The free shingles vaccination is now available to more people over 18 who are immunocompromised due to an underlying health condition or as a side effect of treatment.
The government is investing $57.7 million over four years to expand the Shingrix program, which has been available on the NIP since 1 November 2023 to prevent shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said that while free shingles vaccination is already available for people aged 65 and older, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and older and high-risk immunocompromised adults, the expansion will now cover hundreds of thousands of more people living with underlying health conditions.
“Making the shingles vaccine free for more Australians is not just good their hip pocket, it’s also good for their health. Without vaccination, almost one in three Australians will get shingles in their lifetime,” he said.
“Vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect yourself from serious complications caused by shingles and without listing it on the NIP Australians who are immunocompromised due to an underlying health condition would have to pay up to $560 for their vaccine.”
The Government has also announced that it will increase the number of postgraduate psychology places at universities and provide more psychology internships and supervisors, providing up to an additional 500 student places and grow postgraduate psychology courses over a four-year period.
“This will help remove barriers to studying and working in mental health, which is sorely needed while Australia faces a critical shortage of mental health workers,” Mr Butler said.
“Many students want to become registered psychologists but are unable to due to a lack of internships, supervisors and university places. Given the significant community need for this workforce it critical we expand training pathways.”
Despite strong demand and interest from students, currently only 10% will complete the required postgraduate course to become a registered psychologist due to the limited number of university places.
West Australian universities that successfully applied for funding through the 2023–24 Postgraduate Psychology Incentive Program Grant Round include:
- Curtin University
- Murdoch University
- University of Western Australia
The Autism Association of Western Australia will deliver 48 internships and supervisor training.
To address bottlenecks in the psychology training pipeline, the Government will also provide Supporting Provisional Psychologists to Practice grants to increase the availability of psychology internships and supervisor training.
This initiative will support provisional psychologists by funding 681 one-year internships over a four-year period and up to 2,860 Psychology Board of Australia endorsed supervisor training places.
To prioritise areas of greatest need, half the internships and supervisor training will be offered to people in First Nations communities, culturally and linguistically diverse communities and people living in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia.
The Government has also committed to work with the Psychology Board of Australia to reform and redesign the psychology higher education and registration pathway to make it simpler for students to complete their studies and work in the mental health system.
The redesign will consider opportunities to streamline psychology training, embed a focus on practical learning, and address access and equity challenges with consultations due to commence early in 2025.