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Australia ends religious exemption benefits for vaccinations
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Effective January 1, Australia will end immunization exemption for families receiving childcare benefits under the grounds of religious belief, according to a press release from Scott Morrison, Australia’s minister for social services.
The move comes after recent discussions with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist — the only religious organization in Australia with an approved vaccination exemption.
“Having been informed the religion is not advising members to avoid vaccinating their children, and following engagement with members, the government no longer sees that the exemption is current and the authorization for this exemption has been withdrawn,” Morrison said in the release. “Having resolved this outstanding matter the government will not be receiving nor authorizing any further vaccination exemption applications from religious organizations.”
The exemption, initiated in 1998, allowed parents who do not vaccinate their children to still receive welfare funding from the Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A programs. With this new policy, the only exemption authorized by the Australian government will be based on medical disability and disease, a policy Morrison said would remain the “sole ground for exemption.”
Approximately 97% of FTB families meet the current immunization requirements, according to the statement, with vaccination rates growing since the establishment of the Childhood Immunization Register in 1996. However, more than 39,000 children aged younger than 7 years are not vaccinated due to conscientious objection, an increase of more than 24,000 children over 10 years.
In addition to the eliminated exemptions, immunization requirements for FTB Part A supplement payments will be checked for children of all ages, as opposed to current inspections of those aged 1, 2 and 5 years.
“Parents who vaccinate their children should have confidence that they can take their children to child care 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,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in the release.