No images? Click here 1 November 2021 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccines: Department of Health Disability Provider Alert (25 October 2021)The Australian Government Department of Health (Department of Health) has issued a Disability Provider Alert with updated information for disability providers. IMPORTANT CALL TO ACTION FOR ALL PROVIDERSAs 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. You have an important role to play! There are a number of actions you can take today:
Please refer to the letter sent to CEOs by the Acting Commissioner on 21 September 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. Key points
Department of Health provider alert (25 October 2021)The Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccination – Disability Provider Alert 25 October 2021. The alert contains important information about the continued rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, including:
We encourage you to read the provider alert for full details. Resources from Down Syndrome AustraliaDown Syndrome Australia has developed a video on the COVID-19 vaccination, in partnership with the Department of Health. In the video, Australians with Down syndrome were asked why they got the COVID-19 vaccine, and why they think everyone else should too. The video can be accessed on Down Syndrome Australia’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel. Promoting access to COVID-19 VaccinationsSupporting NDIS participants to access COVID-19 vaccinations All NDIS participants aged 12 years and over are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Providers should take all steps to assist participants that they support to access the vaccination where they need assistance to do so. 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. Vaccination advice and information for disability workers All disability workers are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19, to protect their own health and the health of people with disability they support. Some states and territories have issues public health orders or directions with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements for workers, including disability workers or announced their intention to issue such orders: 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. The Department of Health issued a Disability Provider Alert on 12 July 2021. This alert contained strong encouragement from National Cabinet for all disability workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. We encourage you to read the full details in the alert. The Department of Health has dedicated information pages for disability service providers about COVID-19 vaccines.
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 resourcesThe 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. General Enquiries1800 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. To provide feedback, contact the NDIS Commission by emailing |