Register for the Immunisation Costing Project webinar

Why has this project been initiated?

Councils have a long history in providing immunisation service delivery to their communities.

The requirement for councils to support immunisation comes from the South Australian Public Health Act 2011.

• “… a council must provide, or support the provision of, immunisation programs for the protection of public health within its area.” – Section 38 (1)

The LGA has initiated the Immunisation Costing Project to better understand the costs borne by councils in providing the School-based Immunisation Program and Public Immunisation Program.

This information will be critical in providing a base to inform the LGA’s negotiations with the Department of Health and Wellbeing around the next Service Level Agreement negotiations. These provide the framework for immunisation funding and the review of the Memorandum of Understanding which defines the roles of State and local government.

Better understanding the costs associated with providing immunisation services will also assist individual councils as they review their service delivery models.

The project builds upon similar costs analysis commissioned by the LGA in 2007 and 2013. There have, however, been significant changes to the National and State immunisation programs since this work was undertaken.

How will be project be delivered?

The LGA has engaged consultants BRM Advisory to deliver the project between August and November 2022.

The key steps in delivering the project include:

1. Survey
   • A survey sent to all councils who provide immunisation. It will contain questions around service delivery model, staff time and other costs
2. Interviews
   • Interviews will be done with a small sample of councils to better understand the different service delivery models
3. Detailed assessment and site visits
   • A small sample of councils will undertake a review of their immunisation service delivery model
4. User feedback
   • Feedback can be provided through survey of visitors to council immunisation services
5. Data analysis and reporting
   • To gauge the results of the feedback and assessment

Advice and direction on the project will be provided by the Local Government Immunisation Providers Strategic Working Group.

What information do councils need to provide?

All councils who deliver immunisation services will be asked to complete a survey.

The survey will ask councils questions about how they deliver immunisation services and to estimate the staff time and operational costs associated with this service.

Councils will also be asked opened ended questions to inform the LGA’s advocacy work on immunisation.

Councils will be given four weeks to complete the survey, and the consultant team will be available to answer any questions that councils may have during the data collection process.

Register your place in the webinar for more information

The LGA is hosting two webinars to provide:

• more information on the project and methodology
• a summary of the LGA’s broader advocacy work in the area
• an opportunity for councils to provide direct feedback on the project and the broader issues and opportunities around immunisation service provision.

Please select your preferred time (you only need to attend one).

• 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Wednesday 7 September 2022
• 10:00 am – 11:00 am Monday 12 September 2022

Register now

For questions and enquiries

Please contact:

• Belinda Caruana, Senior Policy Officer – Public Health at the LGA on belinda.caruana@lga.sa.gov.au
• Michael Richardson, Director at BRM Advisory on mrichardson@brmadvisory.com.au