The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) is urging people to visit their GPs to receive their annual flu vaccination following on from last year's record number of flu cases, with 2025 the worst year on record.
Case numbers in 2026 are only one third of the 98,447 cases reported in January–May 2025 or the 61,525 reported in June 2025 alone. The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System reports there have been around 36,800 notifications for lab confirmed influenza in 2026 so far.
"We are seeing fewer cases of the flu than last year, but that doesn't mean we can be complacent," RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said.
"We can't predict how bad a flu season will be, but we can prevent it from being worse than necessary by ensuring everyone gets a flu vaccination, and especially children, seniors, and those at higher risk of disease.
"That's the best way to avoid both a bad flu, and the stress hospitalisations due to influenza put on our hospitals."
RACGP is celebrating increased flu vaccination uptake after most jurisdictions made needle-free intranasal vaccines free for young children – the first thing to increase coverage since COVID-19.
While health department figures show the overall flu vaccination uptake this year is similar to 2023–25, uptake among patients under five years old is 15.7% higher than the same time in 2025 and 16.1% higher than in 2024.
In 2026, children aged 2–4 have been able to get a flu vaccine without a needle for free in NSW, Queensland, WA, and SA, with expansions to older children in NSW, Queensland, and WA.
Families in Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT, and the NT meanwhile must pay privately for a needle-free flu vaccine.
Dr Wright called on politicians to embrace intranasal vaccines as a solution that works.
"Free intranasal vaccines seem to have driven increased uptake, which is excellent," he said.
"We now need to embrace what works. This is a call to governments in Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT: help protect families by subsidising free access to intranasal vaccines."
"The slow start to the season really gives an extra opportunity to protect our most vulnerable Australians - not only against influenza, but also COVID and RSV, which are also available from your GP."
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