20 December 2021

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccines: Department of Health Disability Provider Alert (16 December 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. This will be the last provider alert for 2021. The first Disability Provider Alert for 2022 will be sent in the week starting 10 January.
• The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved the Pfizer vaccine as safe and effective for children aged 5 to 11 years old. The Australian Government will start rolling out the Pfizer vaccine to this group from 10 January 2022. Vaccinations can now be booked for this cohort.
• The Department of Health is hosting a webinar on ‘Living with COVID’ for people with disability on Monday 20 December 2021 at 3.15pm AEDT. A recording of the webinar will be made available for those unable to attend.
• A booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine is available to anyone in Australia aged 18 years and over where they completed their primary course of a COVID-19 vaccination at least five months ago. 
• All states and territories have issued public health orders or directions with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements for workers. Providers are strongly encouraged to check the details of the public health orders in their state or territory and any requirements for providers in respect of the vaccination status of disability workers.
• All NDIS participants and disability workers are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Information and support to access COVID-19 vaccinations should be facilitated, to both NDIS participants and workers.

Department of Health provider alert (16 December 2021)

The Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccination – Disability Provider Alert 16 December 2021.

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

• approval of the Pfizer vaccine from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use among children aged 5 to 11 years old
• a statement from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) on booster doses and the Omicron variant
• an upcoming webinar hosted by the Department of Health on ‘Living with COVID’ for people with disability
• an update on the recording of the Department of Health webinar on vaccination consent, hesitancy and refusal
• new NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators to support registered providers in the delivery of safe and quality supports and services to NDIS participants
• requirements for reporting on the COVID-19 vaccination status of workers in line with state and territory public health orders. Refer to our 22 November provider alert for more information
• a temporary increase in some NDIS price limits between 1 January to 30 June 2022
• current hubs offering vaccination services. These hubs are set up to vaccinate people with disability and disability workers. The list will be updated regularly
• an update on the booster rollout for people with disability living in shared residential accommodation
• accessing a booster vaccination via the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder
• support services for people with disability and their support networks via the National Coronavirus helpline and the Disability Gateway.

We encourage you to read the Department of Health provider alert for full details.

Promoting access to COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters

Supporting NDIS participants to access COVID-19 vaccinations

All NDIS participants aged 12 years and over are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants aged 18 years and older are also eligible for a booster dose if they have completed their primary course of a COVID-19 vaccination at least five months ago.  

The Acting Commissioner has published a statement about the right of people with disability to make their own decision about COVID-19 vaccination, and the role of NDIS providers and workers in supporting participants. This was sent to registered providers on 5 November 2021. 

Providers should take all steps to assist participants that they support to access the vaccination where they need assistance to do so, including boosters. Further information is available on the Department of Health website, including Easy Read and Auslan resources.

Our provider alert of 9 June 2021 contained resources to help you to support participants to understand the vaccination process and to provide informed consent.

Our fact sheet, called ‘COVID-19 Vaccines: Informed consent, preparing for the vaccine, and restrictive practices’, aims to assist NDIS providers to better understand their obligations when supporting people with disability to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health has published a COVID-19 vaccination consent form in easy read format.

To assist people with disability to learn more about COVID-19 booster doses, the Department of Health has also developed the following easy read resources:

• Fact sheet about the third dose
• Fact sheet about the booster dose
• Fact sheet about the difference between the third dose and a booster dose.

Vaccination advice and information for disability workers

All states and territories have issued public health orders or directions (with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements for workers, including disability workers):

• Victoria
• Northern Territory
• New South Wales
• Western Australia
• Australian Capital Territory
• Tasmania
• South Australia
• Queensland

Providers are strongly encouraged to check the details of the public health orders in the states or territories in which they operate and any requirements for providers in respect of the vaccination status of disability workers.

Our 22 November 2021 provider alert was sent to NDIS providers that are registered to deliver intensive support services to NDIS participants. It contained details about a request for information under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 regarding the COVID-19 vaccination status of workers. It is a condition of registration that registered providers comply with such a notice under the NDIS Act and providers are strongly encouraged to take any necessary steps in preparation for complying with the notice.

The Department of Health has dedicated information pages for disability service providers about COVID-19 vaccines.

• Providers: The webpage for disability service providers contains information and resources to help you plan for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
• Disability workers: The webpage for disability workers contains information and resources about COVID-19 vaccines for disability workers.

The Department of Health will continue to update the information on these pages, so we strongly encourage you to visit these pages regularly.

NDIS Commission COVID-19 vaccine 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.

IMPORTANT CALL TO ACTION FOR ALL PROVIDERS

As vaccination rates increase across Australia and governments continue to make plans to ease community restrictions - it is vital that people with disability are supported, in whatever way they require, to access vaccinations, including boosters.

You have an important role to play!

There are a number of actions you can take today:

• Talk about vaccination and boosters with the people with disability that you support
• Offer assistance, where needed, to access information about vaccination from reliable and trusted sources, such as the person’s GP
• Provide active support to make an appointment and to attend vaccination and booster appointments.

Please refer to:

• the letter sent to CEOs by the Acting Commissioner on 21 September 2021
• the statement by the Acting Commissioner about the right of people with disability to make their own decision about COVID-19 vaccination, and the role of NDIS providers and workers in supporting participants. This was sent to registered providers on 5 November 2021. 

Further information is available on the Department of Health website, including Easy Read and Auslan resources.

Vaccinations can be booked by visiting the Vaccine Clinic Finder or by contacting the National Coronavirus and COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 1800 020 080. The Disability Gateway is now also assisting people with disability that might need help to book a COVID-19 vaccine.