Aged care providers are now required to report annually on influenza vaccinations for staff and residents. Reporting for this year closes 30 November 2022. Here’s what you need to know.

When Did this New Requirement Commence?

If you feel like this requirement has popped up out of the blue, you’re not alone. The requirement was introduced in January this year but there was very little mention of it until it appeared in an entry in the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Protecting Older Australians COVID-19 update 28 October 2022.

Who Needs to Report?

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the following services must complete the annual report with regard to staff only or residents and staff:

• Residential Aged Care Service – residents and staff
• Multi-Purpose Services – residents and staff
• Transition Care Program services delivered in a residential aged care setting – residents and staff
• Short Term Restorative Care services delivered in residential aged care settings – residents and staff
• Home Care Package services – staff only.

What Needs to Be Reported?

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, providers must report:

• the number of residents who have voluntarily informed aged care providers they received an influenza vaccination in 2022
• the number of staff who have voluntarily informed aged care providers they received an influenza vaccination in 2022
• the number of staff who have voluntarily informed aged care providers they have not received an influenza vaccination in 2022, including whether they received an exemption from mandatory influenza vaccination requirements that may have been in place in the relevant state or territory.

For staff who work across multiple services, please only report against the one Outlet ID, in the same way you would report worker COVID-19 vaccinations. Reporting on exemptions for residents is not required.

How and When to Report

Report via the online form.

Advice on when to report is somewhat unclear. The Department of Health advises that reporting is “required on 31 October 2022” but then adds that reports will be “collected via the online form until 30 November 2022”. From this it appears that the Department’s position is that, while the report is technically due on 31 October, providers have been given some leeway to submit by 30 November.

What if an Aged Care Provider Does Not Provide a Report?

As with other areas of mandatory reporting, if a provider fails to meet their obligations, they will be included in a non-reporters list provided to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Commission). It will then be up to the Commission to consider a range of escalating regulatory actions.

The non-reporters list will not be provided to the Commission until the end of November, to make sure providers have adequate time to report. Further information about the Non-Compliance Register is published on the Commission’s website.

More Information

Department of Health and Aged Care: 2022 Influenza Vaccination Reporting for Aged Care Service Staff and Residents