IMPORTANT INFORMATION: VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCHOOL ENTRY FOR CHILDREN ENROLLED BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2018, SECONDARY SCHOOLS, BEFORE AND AFTER CHILD CARE.

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/childcare_qa.aspx#3a

What if a child is enrolled before 1 January 2018?

Children who are enrolled prior to 1 January 2018 will not be affected by the changed requirements, that is, if enrolling a child in 2017 to commence child care in 2018 parents may continue to submit any one of the four existing forms (see Forms).

What forms will be required to be provided at enrolment after 1 January 2018?

From 1 January 2018, parents must provide a copy of one or more of the following documents to enrol in a child care centre:

• • an AIR Immunisation History Statement which shows that the child is up to date with their scheduled vaccinations or

  • an AIR Immunisation History Form on which the immunisation provider has certified that the child is on a recognised catch-up schedule (temporary for 6 months only) or

  • an AIR Immunisation Medical Exemption Form which has been certified by a GP.

No other form of documentation is acceptable (i.e. the Interim Vaccination Objection Form or Blue Book). The documents must be stored by the director in a secure location for 3 years, unless a child transfers to another child care centre.

Which vaccines must a child have to be fully vaccinated?

The NSW Immunisation Schedule sets out the age-appropriate vaccines for children and the AIR Immunisation History Statement will indicate if the child is up to date with their vaccinations.

What if a parent fails to provide the required documents from January 2018?

Principals of child care centres cannot enrol children if the required documents are not provided.

Which children are exempt from the new requirements?

The following are permanently exempt from the new requirements:

• • children who are enrolled in formal schooling (for example, attending before and after school care both on school campuses or externally)

  • services providing education and care to children primarily on an ad hoc, temporary or casual basis (for example, crèches in shopping centres and gyms).

NEWS 10/9/2017

The Public Health Amendment Bill (NSW) 2017, containing a number of health proposals, will soon be discussed and voted on, including one of which is to remove the Conscientious Objection, a legal provision, to allow unvaccinated children to attend a pre-school. Parents who have an existing objection are already financially penalised by the government. If this legislation is passed, parents will not be allowed to enrol their child in any pre-schools, if they are not fully vaccinated. Currently, this same document is presented instead of a vaccination record (if requested) for school entry. The new proposed amendments to the Act will also require that a principal of a school must demand (enforced by law) the vaccination status of every child enrolled at that school. The legislation doesn’t say that unvaccinated children will not be allowed to go to school.  However, the proposed amendments are designed to disempower parents who legally want to say no to vaccinations, without difficulty or coercion from the law makers. Doctors assure parents that there is no link to SIDS, Autism or other neurological events, but many parents are not convinced. Now 1 in 70 children are being diagnosed with autism, parents want the truth and their rights observed!  This proposed legislation is extremely discriminatory and in contradiction of a Report on the Statutory Review of the NSW Public Health Act 2010, which recommended that such measures should not be implemented. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/papers/Pages/tabled-paper-details.aspx?pk=69962

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS OF VACCINE FREE CHILDREN USING CHILDCARE CENTRES IN NSW, PLEASE READ!!!

NSW Government Health Website for up to date and accurate information. Click on link

As the Commonwealth conscientious objection form is no longer available, an Interim vaccination objection form (click on link) for enrolment in NSW child care centres​ has been developed for use during 2016 while the Public Health Act undergoes its scheduled review process. Please note that these interim arrangements apply to children enrolled after 1 January 2016 only. Children who were enrolled in 2015 to commence child care in 2016 do not need to complete the new forms. Children who attend OOSH (Out of School Hours) services both on school campuses or externally are exempt from the vaccination requirements as the children are enrolled in formal schooling. Detailed advice about the enrolment of children in child care from 1 January 2016 and the associated approved forms are available on the NSW Health website. 

A vaccination is NOT compulsory in Australia.  However, coercion and mandatory policies are in place to remove your choice i.e. financial benefits linked to vaccination status of your children, including benefits to Grandparent Child Care Benefit, Special Child Care Benefit or Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance.

IMPORTANT - The Australian Government will continue to refuse liability for any injury, loss or damage from adverse events, including death from vaccinations.

