In medical centres and general practices across Australia, vaccine storage under Strive for Five is not optional — it is regulated.
Under the Strive for Five guidelines, vaccines must be stored continuously between +2°C and +8°C, with documented monitoring and immediate action if temperatures fall outside this range.
Yet many clinics still rely on manual temperature checks and paper logs.
The real question is:
What happens if a vaccine fridge fails overnight?
What Is Strive for Five?
The National Vaccine Storage Guidelines — commonly known as Strive for Five — set out the requirements for safe vaccine storage in Australia.
Key requirements include:
- Maintaining temperatures between +2°C and +8°C
- Recording minimum and maximum temperatures at least twice daily
- Taking documented corrective action if temperatures fall outside range
- Ensuring equipment is appropriate and reliable
These guidelines apply to medical centres, general practices, immunisation clinics, and any facility storing National Immunisation Program vaccines.
The Hidden Risk in Medical Centres
Medical centres are busy environments.
Staff are focused on patient care, not constantly checking fridge temperatures.
Common risks include:
- Domestic or ageing vaccine refrigerators
- Power interruptions
- Doors left ajar
- Shared fridges in treatment rooms
- WiFi outages preventing remote monitoring
- Manual logs completed retrospectively
Manual temperature logs cannot alert you at 2am.
And vaccine losses can be significant — financially and reputationally.
What Strive for Five Compliance Really Requires in Medical Centres
During accreditation and audit processes (including RACGP and AGPAL), practices must demonstrate:
- Ongoing temperature monitoring
- Reliable equipment
- Documented corrective actions
- Secure record retention
- Clear evidence of compliance
If a fridge excursion occurs, you may need to:
- Quarantine vaccines
- Contact the health department
- Provide full temperature records
- Potentially discard stock
Having clear, continuous, and accessible data simplifies this process considerably.
How Temp Assure Supports Strive for Five Compliance
Temp Assure provides continuous temperature monitoring designed for medical centres and clinics.
Key features include:
- 24/7 automated temperature monitoring
- Immediate alerts if temperatures move outside +2°C to +8°C
- Secure cloud-based data storage
- Audit-ready reporting
- Optional 4G backup connectivity for resilience
Instead of relying solely on manual checks, clinics can have continuous visibility and documented records.
The goal is simple:
Make Strive for Five compliance straightforward and stress-free.
Who Is Responsible in a Medical Centre?
Even if refrigeration servicing is outsourced, the practice operator remains responsible for ensuring vaccines are stored correctly and records are maintained.
Compliance responsibility does not transfer simply because maintenance is contracted.
Having reliable monitoring systems in place helps demonstrate due diligence and proactive risk management.
A Simple Question
If your vaccine fridge went out of range tonight —
Would you know immediately?
Learn more about how Temp Assure supports Strive for Five compliance here:
👉 https://tempassure.com.au/strive-for-five-temperature-monitoring-for-pharmacies/
Contact us for a quick compliance discussion.
or Explore and activate Temp Assure’s Strive for Five Compliance Management
