Vaccinating workforce

Authorised Vaccinators are registered health professionals who have completed foundation vaccinator training, a clinical assessment and are authorised by their local medical officer of health. They can deliver vaccines listed on the New Zealand Immunisation Schedule and any other vaccines that are part of an approved immunisation programme to all eligible age groups.

For an authorised vaccinator, to maintain their authorisation they must adhere to the requirements in the Immunisation Handbook, including evidence of:

• Completing their update training
• a current Annual Practising Certificate
• a valid and relevant CPR certification 

To practice, they need to apply to their local medical officer of health for authorisation. They can check the list of Public health contacts to find your region’s contacts.

Pharmacists can vaccinate under the Medicines Regulations when they have completed vaccinator training and a clinical assessment. We recommend they inform the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand once they have completed the training and assessment requirements.

Pharmacist Vaccinators, must maintain all documentation and evidence that demonstrates they meet the Immunisation Standards for Vaccinators, as outlined in the Immunisation Handbook. This includes evidence of their:

• Clinical assessment
• Current Annual Practising Certificate
• Valid and relevant CPR Certification
• All training courses, including biennial Vaccinator Update Course

Pharmacist vaccinators who wish to offer childhood immunisations can access a funded training package to become an authorised vaccinator, meaning they can administer vaccines to anyone from 6 weeks of age.

If a pharmacist vaccinator wants to expand their scope and become an authorised vaccinator (whole-of-life) they need to:

1. Complete the Extending Vaccinator Skills (whole-of-life) course.
2. Apply for authorisation, which will enable the vaccinator to:
   1. Administer a wider range of vaccines and age ranges,
   2. Administer vaccines to people under five years old, under direct supervision, whilst gaining experience and confidence to complete a clinical assessment for a person under two years old,
   3. Administer vaccines without a standing order or prescription.
3. Complete supervised practice.
4. Complete a workbook.
5. Complete a clinical assessment on a person under two years old.
6. Submit their workbook and clinical assessment documentation to the Health NZ authorisation portal.

Pharmacists who want to transition to become an authorised vaccinator,  can discuss it with their local Immunisation Coordinator or email vaccinatorauthorisations@health.govt.nz.

Pharmacist Vaccinators – Workforce Requests Portal Guide (DOCX, 1.7 MB)

Pharmacist Vaccinators – Workforce Requests Portal Guide (PDF, 1.1 MB)

Provisional Pharmacist Vaccinators (PPVs) are registered Pharmacists, Pharmacist interns or fourth-year pharmacy students who have completed vaccination training and received provisional authorisation. They can administer Influenza vaccines (three* years and older), and MMR vaccine (16 years to 50 years). They can also administer COVID-19 vaccines if they provide evidence to their employer showing they have completed the required training.

All current Provisional Pharmacist Vaccinators are authorised for two years from the date of the authorisation letter.

Please note that the Provisional Pharmacist Vaccinator learning pathway is no longer available. The last day to apply for authorisation was 30 September 2022.

Influenza vaccinations

* Provisional Pharmacist Vaccinators are authorised to administer Influenza vaccines to people aged 3 years and older if:

• they were authorised after 19 April 2022, or
• they were authorised prior to 19 April 2022 and have since applied for reauthorisation.

Otherwise, they are only authorised to administer Influenza vaccines to people aged 13 years and older.

Provisional Vaccinators are registered health professionals, third year nursing students and enrolled nurses who have completed vaccination training and received provisional authorisation.

Provisional Vaccinators can administer influenza and MMR vaccines to people aged three years and older. They can also administer COVID-19 vaccines if they provide their employer with evidence showing that they have completed the required training.

All current Provisional Vaccinators are authorised for two years from the date of the authorisation letter.

Please note that the provisional vaccinator learning pathway is no longer available. The last day to apply for authorisation was 30 September 2022.

There are two stages to the VHW role:

Stage 1: VHWs can administer COVID-19 (Pfizer) and the influenza vaccines for people aged 12 years and older. They can also administer vaccines for Human Papillomavirus (HPV9) and Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (whooping cough) (Tdap) for people aged 11 years and older.

