Australia’s active vaccine safety system
With 2026 seasonal influenza vaccines now available across Australia – including a newly approved nasal spray option – AusVaxSafety has begun active surveillance to monitor the safety of all influenza vaccines in near-real time.
As circulating influenza strains change over time, influenza vaccines are reformulated each year to provide optimal protection against the predicted dominant circulating influenza strains. For this reason, AusVaxSafety monitors all influenza vaccines annually to ensure they continue to perform as safely as expected under real-world conditions.
As outlined in the in the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation’s Statement on the Administration of Seasonal Influenza Vaccines in 2026, there are seven influenza vaccines in use in Australia in 2026 that AusVaxSafety is actively monitoring:
Standard inactivated (injectable) influenza vaccines
Adjuvanted or high-dose inactivated (injectable) influenza vaccines
Intranasal live attenuated (nasal spray) influenza vaccine
AusVaxSafety sends out a short online survey via SMS or email to individuals (or their parents/carers) who receive their influenza vaccine at an immunisation site participating in AusVaxSafety across Australia, allowing participants to report any adverse events (side effects) they may have experienced after vaccination.
De-identified survey responses are analysed weekly to monitor for any signs of unexpected rates of serious adverse events.
Once enough safety data are collected to ensure meaningful interpretation, the data are shared on the AusVaxSafety website to provide a profile of what to expect in the days following influenza vaccination. These data are an excellent resource for immunisation providers when counselling patients on influenza vaccination.
AusVaxSafety has monitored the safety of influenza vaccines administered to Australians of all ages since 2017. Since then, more than 1.3 million individuals (or their parents/carers) have completed an AusVaxSafety survey following influenza vaccination.
Influenza vaccine safety data will be available on the AusVaxSafety website shortly and will be updated weekly for the duration of the 2026 influenza season.
If you have questions about this year’s flu vaccinations, visit the influenza webpage on the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) website.
