No Jab, No Play law changes now active in Victoria

Parents and early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers have received a reminder about “tough” new No Jab, No Play laws now in place, as Acting Premier Tim Pallas, and Acting Minister for Health, Luke Donnellan visited a centre in Victoria yesterday to remind Victorians about the importance of complying with the changes.

The Ministers have described the visit as an opportunity to “remind parents they must comply with the rules aimed at keeping Victorian children healthy” and to warn the Victorian Government would be “cracking down on rogue doctors who peddle misinformation and flout the rules.”

Landmark laws were introduced in Victoria in 2016, outlining the requirement for children to be vaccinated against a variety of preventable diseases. The “No Jab, No Play” laws have seen vaccination rates skyrocket, with the latest data showing immunisation rates for children under the age of five remaining steady at 95.4 per cent – above the ambitious 95 per cent ‘herd immunity’ target.

Describing the science behind vaccinations as “crystal clear” the Ministers said that, despite the legislation and the scientific evidence, some Victorians “continue to tout misinformation and put the health of kids (sic.) at risk.”

Mr Pallas said the Victorian Government made no apologies for the tough stance, adding that all children coming back to childcare for 2019 would need to have proper proof of immunisation provided, in order to be compliant with the law.

“Our tough improvements to No Jab, No Play laws will require parents to provide Immunisation History Statements to their childcare provider twice a year. Only Immunisation History Statements from the Australian Immunisation Register will be accepted as evidence of a medical reason why a child is not immunised when enrolling in childcare or kindergarten, meaning false and misleading vaccination exemptions written by dodgy doctors will no longer be accepted.” the Ministers said.

Mr  Donnellan added that “while most people do the right thing, there are still some who ignore the facts and tout misinformation. We’re cracking down on them, because they’re risking the health of all Victorians.”

More information about the changes to the law can be found here