The National HPV Vaccination Program is extremely important, and is likely to significantly reduce the burden of cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers in Australia.
The program provides the vaccine free in schools for boys and girls aged 12–13 years.
The
secondary school year the vaccine is given in varies between States and
Territories – refer to our table to see how it's being rolled out in your area.
As most teens receive the HPV vaccine at school, schools play a vital role in informing students, their parents and teachers about the vaccine, and positively influencing its uptake in Australia.
Nationally, only around 4 in 5 girls and boys are currently taking advantage of the free school-based vaccine program. Also, some students who have the first dose of the vaccine are not completing the course. Current national and state HPV immunisation coverage rates can be found here.
Research has shown this may be due to:
- Low awareness of HPV and the vaccine among students and their parents, leading to consent forms not being returned
- Logistical issues associated with returning consent forms
- Vaccination day experience
Use the tools in this section to assist schools in raising awareness of HPV and the vaccine among students and their parents.
This section contains advice about how to best run vaccination programs in a school setting.