Children ’s Hea lth No Jab No Play & No Pay What the new government policy means for families While ‘to jab, or not to jab’ is a prominent decision for parents in Australia, national consensus supports immunisation for children of all ages, especially those attending day care and pre-school. Recent efforts to persuade Australian parents to fully immunise their children at one, two and five years of age includes the Liberal National Party’s ‘No Jab – No Play and No Pay’ policy. Aimed at parents who haven’t immunised their children, the policy restricts access to the Family Tax Benefit (TFB) Part A end-of-year payment, and restricts children’s enrolment into childcare without necessary vaccination documentation. History and science conveys that immunisation prevents millions of viral and bacterial deaths each year, and that it’s both a parental and community responsibility. Significant debate persists, however, around whether this policy is the best way to encourage parents to vaccinate. So, what are the implications of ‘No Jab – No Play and No Pay’? What is the policy? In April this year, this Commonwealth Government removed the ‘conscientious objector’ exemption on children’s vaccination for access to a number of childcare benefits, which will be active from 1 January 2016. A ‘conscientious objector’ is recognised as a parent who has registered with the Australian Government an objection to their child being immunised on religious or moral grounds. This now means that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children for personal beliefs will be unable to access these government childcare payments. The Government has expressed that the new policy will tighten up the immunisation rules and reinforce the importance of immunisation for public health. It also acts to remind parents to keep on top of their children’s immunisation schedule. Not all parents condemn vaccinations; it’s also a matter of awareness and access. Additionally, in 2014, the NSW State Government introduced a change to their Public Health Act that prevents parents from enrolling their child into childcare facilities without approved documentation that shows the child has been fully vaccinated, or approval of medical or conscientious objection if they haven’t. This doesn’t stop enrolment altogether, but enables childcare facilities to send unvaccinated children home in the event of an outbreak. 46 Pindara Magazine 2015
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Five
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