COVID-19 vaccine third dose
How Service Victoria uses your COVID-19 digital certificate date to remind you about your third dose
Book your third dose vaccine today
If you are aged 18 and over and you had your second dose 3 or more months ago, you are due for your third dose now.
Staying protected
You need your third dose to keep up your immunity against COVID-19.
Bookings at GPs and across Victoria are available now.
You can also get vaccinated at your nearest state-run vaccination . Book .
You can get the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for your third dose regardless of the vaccine you received for your first two doses.
You can also get the AstraZeneca vaccine as a third dose if you:
- received AstraZeneca for your first two doses, and there are no contraindications or precautions for use
- had a significant adverse reaction to a previous mRNA vaccine dose (for example, Pfizer or Moderna) that means you cannot have another dose of an mRNA vaccine.
If you’re not sure which vaccine you’re eligible for, talk to your GP.
Third dose vaccination requirements
Under new pandemic orders that came into effect on 12 January 2022, workers in key sectors who are already required to be fully vaccinated with two doses must get their third dose before being permitted to work on site.
This applies to healthcare, aged care, disability, emergency services, correctional facilities, quarantine accommodation and food processing and distribution workers (excluding retail).
Workplaces must sight and record proof of vaccination. This does not apply to workers who have a valid medical exemption.
Workers eligible for a third dose on or before Wednesday 12 January will have until Saturday 12 February to get their third dose.
More information
Read more about third dose vaccination at .
How Service Victoria uses your COVID-19 digital certificate to remind you about your third dose
Digital Certificate Collection Notice
We’re Service Victoria. We are the Victorian Government’s customer service agency. Here’s how to contact us.
Why are we collecting this information?
We’re collecting your personal and health information so you can use your Service Victoria app to show your COVID-19 vaccination status. This will make it easier for you to show proof of your vaccination status when checking in to venues, and to receive notifications from us such as third dose vaccination notifications when you’re eligible to receive them.
We are authorised to do this under the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Service Victoria) Regulations 2021, the Pandemic (Open Premises) Order 2021, the Pandemic COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Specified Facilities) Order 2021, the Pandemic COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (General Workers) Order 2021, Pandemic COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Specified Workers) Order 2021, as amended from time to time, issued by the Minister for Health under s 165AI of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.
What happens if you don’t provide information to Service Victoria?
If you don’t provide this information to Service Victoria, you can’t access your certificate in our app or associated features such as third dose notifications. You can also access your COVID-19 digital certificate through existing channels supported by the Australian Government, such as the Medicare Express Plus App, Medicare Online, or the Individual Healthcare Identifier services through myGov, or My Health Record. You can ask them to send you a paper copy in the mail if you prefer a hard copy.
How does Service Victoria use your check-in information?
When you check in using the Service Victoria app, we will use the information on your COVID-19 digital certificate to show you’ve stored a copy in the app. You may be asked to show this proof when checking in. You can also view your COVID-19 digital certificate within our app and show it to others.
If you link your digital certificate, the app will show a QR code below the digital certificate when you check-in. We use only the information in your COVID-19 digital certificate, including your name, to generate the QR code. This process helps to show you have an authentic COVID-19 digital certificate and to prevent fraud.
This QR code can be scanned using the latest version of the Service Victoria app to show whether your digital certificate is valid. If you choose to let someone scan your QR code, their device reads the information in the QR code. Our app will show them whether your certificate is valid. It only shows your given name and first letter of your family name, to help prevent other people illegally using someone else’s certificate. No other personal or health information can be seen by others or will be shared. The code expires after five minutes.
You don’t need a Service Victoria account to save and use your certificate within the Service Victoria app.
Where is your digital vaccination certificate stored?
Your COVID-19 digital certificate will be stored to the device it’s shared with. We don’t retain a copy of your certificate. We don’t collect your vaccination status when you check in. You can remove your certificate from the device at any time, through the Service Victoria app.
If you share your device with another user, please be aware that your COVID-19 digital certificate with the Service Victoria app may become visible to the other users of your device and can only be deleted by those who can access the device.
What happens when you link your certificate to your device?
When you link your certificate, we collect some data in a secured, encrypted format for fraud detection and control. We will collect your full name, date of birth, date of certificate issue, and a unique number for the installation. We de-identify this information using hashing technology. This protects your information so no-one can see it without decryption. We destroy this record when no longer needed to support this service.
How do we know when you’re due for a third dose vaccination?
When you link your COVID-19 digital certificate, we will use the date of your last COVID-19 vaccination on the certificate saved to your device to notify you if you are eligible for a third dose vaccination. This notification is based on timeframes set by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
You can book your third dose vaccination by following a link through the Service Victoria app. Once you have had your third dose, you can update your digital certificate by following the link in-app to myGov.au to display the date of your last COVID-19 vaccine dose.
If you don’t want us to use your vaccination data to let you know you are eligible for a third dose vaccination, you can remove your certificate from your device. You won’t receive any further notifications about COVID-19 vaccinations from us, however you will no longer be able to display your digital certificate within the Service Victoria app.
Sharing digital certificates with family
Parents and guardians can use the Service Victoria app to add their children’s COVID-19 digital certificates to their device if their children are under 14 and linked to their Medicare account.
You can also add a COVID-19 digital certificate for another family member or dependant, with their consent, if they are unable to download a certificate to their own device.
If you add your COVID-19 digital certificate to another person’s device, the person with access to that device can share your vaccination status with others. Only the person with access to that device can delete your digital certificate.
You do not have to add your COVID-19 digital certificate to another person’s device. You can still show proof of vaccination in other ways such as through your Medicare Express Plus App, Medicare Online, or your Individual Healthcare Identifier service through myGov, or My Health Record. You can also use a print-out of your certificate, and if you don’t have access to technology, you can contact the Australian Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809 and ask them to send you a paper copy in the mail.
When we share your information
We may share your de-identified information with Services Australia if required to detect or investigate suspected fraud or misuse of COVID-19 digital certificates. To learn more about how Services Australia handles your information, please see their privacy .
We’re authorised to collect this information to support the Victorian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How we use your data
To make our products and services better we collect anonymous data, such as how you interact with the app. We don’t track or collect information about you as an individual. Examples of the anonymous, de-identified statistical data (includes the number of people using the app, average time spent using, the proportion who have added proof-of-their vaccination status, etc). This doesn’t contain information about you.
Accessing your information
You can access the personal or health information we hold about you at any time and request to update, correct or amend your personal information using the contact details set out in the Service Victoria privacy and security policy.
To learn more about how your personal and health information is handled, please see Service Victoria’s Privacy and Security Policy and Extra Privacy Information for COVID-19 check in and COVID-19 digital certificates.