This report provides a comprehensive evaluation of factors influencing the quality and completeness of Indigenous status for vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).

This report, which focuses on the 2016–2019 period, is the fifth comprehensive NCIRS report on vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) and vaccination coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As with previous reports, it aims to analyse and assess routinely collected data on notifications, hospital admissions, deaths and vaccination coverage, to support service delivery, policy development and further research on the prevention of VPDs in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This summary report presents key findings from the Annual Immunisation Coverage Report 2021 which focused on changes in immunisation coverage among all children aged <5 years, adolescents and adults between 2020 and 2021. The summary report also shows vaccination coverage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and the impact of remoteness and socioeconomic status on vaccination coverage rates.

The Annual Immunisation Coverage Report 2021, released by the National Centre of Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), examines Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) data for children, adolescents and adults and is the first to comprehensively document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health response measures on vaccination coverage.

This summary report presents key findings from the Annual Immunisation Coverage Report 2020 which focused on changes in immunisation coverage among all children aged <5 years, adolescents and adults between 2019 and 2020. The summary report also shows vaccination coverage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and the impact of remoteness and socioeconomic status on vaccination coverage rates. This is the first report in the series to present the whole-of-life vaccination coverage data.

The Annual Immunisation Coverage Report 2020 is the 14th in the series, and the first to present adolescent and adult vaccination data from the Australian Immunisation Register, in addition to childhood vaccination data. The report shows 'fully vaccinated' coverage increased at all three age milestones in all children and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children between 2019 and 2020. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage in adolescents by 15 years of age continued to increase, as did recorded influenza vaccination coverage in adults.