Concerning is that many tax paying families are being punished financially for declining a medical procedure that has many risks, as well as families who decline only some vaccinations that were initially recommended for sexually promiscuous or drug users’ i.e., Hepatitis B vaccinations. Furthermore, although the conscientious objection has been removed to qualify for some Government family assistance income, a doctor would be breaching the law if a parent of a child (under 14 years of age NSW) or adolescent is denied the legal principle to either accept or refuse vaccinations. The Immunisation Handbook Edition 10, 2.1.3 Valid Consent; clearly states that a child can only be vaccinated with a valid consent; hence a doctor vaccinating a child against the wishes of a parent or an adolescent would be breaking the law.

Contrary to the erroneous letters that have been sent out by the Chief Medical Officer and Centrelink, the NIP (Nation Immunisation Program) has nothing to do with “No Jab, No Pay”.

The benefits-linked schedules are not linked to the NIP. They are instead set completely independently by the Minister, pursuant to Section 4 of A New Tax System. (Family Assistance) Act 1999.

These are the two current legislative instruments:

(CCB:) Child Care Benefit (Vaccination Schedules) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 

(FTB Part A supplement:) Family Assistance (Vaccination Schedules) (DSS) Determination 2015

Explanatory Notes DSS 2013.

• New Medical Exemption form – ONLY valid form accepted by ACIR from   1 January 2016, Medical Exemptions either Natural or Contraindication will ONLY be issued by General Practitioners, see definition.

• General Practitioners – Certification from RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners) or the General Practice Recognition Eligibility Committee https://www.ausgovboards.gov.au/boards/general-practice-recognition-eligibility-committee  i.e. registered medical doctors.

•  New medical exemption form is so complex; a doctor may refuse to sign the form even if a child has had a severe allergic reaction to a previous vaccination.

• Medical Exclusion Policy, it is ONLY for Measles and Pertussis

• HPV vaccine is NOT listed on any of the immunistion schedules to receive FTB Part A Supplement, and Hepatitis B does not apply to children born after or on 1 May 2000.

The vaccines that are linked to the benefits that are affected by “No Jab, No Pay” do not include any vaccines that are normally scheduled beyond 4 years of age and they further do not include all of those on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule.

A grace period of 2 months or 63 days to meet vaccination requirements for CCB or CCR.  Family Tax benefit Part A Supplement – Requirements for vaccination are met by the end of financial year. You have 1 year from the end of the financial year to meet the requirements.    

Preschools – From 1 January 2016 (New South Wales) children will be allowed to attend or enrolling into preschool/childcare if they have been fully vaccinated or, on a catch up schedule for vaccinations i.e. doctor advises ACIR of this fact. Social Services Bill (NO Jab, NO Pay) applies to welfare only, NOT entry to preschools i.e. private or Government. Please check with your child care provider in your state regarding their requirements regarding vaccination. 

IMPORTANT (New South Wales): Children will NOT be turned away from government preschools, primary and secondary school because of their vaccination status. Government Preschools are affordable; Rate is about $8 or $12 a day only. http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/types/preschoollist.php

Lastly, Most of the vaccinations on the National Immunisation Program Schedule are linked to both family assistance payments, but not all. There are three schedules for the CCB or CCR and four schedules for the FTB Part A Supplement. From 1 January 2016, immunisation requirements for Family Tax Benefit Part A Supplement are changing and will apply up to the end of the calendar year your child turns 19 years of age.

Note: The Family Tax Benefit Supplement A is worth a maximum of $726 a year per child. The payment ceases once a child has finished school or is on Youth Allowance. 

Patricia Bohackyj BA Dip Ed

Wollongong NSW

16 December 2015

*SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR RELATED FILES RE NO JAB NO PAY POLICY.

Vaccination is NOT Compulsory (Conditions apply i.e. medical, natural immunity or forfeiting child allowances)

VERY IMPORTANT FACTS HIGHLIGHTED BELOW – LIBERAL GOVERNMENT MANDATE TO PRESSURE PARENTS TO VACCINATE THEIR CHILDREN BY WITHHOLDING CHILDCARE ALLOWANCE AND FAMILY TAX BENEFITS IS ILLEGAL!!!!!!  FURTHERMORE, ANY CHILD OR ADOLESCENT CAN REFUSE VACCINATIONS, EVEN IF A GUARDIAN OR PARENT HAS GIVEN CONSENT.

