There are four vaccinating roles that can be utilised in a vaccination site:
1. Authorised Vaccinators
2. Pharmacist and Intern Pharmacist Vaccinators
3. Vaccinating Health Workers
4. Midwives
There are also pathways for authorised and pharmacist vaccinators to upskill to become whole-of-life authorised vaccinators.
Further details on these roles and pathways is provided below.
Please visit our Vaccinating Workforce webpage for the most up-to-date information.
Authorised Vaccinators are registered health professionals who can administer vaccines listed on the NZ Immunisation Schedule and any other vaccines that are a part of an approved immunisation programme to all eligible groups, according to the conditions of their vaccinator authorisation.
The following registered health professionals are eligible to become authorised vaccinators:
Registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and nurse practitioners
Paramedics
Registered pharmacists
Training and authorisation process
For all information and guidance on the training and authorisation pathway for authorised vaccinators, please visit our website (external link).
2.1.1 Authorised Vaccinators transitioning to whole-of-life authorised vaccinators
2.1.1 Authorised Vaccinators transitioning to whole-of-life authorised vaccinators
The transition pathway to whole-of-life authorisation is designed to support knowledge and skill development in childhood immunisation if an Authorised Vaccinator has not had recent experience vaccinating children under 3 years of age.
Training and authorisation process
For all information and guidance on the training and authorisation pathway for authorised vaccinators transitioning to whole-of-life, please visit our website (external link).
Pharmacist Vaccinators and Intern Pharmacists Vaccinators can vaccinate under the Medicines Regulations 1984 medicine classification statements. They must complete foundation vaccinator training and a clinical assessment by an Immunisation Coordinator or an approved assessor.
Training
For all information and guidance on the requirements for Pharmacist and Intern Pharmacists vaccinators, please visit our website (external link).
2.2.1 Pharmacist Vaccinators transitioning to become authorised vaccinators
2.2.1 Pharmacist Vaccinators transitioning to become authorised vaccinators
Pharmacist vaccinators can upskill to become Authorised Vaccinators. This will mean they can administer vaccines to people aged 3 years and over. Once they have received authorisation, they may wish to complete further training to administer vaccines to people 6 weeks of age and over (whole-of-life). (external link)
Training and authorisation process
For all information and guidance on the training and authorisation pathway for pharmacist vaccinators transitioning to authorised vaccinators, please visit our website (external link).
2.3 Vaccinating Health Worker
The Vaccinating Health Worker (VHW) role is for pharmacy technicians, community health care workers, healthcare assistants and kaiāwhina to prepare and/or administer a range of vaccines after a period of training and authorisation.
There are two stages to the VHW role:
Stage 1: VHWs will be able to administer COVID-19 (Pfizer) and the influenza vaccines for 12 years+ and vaccines for Human Papillomavirus (HPV9) and Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap; whooping cough) for 11 years+.
Stage 2: VHWs will be able to prepare and administer all vaccines outlined in Stage 1, including administering COVID-19 (Pfizer) and influenza to 5 years+, and MMR for 5 years+.
Note. Those intending to become VHW Stage 2 can begin to administer MMR vaccine to tamariki 11 years and over after completion of training and gaining authorisation.
VHWs need to be authorised through the Health NZ Workforce Request portal (external link) and have gained experience as a Stage 1 VHW before gaining access to VHW Stage 2 training.
The VHW operating model is a team-based approach. VHWs work under the clinical supervision and direction of a registered health professional and cannot obtain informed consent from the consumer.
The employer’s role is to support the training of their staff to become a VHW or VHW Clinical Supervisor, and to ensure all vaccinators and supervisors are working within their scope.
Training and authorisation
For all information related to the VHW role, including training and authorisation requirements, visit the Health NZ vaccinator workforce webpage (external link).
A course is also available for Clinical Supervisors of VHW through IMAC. (external link)
2.4 Midwives
As part of the midwifery scope of practice (external link), a midwife may consider offering vaccinations to those who are in their care. This includes pregnancy immunisations (Tdap, Influenza and Covid-19), postnatal (HPV, MMR & Tdap), neonate (Hepatitis - alongside HBIG) and other national immunisation schedule vaccines, including those for a high-risk schedule.
A midwife is not required to complete authorised vaccinator training; however, midwives offering antenatal immunisations are recommended to complete the free IMAC online module Maternal immunisation essentials for midwives (external link) as well as view relevant IMAC webinars such as the ‘Flu and Friends 2025 Influenza, Covid-19 and RSV’ and ‘Pertussis – a reminder of the basics.’ Links to these are found on the IMAC webinars (external link) page.
Expanded practice within Midwifery Scope: The Midwifery Council confirmed an expansion of midwifery practice effective 1st Feb 2026. This enables midwives, with appropriate education and ongoing evidence of competence, to administer vaccines to infants up to 12 months of age and to whānau members (children and adults of any age), where immunisation would have a beneficial impact on perinatal related care.
The Midwifery Council has published an Expanded Practice Policy (external link) which midwives can read to support their understanding and expectations if engaging in expanded practice activities such as immunisation. This includes information on how to provide evidence of education to support expanded practice.
IMAC provides a free course, ‘Midwives’ immunisation expanded practice’ and workbook for midwives wishing to expand their practice. More information can be found on the IMAC midwives resource page (external link).
In July 2025, Te Tatau o e te Whare Kahu | New Zealand Midwifery Council approved colleague-to-colleague vaccinations as expanded practice within the Midwifery Scope of Practice under certain conditions. More information can be found on the IMAC midwives resource page (external link).
For information on claiming administration fees for vaccination events please refer to Section C – Onboarding.
2.5 Additional information
Second checker course
The Second Checker course (external link) is for non-registered team members such as kaiāwhina, health care assistants, administration staff, pharmacy technicians and assistants to enable them to complete specific checks of the vaccine preparation process in settings where there is limited clinical staff onsite. It is a prerequisite for entry to the VHW Stage 2 training. You can access this free course through IMAC (external link).
Authorisation
It is the responsibility of each vaccinator to ensure they maintain their relevant training and authorisation requirements (including current CPR certification as per Immunisation Handbook) and only practice within their scope.