Safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines will be available for everyone in Australia to help protect us from COVID-19. This includes all Australian citizens, permanent residents, temporary visa-holders and those without a Medicare card. The Department of Health is committed to making information about COVID-19 vaccines available to everyone in Australia, including multicultural communities.

Health experts have provided advice on who needs protection the most from vaccination: quarantine and border workers, and frontline at-risk healthcare workers need protection the most because they are in direct contact with people who may have caught COVID-19; residential aged-care and disability care residents, and residential aged-care and disability workers also need protection most because the elderly are at high risk from COVID-19; people who regularly volunteer within residential aged-care facilities are considered staff for the purpose of COVID-19 vaccination. They are also eligible for COVID-19 vaccination with the first group.

The next group includes anyone in Australia aged over 70, other healthcare workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, people with an underlying medical condition or disability and defence personnel, emergency services workers and meat-processing workers. Vaccination will then be available for the broader community during 2021.

To keep you and your community safe, you should continue to: stay 1.5 metres away from other people; stay home if you feel unwell and get tested for COVID-19; wash your hands regularly or use hand sanitiser; always cough or sneeze into your arm or a tissue; have the COVIDSafe app to help health officials notify you if you have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19.

For COVID-19 vaccine information in your language click here.