ANY ATTEMPT TO LIMIT OR BAN CHILDREN FROM ATTENDING CHILDCARE, PRESCHOOL OR SCHOOL ON VACCINATION STATUS BY MAKING ACCESS TO EDUCATION CONDITIONAL WILL BE A VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 28 OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, THAT GOVERNMENTS MUST MAKE EDUCATION COMPULSORY AND FREELY AVAILABLE TO ALL.

The Australian Immunisation Handbook 10th Edition 2013

 http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/handbook10-2-1

 2.1.3 Valid consent

Valid consent can be defined as the voluntary agreement by an individual to a proposed procedure, given after sufficient, appropriate and reliable information about the procedure, including the potential risks and benefits, has been conveyed to that individual.2-6 As part of the consent procedure, persons to be vaccinated and/or their parents/carers should be given sufficient information (preferably written) on the risks and benefits of each vaccine, including what adverse events are possible, how common they are and what they should do about them7 (the table inside the front cover of this Handbook, Side effects following immunisation for vaccines used in the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule, can be used for this purpose).

For consent to be legally valid, the following elements must be present:6,8

1. It must be given by a person with legal capacity, and of sufficient intellectual capacity to understand the implications of being vaccinated.

2. It must be given voluntarily in the absence of undue pressure, coercion or manipulation.

3. It must cover the specific procedure that is to be performed.

4. It can only be given after the potential risks and benefits of the relevant vaccine, risks of not having it and any alternative options have been explained to the individual.

The individual must have sufficient opportunity to seek further details or explanations about the vaccine(s) and/or its administration. The information must be provided in a language or by other means the individual can understand. Where appropriate, an interpreter and/or cultural support person should be involved.

Consent should be obtained before each vaccination, once it has been established that there are no medical condition(s) that contraindicate vaccination. Consent can be verbal or written. Immunisation providers should refer to their state or territory’s policies on obtaining written consent (see Appendix 1 Contact details for Australian, state and territory government health authorities and communicable disease control).

Consent on behalf of a child or adolescent

In general, a parent or legal guardian of a child has the authority to consent to vaccination of that child; however, it is important to check with your state or territory authority where any doubt exists.2,5 A child in this context is defined as being under the age of 18 years in Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia; under the age of 14 years in New South Wales; and under the age of 16 years in the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Queensland follows common law principles.

For certain procedures, including vaccination, persons younger than the ages defined above may have sufficient maturity to understand the proposed procedure and the risks and benefits associated with it, and thus may have the capacity to consent under certain circumstances. Refer to the relevant state or territory immunisation service provider guidelines for more information.

Should a child or adolescent refuse a vaccination for which a parent/guardian has given consent, the child/adolescent’s wishes should be respected and the parent/guardian informed.2

The Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister

The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Social Services

The Commonwealth Government will end the conscientious objector exemption on children’s vaccination for access to taxpayer funded Child Care Benefits, the Child Care Rebate and the Family Tax Benefit Part A end of year supplement from 1 January 2016.

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.

From 1 January 2016, ‘conscientious objection’ will be removed as an exemption category for child care payments (Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate) and the Family Tax Benefit Part A end of year supplement.

Immunisation requirements for the payment of FTB Part A end-of-year supplement will also be extended to include children of all ages. Currently, vaccination status is only checked at ages 1, 2 and 5 years.

Existing exemptions on medical or religious grounds will continue, however a religious objection will only be available where the person is affiliated with a religious groups where the governing body has a formally registered objection approved by the Government.

This means that vaccine objectors will not be able to access these government payments.

The new policy will tighten up the rules and reinforce the importance of immunisation and protecting public health, especially for children.

Australia now has childhood vaccination rates over 90 per cent, from one to five years of age, but more needs to be done to ensure we protect our children and our community from preventable diseases.

While vaccination rates in Australia had increased since the Childhood Immunisation Register was established by the Howard Government in 1996, vaccine objection rates for children under the age of seven had also increased steadily, especially under the conscientious objector category.

The vast majority of FTB families meet the current immunisation requirement at relevant age points (around 97 per cent).

However more than 39,000 children aged under seven are not vaccinated because their parents are vaccine objectors. This is an increase of more than 24,000 children over 10 years.

The Government is extremely concerned at the risk this poses to other young children and the broader community.

The choice made by families not to immunise their children is not supported by public policy or medical research nor should such action be supported by taxpayers in the form of child care payments.

Click on image, print A4 Zine and share information!