VHWs must have experience as a VHW Stage 1 before being nominated by their employer to apply for VHW Stage 2 training. Their employer needs to confirm that they have completed the Stage 1 Workbook as evidence of their experience, which includes administering a minimum of 25 vaccines over an 8 week period.

Stage 2: VHWs can prepare and administer all vaccines outlined in Stage 1, including administering COVID-19 (Pfizer), Influenza and MMR to people aged five years and older.

They must be authorised by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora at each stage.

If a person is currently working in or is interested in working in the health sector - for example, as a health care assistant, pharmacy technician or kaiāwhina - or has been trained as a health professional in New Zealand or overseas but does not currently  hold a New Zealand practising certificate, they can enter the learning pathway to become a VHW.  

A range of core learning topics are mainly provided during the beginning of employment as a health care worker. It is the employer’s responsibility to either deliver this core learning or enable access to it.

Core learning topics include:

• Privacy/confidentiality
• Health information /health literacy.
• Health and safety, personal protection equipment (PPE), and infection prevention and control (IPC)
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi, cultural awareness, and engaging effectively with Māori
• Working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• Working with people with disabilities
• Working with people experiencing mental health and addition needs
• Communicating and interpersonal relationships.

Training on privacy and health information/health literacy must be completed prior to attending the practical face-to-face workshop.

Links to some online training modules that will support the core learning requirements are available below.

Employers must also ensure their employee(s) complete CPR training and it is recommended that they complete training on the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR). The AIR training module is available on the IMAC Learning Management System (LMS). 

The Stage 1 courses are available from the IMAC LMS and are free. To access the courses, log into the IMAC LMS and register for each course. On completion of the online learning courses, the employer needs to register their employee(s) to access the face-to-face practical workshop through IMAC.

The vaccine-specific training includes:

• A series of online courses at each stage.
• Face-to-face practical workshop at each stage
• Observation and assessments in the workplace under the guidance of an authorised vaccinator with a minimum of six months vaccinating experience.

The online courses can be delivered in a group setting, using the online content, or as a face-to-face workshop facilitated by IMAC. Please contact your local IMAC team member to explore this option.

Once they have completed the training, been authorised for Stage 1 in 4 vaccines, and have completed the workbook, the employer can then register their VHW into the Stage 2 pathway by contacting IMAC.

More information on how to access the training is located on the IMAC website.

It is important that we have experienced and confident registered health professionals providing direct clinical supervision for VHWs. A VHW Clinical Supervisor will:

• be a New Zealand registered healthcare professional
• be a Fully Authorised Vaccinator, Provisional Vaccinator, or Pharmacist Vaccinator
• have relevant, recent vaccination experience
• have been nominated as a suitable candidate to be a supervisor by their employer
• have completed VHW supervisor training (this is highly recommended).

A VHW Clinical Supervisor must have a full understanding of the scope of the VHW role, their education pathway, and the responsibilities of being a supervisor. We strongly recommend they complete the Course for Supervisors of Vaccinating Health Workers. This course is available from the IMAC LMS portal and is free. To access the course, just log in to the IMAC LMS and register for the course.

Authorisation takes place at various points during VHW training. Authorisation is valid for two years from the date on their authorisation letter. To maintain VHW authorisation they must meet the requirements in the Immunisation Handbook , including any update training required (if it has been more than two years since authorisation) and hold a valid and relevant CPR certification.

In the VHW resources below there is a link that outlines which documents or information they need to provide when applying for authorisation.

• Vaccinating Health Worker: Capability Matrix (docx, 48 KB)
• Vaccinating Health Worker: Capability Matrix (pdf, 133 KB)

• Becoming a Vaccinating Health Worker (docx, 64 KB)
• Becoming a Vaccinating Health Worker (pdf, 114 KB)

• Information for Vaccinating Health Worker Clinical Supervisors (docx, 56 KB)
• Information for Vaccinating Health Worker Clinical Supervisors (pdf, 114 KB)

• Core learning Training options

• VHW Authorisation Requirements (Word, 29KB)
• VHW Authorisation Requirements (PDF, 175KB)

• VHW Learning Pathways

• Information for employers (Word, 71KB)
• Information for employers (PDF, 181KB)

