AIR Readiness

The Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) Programme is planning for the ‘cutover’ of the National  Immunisation Register (NIR) and the COVID-19 Immunisation Register (CIR) into the AIR in November 2023.   As we progress the actual date will be confirmed and shared.

This is a revised date following consultation feedback. The HPV Primary Screening Programme, who AIR shares stakeholders with, is being launched in September. Introducing both of these large changes in the same month would have posed delivery risks and added complexity for the sector.   We believe this revised window will ensure that together we are ready to cutover.

‘Cutover’ refers to the AIR milestone of migrating the data from NIR and CIR, and shifting all users over to use the AIR. The outcome of cutover is that:  

• COVID-19 will be recorded either via the AIR Vaccinator portal or in Practice/Patient Management Systems (PMS). Payment for COVID-19 vaccines administered will continue to be claimed via a record being entered into the AIR. Note there is currently no change to the way payments for other funded vaccines are claimed.
• All systems, including PMSs, that currently connect to NIR will be reconnected to AIR (we are working with software vendors to enable this).  
• All vaccinations for all age groups will be able to be recorded in the AIR.   
• New reporting tools will be enabled for both analytical and operational reports.   

Leading into cutover we will have training plans in place for system users, with communications being sent via existing channels. It is recommended you are subscribed to the National Immunisation Programme’s regular newsletter for ongoing updates.  Please contact immunisation@health.govt.nz to subscribe.

Following cutover, the AIR Programme will continue working with providers, vendors and stakeholders to deliver additional functionality.