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More than 4,500 accredited general practices will participate in Phase 1b of Australia’s COVID-19 rollout, one of the greatest logistical challenges in our nation’s history.
The plans were announced by Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt today, with the collaboration of the Australian Medical Association, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said the Government is committed to bringing on board all eligible practices as quickly as possible, with vaccination start dates set to be staggered and dosage allocation to be dependent on vaccine availability.
“More than 1,000 general practices will commence from the week of 22 March 2021, with a rapid scale up over the following four weeks. This will ensure an efficient and equitable distribution of vaccines across the country,” Minister Hunt said.
 
“Phase 1b of the rollout includes vulnerable populations, such as older people and people with certain underlying conditions.”
 
No-one is better placed in the community than local GPs, who will play a major role in ensuring all Australians who seek to be vaccinated have access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Dr Omar Khorshid said “General Practitioners (GPs) have a proven track record with flu vaccination of older Australians and those living with chronic disease who will make up the bulk of the Phase 1B rollout.”
“It is very pleasing to see the majority of GPs putting up their hands to participate in this critical national program,” Dr Khorshid said.
“General practice is highly accessible for people and has helped Australia achieve some of the highest rates of vaccination in the world.”
“Patients see their GP for trusted advice and support and rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine through general practice is the best way to encourage the community to get vaccinated.”
President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Dr Karen Price said the approach is built on a platform of trust and knowledge.
“This is an historic and logistically-challenging project and GPs across the country are honoured to contribute, and committed to ensuring that all eligible patients have access to the vaccine, no matter where they live,” Dr Price said.
“We already have the trust of our patients and our communities and can ensure that those who are ready to be vaccinated can be, and those who are unsure can have their questions answered to help them decide.”
The staged commencement of general practices will be complemented by GP-led Respiratory Clinics and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services working together to deliver vaccines to eligible priority populations.
In welcoming the announcement, President of The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), Dr Sarah Chalmers recognised the significant preparation undertaken in the lead to rollout.
“ACRRM acknowledges the enormous amount of work that has been put into planning for the vaccination rollout, including for rural and remote communities. The equitable distribution points across the country means that all our vulnerable patients can access the vaccine,” Dr Chalmers said.
Nationally, more than 130 Respiratory Clinics and over 300 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service sites will support the Phase 1b roll out. This adds to more than 5,000 points of presence across Australia in addition to vaccination clinics set up by states and territories.
Minister Hunt said, “It has been clear from the positive response to the EOI that GPs are both prepared and committed to support the natural COVID-19 vaccination effort as well, as their local communities.
“We also acknowledge the work of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australian Medical Association and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine have been instrumental during this process,” Minister Hunt said.
Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccine National Rollout Strategy is underpinned by multiple parts of the health system working together to contribute to the vaccination effort.
This will be further enhanced by pharmacies to ensure equitable and timely access across Australia.
The Australian Government thanks all practices that expressed an interest in participating in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and for their ongoing commitment to support their local community.

After staunch opposition from local communities and businesses and pressure from Labor Scott Morrison has finally admitted that he doesn’t support the extension of the Petroleum Exploration Permit 11 (PEP 11).
Scott Morrison’s shaky coalition with the Nationals has been tested yet again with the Prime Minister staying silent on PEP 11 until today.
Advent Energy’s PEP 11 application would allow oil and gas exploration drilling off the NSW coast from Port Stephens, Newcastle, the Central Coast and Sydney.
Under the company’s proposal thousands of local jobs in tourism, hospitality, recreational and commercial fishing would be jeopardised.
Scott Morrison’s backdown is in stark contrast to recent comments from the Minister for Resources, who was recently defending the proposal by saying “any rig is unlikely to be visible from the coast”.
Unlike the Morrison Government, Labor’s position on this proposal has been crystal clear.
PEP 11 doesn’t make sense from an economic, environmental, or energy perspective.
Labor has been consulting with Save Our Coast, Surfrider Foundation, other advocacy groups and the broader community. We congratulate them on their fierce advocacy in protecting their region.
We support new energy and resources projects where they make sense, but this was always a dumb idea.
A broad spectrum of people across the community knew it, it’s just a shame it took Scott Morrison so long to realise it.
Rest assured, Matt Thistlethwaite, Emma McBride, Meryl Swanson, Sharon Claydon, and the whole Labor team will not rest until this bad idea is 100 per cent dead and buried.
Labor is against it.
The community is against it.
The NSW Government is against it.
Several Federal Liberal MPs are against it.
With his Prime Minister now joining the ranks of those against the application, is Keith Pitt still “concerned about some of the exaggerated claims being made by groups who are opposed to the permit”?
Either Keith Pitt is wrong or the Prime Minister is.

