Shingles: who can get the vaccine for free
Most Australian adults are already carrying the virus that causes shingles. If you had chickenpox as a child, the virus never fully left your body. It settles in nerve tissue and stays there quietly. Shingles is what happens when it wakes up, sometimes decades later.
What shingles actually is
Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, the same virus behind chickenpox. It usually shows up as a painful rash of fluid-filled blisters on one side of the face or body, often in a strip or band. Headache, tingling, itching and severe pain can come with it. Around 20 to 30% of people will get shingles at some point in their lives, most of them after the age of 50. Of people who live to 85, around half will have had it.
The complication most people have not heard of
Shingles usually runs its course in about 10 to 15 days. The problem is what can be left behind. The most common complication is post-herpetic neuralgia, which is nerve pain at the site of the rash that keeps going for more than three months. It can be severe, it can take over a person's quality of life and it is difficult to treat. Rarer complications include pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness and encephalitis. People over 70 are the most likely to run into trouble.
Who can get the vaccine for free
Shingrix is the only shingles vaccine available in Australia. Under the National Immunisation Program a two dose course is free for people aged 65 and over, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over and for certain immunocompromised people aged 18 and over. The full list of qualifying conditions and therapies sits in the Australian Immunisation Handbook. Vaccination is recommended more broadly than that: for everyone aged 50 and over and for immunocompromised adults from 18. People outside the funded groups can still be vaccinated on a private prescription.
How the course works
Shingrix is given as two doses rather than one. For most people the second dose comes 2 to 6 months after the first. For people who are immunocompromised the gap is shorter, 1 to 2 months. It is not a live vaccine, which is why it can be given safely to people with a weakened immune system. Booster doses are not currently recommended. If more than 6 months has slipped past since your first dose, you do not start again: the second dose is simply given as soon as it can be.
Questions people ask
I have already had shingles, is there any point? Yes. Vaccination is still recommended. The usual advice is to wait at least 12 months after an episode. For people who are immunocompromised that wait is 3 months.
I cannot remember having chickenpox. Most Australians have had the virus by the age of 30 whether they remember it or not, so vaccination is still recommended. A blood test beforehand is generally not needed.
Can I have it with my other vaccines? Yes. Shingrix can be given at the same visit as influenza, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines, at different injection sites. Your GP may suggest spreading them across visits to keep reactions milder. That is a preference, not a rule.
What to expect afterwards
A sore arm is common: pain, swelling and redness where the needle went in. Some people get tired, achy, headachy or feverish for a day or two. These reactions are usually mild and settle on their own. Serious reactions are rare. Your doctor can talk you through them before you decide.
Talk to us about it
If you are 65 or over, or you fall into one of the other eligible groups, shingles vaccination is worth a conversation. Call us Monday to Thursday 8:00am to 5:30pm and Friday 8:00am to 2:00pm on 02 9528 5266. We are closed Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. You can also book online through HotDoc.
Source: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS). Zoster (shingles) vaccine: frequently asked questions (FAQs), last updated 20 January 2026. ncirs.org.au, accessed 24 September 2026. Funded eligibility criteria are set out in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au.
