The federal government's new vaccine booking website is already having some issues. 

The Department of Health this week launched an eligibility tool to allow Australians to book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine at their closest GP.

But from the first few hours the site went live, users began reporting issues. 

Problems included random error messages, difficulties with booking appointments, and the fact that many of the listed GP clinics did not actually have the vaccine on hand. 

“It’s clear from the calls many general practices have received this morning that the government needs to better communicate with the community on the vaccine rollout process, and not build unrealistic expectations, particularly at this early stage,” Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) president Dr Karen Price said.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt said he was “not aware of any technical issues” on Wednesday afternoon.

“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.”

Issues with the booking website may add weight to existing concerns from GPs that they are not yet equipped for the vaccine rollout.