The Australian Laywer’s Alliance “Doing More Harm Than Good: The need for a health-focused approach to drug use” report clearly shows that a national approach to harm minimisation is long overdue.
“The legal and medical sectors have been saying for decades that treating drug use as a criminal matter, rather than a health issue does not work”, Australian Greens Health spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“Criminalising drug use does not stop people from using drugs, it exacerbates harm.
“Addiction and substance abuse is a health issue and we as a community need to treat it that way.
“Stigmatising people with punitive approaches rather than addressing the underlying issues only drives people further from the help and support they need and causes further harm.
“If we want to assist people with addiction and substance abuse issues we need to take a harm minimisation approach and penalise dealers not users.
“This report also highlights that people are still struggling to access medicinal cannabis which for many people is one of the few things that give them quality of life.
“People should not be denied quality of life just because the Government hasn’t got their act together to legislate a regulatory model that actually works and means that people can access the treatments they need. ”
 

The National Cabinet met today to discuss Australia’s COVID-19 response and the Australian COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy.
National Cabinet continues to work together to address issues and find solutions to the health and economic consequences of COVID-19.
The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, provided an update on the latest epidemiological data and medical advice in relation to COVID-19.
There have been 29,020 confirmed cases in Australia and, sadly, 909 people have died. There are currently 24 people in hospital. More than 14.5 million tests have been undertaken in Australia.
To date Australia’s existing systems built around social distancing, testing, tracing, local health responses and quarantine have effectively mitigated the broader spread of COVID-19 virus and new variants of COVID-19 into the Australian community. COVID-19 vaccines will further strengthen Australia’s ability to control the virus.
Australia has done well on both the health and economic fronts compared to most countries around the world. National Cabinet noted the significant increase in COVID-19 cases in many countries and the comparative strength of Australia’s effort in addressing COVID compared to most other developed economies. Globally there have been over 115.5 million cases and sadly over 2.5 million deaths, with around 446,000 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.
National Cabinet received a detailed update from Professor Brendan Murphy, Chair of the Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group, and the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly on the Australian Vaccination and Treatment Strategy.
Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out is on track. To date 71,867 Australians have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Commonwealth Government has allocated over $6 billion to support the vaccine roll out with contracts for over 150 million COVID-19 vaccines, through a diverse vaccine portfolio. Since the last meeting of National Cabinet, the roll out of the Pfizer vaccine commenced on 22 February 2020, with first vaccinations of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine starting today in South Australia. Onshore supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine is on track to commence during the week commencing 22 March 2021. The COVID-19 Vaccine and Treatment Strategy, agreed by National Cabinet, prioritises those Australians most at risk of COVID-19, including Australia’s front line health workers, aged care residents and staff and quarantine workers.
National Cabinet also discussed this week’s economic growth figures which showed that in the December quarter the Australian economy grew a record 3.1 per cent, the second consecutive quarter above 3 per cent.
The Australian economy has now recovered 85 per cent of its COVID-induced fall, six months earlier and twice as fast as expected in the October Budget.
Our recovery continues to lead the world with our economy outperforming all other advanced economies in 2020. While the United Kingdom contracted by 9.9 per cent, Italy 8.9 per cent, France 8.2 per cent, Canada 5 per cent, Japan 4.8 per cent, the United States 3.3 per cent, Australia was only down by 2.5 per cent.
These results occurred at a time when emergency support was tapering off, with the private sector stepping up. In the December quarter, direct economic support from the Federal Government halved, yet at the same time, the economy grew by 3.1 per cent, 320,000 jobs were added and 2.1 million Australian workers graduated off JobKeeper.
