“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. The Government is extremely concerned at the risk this poses to other young children and the broader community.”
In an aggressive attempt to counter Australia’s growing anti-vaccination movement, Prime Minister Tony Harper has announced that the Australian government will halt payments of up to USD11,500 per child to parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated.
Reports say that while 97 percent of Australian children have been vaccinated, the number of children with parents or guardians registered as “conscientious objectors” has risen in the past 10 years.
Conscientious objectors are individuals who “have a one-page form signed by a doctor stating a personal, philosophical, religious or medical objection.”
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced that the crackdown on the anti-vaccination movement will begin 1 January 2016.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, if by 1 January 2016, parents remain conscientious objectors, they will no longer receive either childcare benefits and childcare rebates or the end of year supplement to Family Tax Benefit Part A.
While a child’s vaccination status is only checked at ages 1, 2 and 5, families claiming the end of year supplement for family tax benefits will now be checked regularly to see if their children have been vaccinated before becoming eligible to receiving payment.
On the other hand, if parents are able to prove that their children have medical grounds for not getting vaccinated, they will continue to receive government payments.
Furthermore, if a family is part of a “religious group whose governing body has a formally registered objection approved by the federal government”, then they will continue to receive childcare and family tax payments.
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