MELBOURNE, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Australia, quickly becoming one of most-vaccinated nations against COVID-19, will likely start administering the shots for children under the age of 12 in January, officials said on Sunday.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said medical regulators are still reviewing the health and safety data for the vaccinations to be administered for children between the ages of five and 11 and are unlikely to decide this year.

On Friday, Australia crossed the 90% single-dose mark for those aged 16 and over, with 83% having two shots. The country has also vaccinated 57.7% of children between the ages of 12 and 15, according to health ministry data.

"The expectation that they have set is the first part of January, hopefully early January," Hunt told the Australian Broadcast Corp's Insiders programme. "But they're going as quickly as possible."