Information for Employers new to the Vaccinating Health Worker (VHW) role (DOCX, 59KB)

Information for Employers new to the Vaccinating Health Worker (VHW) role (PDF, 120KB)

Vaccinating Health Worker Guide (DOCX, 751KB)

Vaccinating Health Worker Guide (PDF, 284)

Terms of Use for the Workforce Requests web portal.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This privacy statement explains how we collect and use your personal information. By using the vaccinator authorisation portal and providing your personal information, you consent to the practices described in this statement.

a) We collect the following personal information: First name, Surname, Date of Birth, Ethnicity, Email address, Alternate Email Address, Mobile phone, Region, District, Occupation Type, where you predominantly work, Employer and Employer email address. Ethnicity is requested as optional information. The following unique identifiers are used: Learning Management System (LMS) user number for vaccinating health workers, and Common Person Number (CPN) and Annual Practicing Certificate (APC) number for authorised vaccinators.

b) The purpose of collecting your personal information is to record information about you as a vaccinator, record qualifications and documentation correctly, and approve authorisation to vaccinate. Specifically for ethnicity (which is optional to provide), the purpose of collecting such information is to help us with enhancing workforce diversity and inclusion initiatives. Anonymised data is used for reporting and decision-making purposes. For example, to count the number of vaccinators in each area.

c) Recipients of your information are administrators that process your application; a clinical reviewer who checks that all information has been submitted and is correct, the relevant Medical Officer of Health who approves the authorisation; and other key personnel who support vaccination programmes in local areas (view only). Only those people with a role in managing the vaccinator portal and related administration can view, add, or change the information held.

d) We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which you gave it to us. This information will be held by Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ), and all the recipients listed above are employees of Te Whatu Ora.

e) Providing the personal information is voluntary, but without collecting such personal information, it is not possible to process your application for authorisation. Please note, providing ethnicity information is optional and your application can proceed without this information.

f) You can log on to the portal at any time to see your personal information. You may change and correct information, or to view any personal information held by us about you, or if you have any concerns or questions about the personal information that we hold and wish to request a correction, please write to:  The Privacy Officer, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, PO Box 793, Wellington 6140, Email: hnzprivacy@health.govt.nz. We may require proof of your identity before being able to provide you with any personal information.  When you contact us for help, your communications, including any information you provide regarding your identity and the matter you’re contacting us about, are collected.  

g) Sharing information

We may request confirmation of training or workshop attendance from the vaccinator training provider. Once you are authorised, we confirm your vaccinator authorisation status with the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR). The AIR team uses this information to update their records to verify users applying for access to the AIR Vaccinator Portal, where vaccination information is collected. The AIR privacy statement can be accessed with this link. Key documentation – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora

We provide a weekly report to your training provider with the following information - LMS Number, APC number (if available), First Name, Surname, Email Address, Initial Application Date, Phone Number, Employer, District, Occupation Type, Created, Administrator name, Admin Review Complete, Clinical review by (full name), Clinical Review Complete, Authorisation decision, Authorisation History, Authorisation Type, Authorised date, Authoriser, Item Type, Path. The purpose of the report is to enable your training provider to be able to compare their training completion records with this authorisation report so that they can identify who has completed the required training but has yet to be authorised, and to also identify when someone is eligible to begin VHW stage 2 training.

h) Sharing anonymised data - Anonymised is used for reporting and decision-making purposes. For example, count of how many vaccinators, counts of ethnic groups (to measure and report diversity of the vaccinating workforce, and can be used to plan initiatives to support cultural wellbeing), count of people in each district/region, counts of what people are authorised for.

Please note. We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time. The date at the top indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this statement regularly. If you have any questions about this privacy statement, please contact us at vaccinatorauthorisations@health.govt.nz 

More information about how Te Whatu Ora handles personal information and also your rights can be found at: Privacy & security – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora 

Contact us if you need help with the workforce request solution. Our contact centre will be happy to help with any technical issues. If you have any questions about your authorisation, please contact the administration team via vaccinatorauthorisations@health.govt.nz.

Copyright in content on the Workforce Request web portal is owned by either Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora on behalf of the Crown or its licensors. Visit My Health Account copyright for more information.