Appendix 1. Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule, August 1994

Age	Disease	Vaccine
2 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, Hib	DTPw* OPV-Sabin vaccine, Hib vaccine (HbOC or PRP-OMP)**
4 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, Hib	DTPw* OPV-Sabin Vaccine, Hib vaccine (HbOC or PRP-OMP)**
6 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, Hib (HbOC schedule only)	DTPw* OPV-Sabin Vaccine, Hib vaccine (HbOC)
12 months	Measles, mumps, rubella, Hib (PRP-OMP schedule only)	MMR, Hib vaccine (PRP-OMP)
18 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib (HbOC schedule only)	DTPw, Hib vaccine (HbOC)
Prior to school entry: 4-5 years	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis	DTPw, OPV-Sabin vaccine
10-16 years	Measles, mumps, rubella	MMR
Prior to leaving school:15-19 years	Diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis	Td (ADT)*** OPV-Sabin Vaccine

* DTPw is the abbreviation for Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccine (whole cell).
** Abbreviations for Hib vaccines - HbOC is 'HibTITER'; PRP-OMP is 'PedvaxHIB'. HbOC is given at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months. PRP-OMP is given at 2, 4 and 12 months.
*** Td is combined Diphtheria-Tetanus vaccine. The DT formulation for children is often referred to by the trade name 'CDT'. The Td formulation for adults is often referred to by the trade name 'ADT'.

Appendix 2: Changes to Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule between 1989 and 1994*

The following changes have been made to the schedule since the ABS last collected information on immunisation status in the 1989-90 NHS (which used the 1986 version of the schedule):

• The introduction of a DTP vaccination to replace the CDT vaccination at 5 years or prior to school entry
• Introduction of vaccination against Hib, not previously included in the schedule. This vaccine was recommended for inclusion in 1993. For the purpose of measuring uptake of the vaccine and its effect on the overall immunisation status of the child, the Hib vaccine was excluded in the derivation of overall status against the previous schedule; and
• Introduction of a combined Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccination at one year of age.

* Taken from ABS 1995⁵

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Appendix 3. Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule,¹¹¹ November 1996

Age	Disease	Vaccine	Milestones
2 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis poliomyelitis Hib	DTPw* OPV-Sabin vaccine Hib vaccine (HbOC or PRP-OMP)**
4 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis poliomyelitis Hib	DTPw* OPV-Sabin Vaccine Hib vaccine (HbOC or PRP-OMP)**
6 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis poliomyelitis Hib (HbOC schedule only)	DTPw* OPV-Sabin Vaccine Hib vaccine (HbOC)	First (6 months)
12 months	Measles, mumps, rubella Hib (PRP-OMP schedule only)	MMR Hib vaccine (PRP-OMP)	Second (12 months)
18 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis Hib (HbOC schedule only)	DTPa* or DTPw* Hib vaccine (HbOC)	Third (18 months)
Prior to school entry: 4-5 years	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis poliomyelitis	DTPa* or DTPw* OPV-Sabin vaccine
10-16 years	Measles, mumps, rubella Hepatitis B (1st dose)	MMR HBV
1 month later	Hepatitis B (2nd dose)	HBV
6 months after 1st dose	Hepatitis B (3rd dose)	HBV
Prior to leaving school:15-19 years	Diphtheria, tetanus Poliomyelitis	Td (ADT)*** OPV-Sabin Vaccine

* DTPw is the abbreviation for Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccine (whole cell); DTPa is the abbreviation for Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccine (acellular).
** Abbreviations for Hib Vaccines - HbOC is 'HibTITER'; PRP-OMP is 'PedvaxHIB'. HbOC is given at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months. PRP-OMP is given at 2, 4 and 12 months.
*** Td is combined Diphtheria-Tetanus vaccine. The DT formulation for children is often referred to by the trade name 'CDT'. The Td formulation for adults is often referred to by the trade name 'ADT'.
Hepatitis B schedule for adolescents - give the 1st dose at the same time as MMR (10-16 years), the 2nd dose about 1 month later, and the 3rd dose 6 months after the 1st dose.

Interim hepatitis B schedule for infants

The NHMRC has endorsed the use of hepatitis B vaccine (HBV) for all infants. HBV should be administered at birth, 1 month, and 6-12 months of age. Hepatitis B vaccine has not yet been included in the standard infant schedule because it is only available as an additional injection. Parents who express an interest in infant HBV should be encouraged to have their children vaccinated, as long as compliance with schedule vaccines is not jeopardised.

The NHMRC strongly recommends that HBV be offered to all infants born to HBsAg+ mothers and to all infants and young children from groups with hepatitis B carrier rates of over 2%.

Editorial Note:

This historical article describes the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule in 1994 and 1996. The current schedule at May 1999 includes DTPa vaccine as an Alternative to DTPw for infants and has the second dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at age 4-5 years (rather than at 10-16 years).


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 23, No 6, 10 June 1999.