The COVID-19 Vaccination in Community Pharmacy (CVCP) Program will cease from 1 October 2026. COVID-19 vaccinations administered on or after 1 October will be funded under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) and claimed through the National Immunisation Program Vaccination in Pharmacy (NIPVIP) Program.
As a result of this transition, there will be updates to claiming, patient eligibility and ordering, as detailed below.
Patient eligibility
Previously, under the CVCP Program all patients were eligible for a funded COVID-19 vaccine.
However, from 1 October under the NIPVIP Program, funded COVID-19 vaccines are only available to those eligible for Medicare and who meet one of the following requirements:
· all adults aged 75 years and over (one dose every 6 months)
· adults aged 65–74 years (one dose every 12 months)
· Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50–74 years (one dose every 12 months)
· all adults aged 18 years and over with severe immunocompromise (one dose every 12 months).
The ‘Urgent Clinical Need’ Medicare number should therefore no longer be used to claim for COVID-19 vaccines administered on or after 1 October to patients who are not eligible for Medicare.
Patients who are not eligible for a funded COVID-19 vaccine, either due to not being eligible for Medicare or not meeting any of the above requirements, cannot be claimed for under the NIPVIP Program. Ineligible patients may choose to purchase the vaccine privately and may also be charged an administration fee at the discretion of the pharmacy. Please note vaccine stock provided to pharmacies for NIP use must not be used for patients who are not NIP eligible.
Off-site vaccinations
From 1 October 2026, off-site COVID-19 vaccinations may only be administered in accordance with the eligible locations in the NIPVIP Program Rules, i.e. residential aged care facilities and residential disability care settings.
Claiming
How you claim for administering a funded COVID-19 vaccine will change depending on the date the vaccination was administered:
– COVID-19 vaccinations administered before 1 October:
o Claims must be submitted via the CVCP Program before 31 October 2026
– COVID-19 vaccinations administered on or after 1 October:
o Check that your patient meets the new eligibility requirements
o If the patient is eligible, the claim must be submitted via the NIPVIP Program.
The PPA is currently working with software vendors to ensure they are also aware of these changes. If you have any questions in relation to claiming via your professional services software, please contact your software vendor.
Exceptional Circumstances claims
Pharmacies that may have previously missed a claiming deadline for CVCP claims and wish to submit an Exceptional Circumstances (EC) request will have until 30 November 2026 to do so. Please note that EC requests in relation to COVID-19 vaccines administered prior to 1 October 2026 under the CVCP Program that are submitted after this date cannot be accepted.
Ordering
COVID-19 vaccines ordering will be through the same arrangements used for other NIP vaccines. Please contact your state and territory health departments for more information on how to order COVID-19 vaccines.
Stock Management
Pharmacies with excess CVAS stock on 1 October may transfer the excess stock to NIP stock provided it has not exceeded its expiry date. The transferred stock must not be used for private patients. Pharmacies are encouraged to clearly distinguish between NIP-funded and privately purchased vaccine stock.
The department has additional information regarding the COVID-19 transition available here.
For questions regarding COVID-19 claiming during this transition, please contact the PPA Support Centre on 1800 951 285 or via email at support@ppaonline.com.au.
Thank you for all your ongoing commitment to protecting communities against COVID-19.