Australia to penalize parents who don’t vaccinate children

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian government plans to withhold child care and other payments from families that fail to immunize their children.

The “No Jab, No Pay Bill” introduced to Parliament on Wednesday would also remove a category of “conscientious objector” that allows parents to remain eligible for full government benefits despite not immunizing their children.

Families would lose up to 15,000 Australian dollars (US $11,000) per child per year in tax and child care benefits from Jan. 1, 2016, unless their children are vaccinated.

Exemptions would apply only for valid medical reasons.

The legislation is likely to be passed by Parliament into law without any amendments.