COVID-19 vaccination consent process for aged care residents

At the commencement of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) developed bespoke COVID-19 consent forms to assist providers and patients with the rollout of the new vaccines.  

Although these COVID-19 forms were not mandatory (but rather designed as a supportive resource for patients and providers), DoHAC has notified that these COVID-19 consent forms have been archived. 

As with all vaccines, informed consent before administration is still required. DoHAC has adopted the standard process where verbal or written consent is considered acceptable as per the Australian Immunisation Handbook and should be documented by the health care provider as per standard practice. 

Aged care providers must also document a person’s consent as part of a resident’s records, a requirement under aged care record keeping legislation. 

Providers can find information about consent in the Australian Immunisation Handbook ‘Preparing for vaccination’ webpage and on DoHAC’s webpage COVID-19 vaccination for aged care residents and the attached resource: Consent for COVID-19 vaccination for older people, including aged care residents, families and carers