Information about your immunisations will be recorded in the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR). The AIR is used to help control the spread of infectious diseases by providing information about immunisation coverage across the population, and to keep a record of the immunisations you have received or have chosen not to receive.
Last updated: 14 November 2022
On this page:
- What we record in the AIR
- Providing your information
- Accessing and correcting your information
- Who can access the information in the AIR
- After your information is collected
- Storing your information
- How long your information is kept
- AIR Privacy Impact Assessment
- Contact us
Information about your immunisations will be recorded in the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR). The AIR is used to help control the spread of infectious diseases by providing information about immunisation coverage across the population, and to keep a record of the immunisations you have received or have chosen not to receive.
Information about your immunisations will be kept up to date, even if you change your doctor or go to a health service provider in another part of the country.
What we record in the AIR
The following details will be recorded:
- your name, date of birth, ethnicity, and health number (National Health Index or NHI)
- details about the vaccination you receive.
Providing your information
By law, all health services are required to keep complete and accurate records. To receive a vaccination, we need to collect your information and record it on the AIR, as it is the clinical record of your immunisation treatment. This means there is no ability to opt out of your vaccine information being recorded.
Accessing and correcting your information
You can request confirmation of your personal information, and your vaccination records, as held in the AIR by making a request to [email protected]
If you wish to correct your contact information, please email [email protected]
Who can access the information in the AIR
Only those people with a role in managing a vaccination programme and related administration can see, add or change the information held in the AIR. Access to the AIR is limited to those with logon access rights, and all access is recorded and can be audited.
These people may include those involved in administering the vaccine (such as vaccinators and administration staff and health professionals who work with you). Everyone who accesses the AIR is trained to keep the information safe.
After your information is collected
The information collected as part of the AIR may be used for:
- managing your health
- keeping you and others safe
- planning and funding health services
- carrying out authorised research
- training health care professionals
- preparing and publishing statistics
- improving government services
- enabling broader health and social support services.
Some information, such as information about reactions to a particular vaccine, will be shared with other organisations who provide health services, and we will share this information with your GP (if you are enrolled) in order to ensure they have a complete health record for you.
Information may also be shared with iwi and other Māori providers in line with the Ministry’s obligations to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi through the provision of data sharing. The purpose of this data sharing is to enable iwi, hapu and whanau to self-determine their own governance of data, including its use to actively protect communities by ensuring equal opportunity, access, and support for immunisations. This data sharing may be at an aggregated or individual level but will at all times be in accordance with the privacy requirements set out in the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020.
Information may also be used for statistical analysis and research purposes, in line with usual Te Whatu Ora processes and when permitted by the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020.
If we need to use the AIR information for other purposes, we will have this reviewed by the Chief Privacy Officer at the Te Whatu Ora and discuss it with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to make sure your privacy interests are fully considered.
Storing your information
The AIR operates on a Salesforce platform, which is hosted on Amazon Web Services servers in Sydney, Australia. Access to the data remains limited to those with logon access rights, and all access is recorded and can be audited.
How long your information is kept
Any ‘health record’ details will be stored in accordance with the Health (Retention of Information Retention) Regulations 1996. It is noted that records may need to be retained for some time into the future as a resource to confirm who has or has not been vaccinated, and with which vaccine.
AIR Privacy Impact Assessment
Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) Privacy Impact Assessment (PDF, 865 KB)
Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) Privacy Impact Assessment (Word, 673 KB)
Contact us
If you have questions about your privacy, get in touch with:
Email [email protected]