Mandatory vaccination backed by majority of Australia

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and University of Sydney, incorporated a survey of more than 1000 Australians, finding that 85% are in favour of the mandatory vaccination policy, and 9% disagree.
 
The Federal Government’s No Jab, No Pay policy was introduced in 2016 – mandating family welfare payments dependent on children’s vaccination status.
 
State-based policies also exclude children from childcare facilities if they have not been fully vaccinated according to the National Immunisation Program Schedule.
 
Victoria has the strictest requirements, with full immunisation necessary for childcare attendance, unless the child has an approved medical exemption or is on a recognised catch-up schedule. In New South Wales, legislation has recently been tightened to also require children attending childcare centres to be fully immunised.
 
Despite varied support and rates of vaccination compliance across jurisdictions, the study showed there is strong support among voters of all political parties.
 
‘This is important because it shows that in Australia, mandatory vaccination plays out as good politics for all parties,’ study co-author Dr Katie Attwell from the UWA said.
 
‘In contrast to similar studies in the US and UK, we found that support for both vaccination and mandate is very high, with no significant opposition from any political sub-group.’
 
Australia has some of the strictest vaccination policies in the world, and the No Jab, No Pay scheme has seen a significant increase in national vaccine compliance.
 
In 2016–17, 93.5% of all children aged five were fully immunised and all Primary Health Network areas achieved an immunisation rate of 90% or more.
 
Elimination of certain preventable diseases in Australia, such as rubella, is considered testimony to the efficacy of vaccination and high compliance rates. However, vaccine hesitancy remains an issue in parts of Australia, as well as the rest of the world.
 
‘Childhood vaccination is becoming a contentious political issue in many wealthy democracies, despite widespread acceptance of its benefits and necessity as a public health measure,’ Dr Attwell said.

immunisation No Jab No Play vaccination