Improving access to immunisation for migrants and refugees: recommendations from a stakeholder workshop

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 2017 vol. 41 no. 2 © 2016 The Authors Australia is a nation of migrants with an estimated 28.1% (6.6 million people) of the resident population born overseas, of whom two-thirds were born in non-English speaking countries and a further 23% born to migrant parents.1 About 190,000 permanent migrants (skilled and family visa categories) and 14,000 humanitarian entrants enter Australia each year.2 In the majority of migrant source countries, the national immunisation programs include fewer vaccines than are listed on the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule, and coverage is variable.3 Refugees invariably arrive from countries with disruptions to health infrastructure, including immunisation programs. Primary care and specialist practitioners who see recently arrived migrants and refugees reported a need for catch-up immunisation in these groups.4-6 Currently, there is no universal pre-arrival immunisation requirement for migrants or refugees entering Australia on permanent visas, unlike in the United States.7