7 July 2021

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccines: Australian Government Department of Health Disability Provider Alert (5 July 2021)

The Australian Government Department of Health (Department of Health) has issued a Disability Provider Alert with updated information for disability providers.

Key points

• The Department of Health has issued a new Disability Provider Alert. The alert contains a link to the recording of the disability worker meeting, hosted by the Department of Health on 17 June 2021.
• Temporary support measures are available for providers helping NDIS participants in supported independent living (SIL) to access the COVID-19 vaccination.
• There are recommendations from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) about who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Department of Health provider alert (5 July 2021)

The Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccination – Disability Provider Alert (5 July 2021).

The alert contains important information about the continued rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, including:

• A link to the recording of the disability worker meeting, hosted by the Department of Health on 17 June 2021, is available on the Department of Health website.
• Assistance for providers helping NDIS participants in supported independent living to access the COVID-19 vaccine. Providers are encouraged to discuss how to best access the COVID-19 vaccine with participants in SIL.
• Recommendations from ATAGI on who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Clinic locations for the vaccine are available on the COVID-19 eligibility checker.
• The transition of general practices to administer the Pfizer vaccine.
• The Council for Intellectual Disability has produced a video, featuring a person with disability discussing the COVID-19 vaccine with their doctor.

These alerts aim to ensure that disability service providers have the latest information about the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for people with disability. You are encouraged to share these alerts with your workers, so that they are informed about any changes and know where to find relevant information.

You can find resources and information about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout from the Department of Health's dedicated COVID-19 vaccine webpages for disability services providers and people with disability. They have now created a dedicated vaccine information webpage for disability workers. 

Disability Worker Meeting

The Department of Health hosted a meeting on 17 June 2021 for disability workers to answer questions about the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination.

A recording of the meeting is available on the Department of Health website.

The Department of Health also held a Phase 1a COVID-19 disability vaccine rollout forum on 4 March 2021. Speakers included NDIS Commission Senior Practitioner, Dr Jeffrey Chan.

We have a factsheet available on our website that provides information to assist NDIS providers to better understand their obligations when supporting people with disability to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

NDIS Commission COVID-19 information and resources

The COVID-19 vaccine information webpage on our website contains links to updates about COVID-19 vaccines and resources for NDIS providers.

We also have a COVID-19 vaccine webpage containing information for people with disability.

Contact us

Call: 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines). Our contact centre is open 9.00am to 5.00pm (9.00am to 4.30pm in the NT) Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Email: contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au

Website: www.ndiscommission.gov.au