WA proceeds with 'no jab, no play' laws

The WA government is giving the Health Department power to ban unvaccinated children from going to school and child care centres during disease outbreaks.

Unvaccinated children will be banned from attending school and child care centres in Western Australia during disease outbreaks under regulations that come into effect on January 1.

All kindergartens, schools and child care centres will be required to keep up-to-date immunisation records, and the Health Department's chief health officer will have power to order under-vaccinated children to stay home.

School principals and child care centre owners can be fined up to $1000 if they allow under-vaccinated children to enter their facility.

The WA government also plans to introduce a bill in parliament next year that would give the chief health officer power to stop under-vaccinated children from enrolling in child care centres and kindergarten at all.

"No jab, no play" laws have been implemented in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, while South Australia has similar plans.

WA has some of the lowest immunisation rates in the country, with just 89.1 per cent of two-year-olds vaccinated, compared to the required 95 per cent to effectively prevent a disease outbreak.

Children already must be fully vaccinated for parents to be eligible to receive Commonwealth family assistance payments.


Share
Published 14 December 2018 6:12pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world