Travel Vaccinations Now Available at Local Pharmacies in SA

Travel immunisations such as hepatitis A and typhoid can now be accessed through community pharmacy in South Australia. This change in regulations was approved in late January 2025 - see Government of South Australia media release.

A pharmacist may administer an S4 drug that is a vaccine if:

• The pharmacist has successfully completed an immunisation education or training program accredited for pharmacists
• The drug is administered according to instructions provided in the Australian Immunisation Handbook

Travel vaccination access - state by state regulations in Australia

This almost completes a very confusing set of regulations across Australia.

In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, pharmacists are still unable to provide travel immunisations.

In Queensland, there are very few restrictions and children, 2 years of age and above can be vaccinated in a pharmacy.

In New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria there are differing age restrictions.

In Victoria, pharmacy-based travel immunisations are available but still being evaluated under a pilot program.

The South Australian program is more in line with the NSW guidelines where most travel immunisations are possible.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia provides a comprehensive overview on what can be provided on a state-by-state basis.

Regulatory requirements for pharmacists

Pharmacists will be expected to comply with several regulatory requirements to provide travel immunisations. These requirements are similar across Australia and in many overseas countries.

Yellow fever vaccine is only available through accredited medical clinics.

Pharmacy’s role in travel medicine - Australia vs overseas

Pharmacy has had a bigger role in the provision of travel medicine services overseas than in Australia.

Travel vaccines have been available in pharmacies in many overseas countries for many years - UK (mid 1990’s), USA (2003), Canada (2007) and Switzerland (2012), just to mention a few. Their scope of services has also increased over the years.

Travel medicine services have been very slow to change in Australia, despite it being a major contributor to the discipline from the late 1980’s. We were the first to utilise dedicated travel medicine clinics.

Pharmacy’s expanding role in immunisations

Primary care services are under enormous pressure in Australia, and it makes sense for pharmacy to have a greater involvement in immunisations, whether it be in those considered “routine” (tetanus/ diphtheria/ pertussis, MMR, chickenpox etc) or travel.

Pharmacy played a significant role in the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic and continues to do so currently. Never has the respect for pharmacy been so high. At the height of the pandemic, the community pharmacist was always in the front line despite significant personal risk. This is rarely acknowledged.

Over 11 million COVID-19 vaccinations were given by pharmacy to January 2024. I personally know of 2 pharmacies, who individually provided 9,000 and 5,000 doses to the end of 2023. The first in central Adelaide, and the other in the southern suburbs. Pharmacy and general practice are major services providers to the most vulnerable in our community and this was very much the case during the pandemic. Together they provide one of the best publicly funded immunisation programs in the world.

Improving access to travel health services

Access to travel health advice in 2025 is very different to 1980. Information is freely available on the internet. Translating this information into a vaccination or medication prior to travel can be a very different story. Community pharmacies are readily available, and their extended hours make it much easier for a traveller to get last-minute vaccines, medications for traveller’s diarrhoea, sunscreen and mosquito repellents.

Over 2,300 cases of dengue fever have been reported to Australia’s National Diseases Surveillance System, in the year to January 17, 2025. This is much greater than the yearly average (1,340) for the 5 years prior to the pandemic and almost 3.5 times the yearly average for the last 5 years (including the period when our borders were closed). This large increase may reflect a problem in the way we communicate public health messages to travellers.

Pharmacists as trusted travel health advisors

A pharmacist with an interest in travel medicine is in a good position to discuss current health concerns. Advice can also be provided on eating and drinking safely, sun safety, motion sickness and general mosquito avoidance measures.

Staying healthy when travelling is much more than a couple of vaccinations. Walking out with a good repellent might be the difference between a great holiday and a bout of dengue fever.

A step toward modernising travel health services

It remains to be seen how well the changes will be implemented but at least we are now modernising our travel health services in line with best practice globally. The Health Minister and pharmacy representatives should be commended for making this happen.

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