Anti-vaccination parents face $15,000 welfare hit under ‘No Jab’ reforms
IN A stunning victory for The Sunday Telegraph’s No Jab, No Play campaign, parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will be denied childcare rebates and welfare in historic reforms. TONY ABBOTT: WHY I SUPPORTED ‘NO JAB, NO PLAY’ | CLAIRE HARVEY: ANTI-VAXXERS CAN GET STUFFED | FLU JABS AT THE PHARMACY
NSW
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PARENTS who refuse to vaccinate their kids will be denied up to $15,000 a year in childcare rebates and welfare under tough new rules won byThe Sunday Telegraph.
Our No Jab, No Play campaign has scored a stunning victory, with bipartisan support for the ‘‘conscientious objector’’ loophole to be completely closed to protect all children.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Social Services Minister Scott Morrison will today announce the historic reforms, which mean parents who fail to immunise their children will no longer be paid the $200-a-week childcare benefit, the $7500-a-year childcare rebate or the $726 Family Tax Benefit A annual supplement.
The combined childcare and welfare payments at risk could amount to up to $30,000 a year for a family with two young children. The changes will come into effect from January 1, 2016.
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Australia has vaccination rates over 90 per cent for under-5s, but the number of vaccine refusers is steadily rising.
“Parents who vaccinate their children should have confidence that they can take their children to childcare without the fear that their children will be at risk of contracting a serious or potentially life-threatening illness because of the conscientious objections of others,’’ Mr Abbott said.
“This means that the vaccine objectors will not be able to access these government payments.’’
Currently, immunisation is a requirement to access childcare payments and the FTB supplement. But all parents have to do to dodge the requirements is sign a form confirming they have discussed immunisation with a GP and have a “personal philosophical, religious’’ reason not to vaccinate.
As a result, the number of vaccine refusers denying children life-saving medicines is rising in Australia, with 39,000 children under the age of seven not vaccinated.
This shocking figure represents an increase of 24,000 children over the past decade.
Current exemptions on medical or religious grounds will continue, but Mr Morrison said they would only exist where the parent was affiliated with the religious group, and the governing body had formally registered an objection and it had been approved by the government.
“It is up to families whether they choose to vaccinate their children and it is government policy supported by the best possible health advice and research that they should do so,’’ Mr Morrison said.
“However if families choose not to follow that approach, then that choice does not entitle those families to gain access to taxpayer-funded benefits, especially where it would involve their children being placed together with children from families who have been immunised.’’
Labor leader Bill Shorten is also offering bipartisan support for tougher provisions, writing to the Prime Minister on Friday urging him to close the conscientious objector loophole. His support is vital because the changes will require Senate support to become law.
“The science is settled, the experts agree and strengthening these requirements is a common-sense measure that will benefit all children,’’ Mr Shorten said.
“Unless a parent has a deeply- held religious view, there should be no exceptions to the community expectation that children are immunised.’’
Currently, to meet the immunisation requirements for the Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement you need to have your children immunised during the financial years in which each child turns one, two and five years old.
This means that parents have up to $2100 a year at risk over the three key vaccination checks. However, the “No Jab, No Pay” reforms to be announced today go further, applying to all young children beyond 12 months. This means children would miss out on the $728 supplement every year they are not vaccinated.
Only children under the age of 12 months will be excluded from the new “No Jab, No Pay’’ reforms.
The immunisation requirement does not apply to the fortnightly FTB A payments, only the $728-a-year supplement.
For the childcare rebate, the reform means parents could miss out on up to $7500 per child each year.
Parents who fail to immunise their children will also be ineligible for the FTB Part A end-of-year supplement worth $728 a year.
Parents could also be denied up to $6100 in childcare benefit payments based on a youngster being in childcare three days a week.
* For more details on immunisation, go to immunisation.health.nsw.gov.au
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