Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The government is committed to ensuring that Australians can continue to access free vaccines to protect the population against vaccine preventable diseases through the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

Our immunisation system is world class, with immunisation coverage rates above 90 per cent for 12-month-old children for the last six years. The proof of the success of the program can be measured by the large declines in rates of vaccine preventable diseases and, in the case of polio and smallpox, eradication of the diseases from Australia.

Childhood immunisation rates increased from 53 per cent in 1989-90 to over 90 per cent for children fully immunised at 12 months, following the introduction of the government’s Immunise Australia Program.

In 1996, Australian government expenditure on vaccines was $13 million a year. In 2006-07, vaccine expenditure was $283 million. In April 2007, the National HPV Vaccination Program commenced with vaccine funding of $475.9 million over five years (from financial years 2006-07 to 2010-11). On 1 July 2007, rotavirus vaccines will be added to the National Immunisation Program with vaccine funding of $124.4 million over five years (from 2007-08 to 2011-12). The Australian government commitment to vaccine funding in 2007-08 is estimated to be over $443 million.

Along with the announcement of funding for free human papillomavirus vaccine for all Australian girls and women 12 to 26 years of age in November 2006, the government also announced the establishment of a register to support this new initiative. The National Health Amendment (National HPV Vaccination Program Register) Bill 2007 will amend the National Health Act 1953 to enable the establishment and operation of the National HPV Vaccination Program Register.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus which has many strains, some of which can cause cervical cancers and genital warts. HPV is so common in the general population that four out of five people will have HPV at some time in their lives. Only a very small percentage of women who get persistent high-risk HPV infection are at risk of developing cervical cancer. This usually takes about 10 years. There is no way of knowing which of the individual women infected will end up developing cervical cancer. For this reason, all girls and young women need to be vaccinated. Vaccination with HPV vaccine is most effective when it is given to an individual before they are likely to be exposed to HPV.

The National Cervical Screening Program has been highly successful in reducing the number of deaths from cervical cancer in Australia; however, there are still about 200 deaths and 700 new cases of cervical cancer in Australia every year.

The HPV vaccine Gardasil®, which is the only vaccine currently designated for use in the National Immunisation Program, protects against four different types of HPV. Two types, types 16 and 18, are responsible for about 70 per cent of cervical cancers in Australia. The other two types, types 6 and 11, cause about 90 per cent of cases of genital warts. The vaccine is given as a series of three injections over six months.

It is important that all females, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, continue to get regular Pap smears as the vaccine is not able to prevent all types of HPV that may cause cervical cancer.

In order to vaccinate females before they are likely to become exposed to HPV infection, the ongoing program will target girls in the first year of high school. The government is also funding a two-year catch-up program for all girls in high school through schools, and those 18 to 26 through general practitioners and community immunisation clinics. The school program has now commenced in all states and territories.

Vaccination remains voluntary in Australia.

The HPV register is being established for a number of purposes.

It will contain a database of personal and vaccination information about individuals who participate in the HPV program. This will allow for statistics to be compiled determining how many persons participate in the HPV program in relation to the eligible population.

The register will also allow vaccination information to be compared in the future to patient outcomes as recorded in Pap smear, cervical cytology or cervical cancer registers. This cross-referencing of information will provide information about the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine in reducing cervical cancers. This information will in time inform the future directions of the HPV vaccination program.

In addition to this, the HPV register will provide a means for contacting participants of the HPV program to advise them of their vaccination status, certifying the completion of their course of vaccination and informing them if booster doses of vaccine are required.

The bill also aims to, through the HPV register, support the health and wellbeing of females by allowing the collection of statistics to inform health authorities, health care providers and the public about the HPV program. It will enable females or the parents or guardians of female children and health professionals involved in the HPV vaccination program to be contacted and informed about new developments with the HPV vaccination program.

The bill makes a provision for a female, or the parent or guardian of a vaccinated person, to make a request in writing at any time to have her details removed from the HPV register and for that request to be complied with as soon as practicable.

The HPV register will also hold information about general practitioners and registered nurses who are recognised for the purposes of the HPV register as vaccination providers. Only those vaccination providers will be given access to the HPV register to allow information to be entered on the register or for checking the vaccination status of a female to whom they are administering an HPV vaccine.

This bill will strengthen the government’s commitment to the health of Australians by further improving Australia’s world class immunisation system. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Dr Emerson) adjourned.