Ill health caused by vaccine-preventable diseases has fallen by one-third in a decade thanks to the National Immunisation Program (NIP), a report shows.

Adding new vaccines to the schedule saw illness in children plummet, while the impact of long-term widespread vaccination also reduced the burden of disease from illnesses like diptheria.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report focused on 17 diseases with vaccines in the NIP schedule in 2018, including chickenpox, diphtheria, human papillomavirus (HPV) and influenza.

But the burden of a few diseases — such as whooping cough and shingles — was higher in 2015 than it was in 2005, the data show.