monitoring of immunisation coverage and administration, which is key to ensuring vaccination course completion, as well as assisting with any adverse event reporting. This bill will ensure the AIR is a complete and reliable national dataset, and it will deliver improved reporting to the AIR to better inform vaccination projections, purchasing, delivery and program performance, and analyses of vaccine effectiveness and safety.

While the government strongly supports immunisation and will run a strong campaign to encourage vaccination, it is not mandatory and individuals may choose not to vaccinate. There may, however, be circumstances where the Australian government and other governments may introduce border entry or re-entry requirements that are conditional on proof of vaccination.

This bill will benefit the health of Australians through more-complete reporting of vaccinations. Over time, it will increase vaccination coverage rates and the effectiveness of vaccination programs, and support the health system by informing policy for the NIP and service delivery at the local level.

On behalf of the health minister, I would like to thank key stakeholders and the broader public for the valuable feedback they provided during the public consultation. That helped inform the development of this bill. Once again, I thank members for their important contributions on the bill. I commend it to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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