How-to

Recording a vaccination

Create a vaccination encounter and submit it to the Australian Immunisation Register.

A vaccination encounter captures everything about a vaccine given to a customer — the product, dose, batch, route, site of administration, and any adverse reaction. Once submitted, it appears on the customer's immunisation history and (for eligible programs) is sent to the Australian Immunisation Register.

Start from the right place

Where you start the encounter depends on what prompted the vaccination:

  • From a booked service — most vaccinations sit against a booking. Open the service from the booking or the calendar and tap Record Encounter to fill the intake and encounter forms on the full-screen workspace. This is the path for claimable vaccinations (NIPVIP, CVCP, State-funded). See Completing an encounter for the workspace itself.
  • From a Due Vaccination — in the Due Vaccinations card, open the row menu and start the encounter. The antigen and scheduled dose are pre-filled.
  • From Immunisation History — tap Add above the history table. Use this for ad-hoc vaccinations (travel, catch-up, non-NIP).

Adding a vaccination from Immunisation History records it directly to AIR only. It does not go through PPA or State-funded claiming, and won't appear in Claims or the Service Report. When you tap Add, a reminder appears before you continue. For claimable vaccinations, start from a booked service or a Due Vaccination instead.

Complete the encounter

The encounter form adapts to the vaccine and program:

  • Identity and consent are confirmed first
  • Date and time of service capture when the vaccination happened. Time of service is required and pre-fills with the current time
  • Product and batch narrow what downstream fields are asked
  • Route and site of administration are required for AIR submission
  • Adverse reaction — only asked if you say one occurred; collects details that also go to AIR
  • Claim information — if the vaccination is claimable (CVCP, NIPVIP), the relevant claim fields appear. NIPVIP encounters also surface a separate consent section — see NIPVIP consent below.

Fields marked required must be filled before submission. Optional fields can be left blank.

Recording multiple vaccines in the same encounter

If a customer is getting more than one vaccine in the same visit — for example flu and COVID-19 together, or flu and whooping cough — record both on a single encounter rather than starting a second one. AIR treats them as one immunisation event, and the customer's record stays cleaner.

Inside the Vaccination Episodes section, tap Add Episode to add another vaccine to the same encounter. Each episode keeps its own product, batch, dose, route, and site of administration — the encounter date, time of service, and immuniser are shared across all episodes.

If the booked service has default vaccine codes configured (for example, a CVCP service defaulting to a specific COVID-19 vaccine), the Vaccination Episodes section opens with those vaccines already selected, one episode per code. You can still change a pre-filled vaccine, add more episodes, or remove the ones you don't need. Service offerings without default vaccine codes start with a single empty episode as before.

  1. Fill in the first episode as normal

    Product, batch, dose, route, site, and any funding-type or claim fields the form asks for.

  2. Tap Add Episode

    At the bottom of the Vaccination Episodes section, tap Add Episode. A second episode block opens with the same fields ready to fill in.

  3. Fill in each additional vaccine

    Repeat for each vaccine given in the same visit. The encounter supports up to 10 episodes.

  4. Submit once

    Submit the encounter when every episode is complete — Light sends all episodes to AIR together as a single immunisation encounter.

To remove an episode you've added in error, use the remove control on that episode's block. The first episode can't be removed — every encounter needs at least one.

When the encounter falls under the National Immunisation Program Vaccine in Pharmacy (NIPVIP) program — and you're claiming via the Pharmacy Programs Administrator (PPA) — a NIPVIP Patient Information and Consent section appears on the encounter form. The form captures how consent was obtained and links out to the NIPVIP Patient Information and Consent Form PDF on the PPA website so the patient can read or sign it before you record their answer.

Either route is supported:

  • Written consent — the patient or their authorised representative signs the printed form and you attach it to the service record.
  • Verbal consent — capture who provided it (the patient themselves or a person authorised to act on their behalf) and, for an authorised person, their name and relationship.

If the vaccination isn't part of NIPVIP, leave the section blank and continue.

<!-- TODO: screenshot needed — NIPVIP consent section on the encounter form with the consent-method radio expanded and the PDF link visible -->

When the form looks different to what's documented here

Encounter forms can be tailored to your site or pharmacy group, so what you see during a vaccination encounter may include extra sections, alternate fields, or branded declarations that aren't covered above. Examples include additional immuniser declarations, internal compliance attestations, and group-specific consent wording.

The core flow is the same regardless: identity and consent first, product and batch, route and site, claim information when applicable, and any extra sections your configuration adds. Treat unfamiliar sections like the rest of the form — fill the required fields, leave the optional ones if they don't apply, and ask your site admin if the meaning of a field isn't obvious.

Submit

On submit, the encounter is saved to Light and — for AIR-eligible vaccinations — queued for AIR submission. The customer's history updates as soon as AIR accepts the record.

A failed AIR submission (identity mismatch, expired Medicare, missing IHI) appears on the encounter with the AIR error code. Ask your site admin if the error isn't self-explanatory.

Amending a vaccination

If you recorded the wrong detail, amend the encounter — don't delete and recreate. Amending updates both the Light record and the AIR submission. See Viewing history for where the amend action lives.

Deleting the encounter in Light does not delete it from the AIR. Once a vaccination has been submitted to the AIR, only Services Australia can remove it. Amend the encounter to correct it; to have an AIR record removed, contact Services Australia. See Amending submitted data.

  • Immunisation history — the customer's long-term record (held in AIR, shown in Light)
  • Vaccination encounter — one visit on one date with one immuniser. Held in Light, submitted to AIR.
  • Vaccination episode — a single vaccine given within an encounter. An encounter has one or more episodes (up to 10).
  • Due vaccination — what AIR recommends next for this customer based on their age, history, and indicators