An early look at the latest Annual Immunisation Coverage Report shows vaccination rates continued to slide in 2025.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance has released a preview of the Annual Immunisation Coverage Report for 2025.
And the report, based on data from the Australian Immunisation Register, does not paint a positive picture.
“There continue to be concerning and ongoing declines in childhood and adolescent vaccination coverage, with somewhat greater declines observed in adolescents than in younger age groups,” the report reads.
“Missing or delaying vaccinations risks serious disease. Enhancing catch-up vaccination activities, addressing barriers to vaccination and optimising equity of access continue to be priorities across all age groups.”
The proportion of Australian children who are fully vaccinated has continued to decline for the three age-related milestones.
Vaccine coverage rates sat at 90.5% among 12-month-olds (down from 91.6% the previous year and 94.8% in 2020), 88.4% in 24-month-olds (down from 89.4% last year and 92.1% in 2020) and 92.5% in 60-month-old children (slightly down from 92.7% last year and 94.8% in 2020).
The proportion of children receiving on-time vaccinations (i.e., within 30 days of the recommended age) have also declined over the past 12 months, now only at 79.7% for the second dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-containing vaccinations and 64.8% for the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.
Similar patterns were observed for vaccination rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children over the last year. Fully vaccinated coverage rates for 12-, 24-, and 60-month-olds were 89.0%, 86.7% and 93.8%, respectively, compared to 89.2%, 86.7% and 93.4% the year before.
Timely delivery of the second DTP-containing vaccine occurred in 71.9% of children, while the MMR vaccine was given to just 55.9% of children in a timely fashion.
“Detailed assessment of the drivers of declines in vaccination coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, along with targeted strategies to address these, are urgently required,” the report read.
“Supporting communities to develop innovative and culturally appropriate strategies to address barriers to vaccination and improve equity of access to all NIP-funded vaccines should be a priority across all age groups.”
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Elsewhere, coverage levels for human papillomavirus and Meningococcal disease also fell.
The report indicated that 78.7% of girls and 75.6% of boys had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine by their 15th birthday, down from 81.1% and 77.9% in 2024. Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents, 72.6% of girls and 66.8% of boys had received at least one dose, down from 76.7% and 69.2% the year before.
In terms of the Meningococcal ACWY vaccine, 73.0% of girls and 69.2% of boys were covered by age 17, compared to 73.4% and 69.3% the year before. And when only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents were considered coverage rates fell to 60.8% of girls (from 63.9%) and 54.9% (from 58.4%) in boys.
Potentially the only real positive to come out of the report was that adult coverage for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has continued to increase. In 2025 48.0% of all adults aged 70 years and older were covered, up from 41.5% in 2024. Twenty-seven percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 50-69 years had PCV coverage, as did 55.3% if adults aged 70 and older.
Influenza vaccination rates in 2025 were similar to that of 2024 across all age groups among all persons and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons, except for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under the age of 10, which saw a drop in vaccination rates.
The Annual Immunisation Coverage Report 2025 – Summary is freely available via the NCIRS website. The full coverage report for 2025 will be published later in 2026.
