GPs ‘hardly mentioned’ in national immunisation plan
13 Jun 2025
It aims to increase vaccination rates, but some GPs are feeling overlooked despite being the ‘core of immunisation delivery’.
Doctors’ groups have welcomed a new five-year national strategy to lift childhood vaccination rates but say the new plan is lacking support for the central role of GPs in immunisation.
The Federal Government’s National Immunisation Strategy for Australia 2025–30 was released on Thursday by Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler.
The plan provides a roadmap to increase and sustain immunisation rates over the next five years, and targets misinformation and vaccine hesitancy as well as equity and access.
It also flags the importance of bolstering the immunisation workforce, including the use of community pharmacies, which it says are an important delivery option, especially where access to general practice or other immunisation services are limited.
The strategy’s six priority areas are to:
- Improve access to immunisation, with a focus on equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other priority populations
- Build trust, understanding and acceptance of immunisation in communities
- Use data more effectively to target immunisation strategies and monitor performance
- Strengthen the immunisation workforce
- Harness new technologies to respond to the evolving communicable disease and vaccine landscape
- Implement sustainable reform in vaccine program governance, program delivery and accountability
Minister Butler said Australia’s childhood vaccination rates have been in steady decline since 2020, with most communities now seeing levels below the 95% rate for herd immunity.
‘We know that people’s trust in vaccination, medicine and science has been impacted in recent years by growing scepticism but also importantly by a proliferation of false and misleading information,’ he said.
‘By better engaging with communities, we’re going to build trust, understanding and acceptance of immunisation science.’
While the strategy has been welcomed, there has been criticism at the lack of focus on general practice within the plan.
RACGP Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health Chair, Dr Tim Jones said the role of GPs is essential in making the strategy work, and that includes adequate investment in primary care.
‘We need to get back to a trusting relationship between the public and healthcare around the importance of vaccination in keeping our communities safe and well,’ he told newsGP.
‘We are the most trusted health professionals and together with our practice nurses are best placed to have these respectful discussions around those who are vaccine hesitant or uncertain.