Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will be denied up to $15,000 a year in childcare rebates and welfare under new federal government rules, according to reports.
Bipartisan political support for the change means a conscientious objector loophole will be closed in the interests of protecting children from preventable diseases.
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the social services minister, Scott Morrison, are set to announce the reform on Sunday, with the changes to come into effect from next year.
It will mean parents who fail to immunise their children will no longer be paid the $200-a-week childcare benefit, the $7,500-a-year childcare rebate or the $726 Family Tax Benefit A annual supplement.
News Corp quoted Abbott as saying that parents should be able to take their vaccinated children to childcare without the risk of them contracting a serious or life-threatening illness “because of the conscientious objections of others”.
Morrison said exemptions on medical or religious grounds would continue but parents must be affiliated with a religious group whose governing body has registered an objection approved by the government.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/12/parents-who-refuse-to-vaccinate-children-to-be-denied-childcare-rebates-reports