National Cabinet will meet again on Friday 9 April 2021.
COVID-19 Risk Analysis and Response
Today the National Cabinet received the first report from the COVID-19 Risk Analysis and Response Taskforce (Taskforce), led by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Mr Phil Gaetjens.
The Taskforce advised on Australia’s risk profile over the next six months and options for changing policy settings to ensure greater consistency and coordination across jurisdictions in the management of the pandemic.
The Taskforce identified several factors influencing Australia’s changing risk profile, including improvements in testing and tracing; improvements in quarantine practices; the vaccine rollout; vaccine effectiveness against transmission; and new variants of the virus.
Reopening the economy is critical for Australia’s international competitiveness. If we do not progress our economic reopening as the vaccine rollout occurs, we may fall behind our international competitors.
There are some unknowns in Australia’s changing risk profile. Decision-making related to reopening the economy will be informed by expert advice on the economic, social and health considerations.
Over coming months, the Taskforce will consider the changing risk environment in 2021; the impact of Australia’s vaccine rollout; economic, social and health considerations; and options to implement consistent policy settings across jurisdictions to ensure predictability and community confidence.
The Taskforce will continue to report to the National Cabinet monthly.
Pacific Workers
National Cabinet agreed to pilot pre-departure quarantine arrangements for Pacific workers in their home countries. South Australia has indicated its intention to opt into the arrangement to support their local agriculture sector, subject to finalisation of arrangements. Other states are considering the arrangement with further details of in-country testing and quarantine arrangements.
Since the National Cabinet agreed to recommence the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme more than 2,600 Pacific and Timorese workers have arrived in Australia. However, there remains significant labour shortages and more support for our agriculture sector is needed.
The Government will explore in-country quarantine arrangements for Pacific workers with eligible, low-risk Pacific Neighbours.
COVID-19 Vaccination Roll Out Strategy
National Cabinet noted the detailed vaccine roll out plans. Published efficacy data, particularly from the United Kingdom, strongly supports Australia’s choice of both the roll out of the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines.
The Commonwealth, states and territories are progressively scaling up vaccination sites as increased supplies of vaccines become available.
National Cabinet agreed that states and territories should harmonise legislation and regulation to allow COVID-19 vaccinations to occur in community pharmacies.
International Passenger Arrival Caps
National Cabinet reaffirmed a shared priority to supporting Australians to return home.
Current international passenger arrival caps will continue to 30 April 2021 pending a further review of arrangements at the next meeting of National Cabinet.
National Cabinet noted Western Australia’s staged return to a cap of 1025 passengers per week from 26 March which commenced with an increase to 900 passengers per week on 1 March. This follows a decision by the WA Government to reduce the number of international air arrivals as it undertakes a review of hotel quarantine processes.
National Cabinet also noted a commitment from Victoria to resume international passenger flights into Melbourne as soon as possible. International flights into Victoria were suspended on 13 February with the exception of flights under the New Zealand safe travel zone arrangement, and international freight.
Howard Springs
The Commonwealth and Northern Territory Governments reached agreement to increase the capacity of the Centre for National Resilience at Howard Springs after the end of the cyclone season in the Northern Territory.
This will increase the capacity of Howard Springs from 850 persons per fortnight to 2,000 persons per fortnight with a ramp up from late April 2021, subject to capital works, and full capacity between June and December 2021.
The Commonwealth Government will also continue to support repatriation flights for Australians through to the end of 2021, as required.
Final details are being worked through including the scope of works required to upgrade the facility, and strategies to recruit additional clinical and welfare staff.
The Centre for National Resilience is the Commonwealth Government’s response to the National Cabinet commissioned National Review of Hotel Quarantine conducted by Ms Jane Halton, AO PSM.