Booking confusion and technical problems have plagued the launch of the federal government's vaccine booking website.
The Department of Health's eligibility tool, launched on Wednesday morning, was set up to allow Australians eligible under phase 1b of the vaccine rollout to book an appointment at their closest GP.
Several users reported receiving error messages when attempting to make a booking in the hours after the website launched.
This has since been fixed, but there have been issues with booking appointments with GPs.
SBS News contacted five GP clinics in Melbourne that appeared on the website, none of which could make an appointment.
Receptionists said they were instructing people to call back next week, that vaccines hadn't yet arrived at their facilities, and that they "have not received any information from the government so can’t offer you an appointment".
One online booking attempt was met with the message: "This clinic is not accepting new patients."
Speaking at a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Minister for Health Greg Hunt said he was "not aware of any technical issues".
"Individual firms or practices are still to provide details. We just add them as we go," he said.
"Today is day one. Today was about putting out the list, and also making sure that we’re testing the system. All up, remember there’s six million people. Not all of those will be administered immediately. And so what we’re saying is here’s the information.
"Let’s put all of this into perspective. We’re moving as we always said we would - late February, the commencement of the Pfizer for 1a. Early March, the commencement of AstraZeneca for 1a. Late March, the commencement of the CSL doses which would allow us to commence 1B, and that is what is occurring."
More than 1,000 GP clinics around the country will begin offering vaccinations for vulnerable people starting from 22 March.
Elderly Australians aged over 70 will join healthcare workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over 55, young adults with medical conditions and critical and high-risk workers in being able to receive the jab.
Announcing the website’s launch, Mr Hunt acknowledged the number of available appointments would at first be limited.
“Appointments on the service finder will increase as general practices establish their systems and vaccine supply. More appointments will become available as more clinics come on-board,” he said.
“There will be six million Australians in Phase 1B, and not all will be able to be vaccinated immediately. We recognise that every Australian will have the opportunity to be vaccinated over the coming months and we thank you for your patience.”
“No one will miss out, whether they live in a city or country town or a very remote area,” he added.
“Appointments on the service finder will increase as general practices establish their systems and vaccine supply.
“This staged scale-up will align with the supply of the locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine, and as more vaccine becomes available, more services will come online.”
Nearly 200,000 people have been vaccinated so far under the first phase of Australia's immunisation program.
SBS News has contacted the Health Department for comment.