A website from USA, where you can check out all the labels on vaccines and who manufactures them

http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm

8 January, 2012  Important information -  DO NOT BE MISLED!

Vaccination in Australia is NOT compulsory, there are legal provisions that already exist, and still available, for parents who refuse to vaccinate their child with either a conscientious objection, religious, and or for medical reasons (Medicare form). However, the government does use coercive policies to mandate vaccinations by linking the status of vaccinations of children with Centrelink payments.  The biggest changes to the mandating of vaccinations in Australia, is that the government is again adding more vaccines to the already “over weighted” immunisation schedule. There are now 16 diseases that can be vaccinated for, a new combination vaccine, measles, mumps, rubella and varicella to be introduced in 2013, and Meningococcal C, Varicella “Chicken Pox” and Pneumococcal will also be included in the list, and needed for a child to be recognised as fully immunised from 1 July 2013.  There are also more check points, at 2 years, and 5 years, and including the existing 12 months from 1 July 2012.  No child can be legally refused entry to school because of their vaccination status; some measures are used to exclude unvaccinated children during certain outbreaks of diseases but the Health Department needs serological testing before these measures can be taken.  

Patricia Bohackyj, Healthy Families of Illawarra   

Daily Telegraph (30/11/2011), page 2 ‘Parents immunised against hollow threat’, which I was interviewed for by Kat Sikora. The government has not created a loop hole for parents who objected to vaccinations; it is an intended exemption provision that already exists for parents, who either have a conscientious objection, religious, and or for medical reasons.  Otherwise, the government is seen as creating a quasi-legal situation, where an outcome is not intended.  This is not the case, as the provision is intended. However, the government uses coercive policies to mandate vaccinations but linking the status of vaccinations of children with Centrelink payments.  I was quoted as an anti-vaccinator; I said that I was the coordinator of Healthy Families of Illawarra.  Also, a conscientious objector form is signed by a health care provider, either a doctor or registered nurse (clinic nurse). If a doctor refuses to sign it, then a Stat. Declaration stating this will suffice. 

Click on article to open.

Note, I have written to the Chief of Staf Lillian Seleh, to address and correct these errors in her paper.

26/11/2011  No Need to panic! The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon making changes to Family and Maternity Allowances but exemptions for vaccination, both conscientious and for medical reasons will continue to be accepted for all family tax benefits- tell others, and don't be misled!

  http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/information/strengthening-immunisation-for-children

 Question: What exemptions will be available for the new immunisation conditions which will allow me to access the Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement?

 Answer: Existing exemptions will continue to be available. A child may have a temporary or permanent exemption if a recognised immunisation provider advises against vaccination based on medical reasons. A child may also receive an exemption from the immunisation requirements if a recognised immunisation provider indicates that the parent has a conscientious objection to immunising their child.

 These exemptions will also continue for Child Care Benefit.

VACCINATION IS NOT COMPULSORY

Childcare centres, service providers, and schools, are misleading parents over the issue of vaccinating their children.  Also importantly, the government has been slow to rectify this misinformation.

Both vaccinating and non-vaccinating parents are ‘equally’ entitled to child care assistance, and fee relief.  Vaccination exemptions; either Medical, religious, conscientious or through natural immunity, are included in Maternity and Child Care Payment Acts 1997, and 1998.

School is compulsory, vaccination is NOT. In fact, it is normal and beneficial, for children to have these early childhood diseases.  “Suppressing measles fever and rash by vaccination leads to cancer and degenerative diseases of bone and cartilage” Lancet September, 1985.  It was also reported that a bout of Measles during childhood, may help to prevent Asthma. Consequently, these early childhood diseases are there ‘to prime and mature’ the children’s immune systems.

You are not bound to have your child vaccinated, for them to be eligible to attend school. A vaccination certificate may be demanded, but is not essential.  You can present the blue book, and they may photocopy the relevant pages at the back.

If you choose NOT to vaccinate you child, then your doctor or Health Care nurse (immunisation provider) will fill in a simple form, at your request, which is called the ‘Declaration of Exemption from Vaccination’.  This form will advise Centrelink and Medicare about your decision not to vaccinate your child. And that your doctor or nurse has discussed this issue with you the parent, or guardian. 

Print copy of Medicare Australia/ACIR Conscientious Objector Form.

Alternately, you can lodge a Statutory Declaration form (available at newsagencies).  On the form declare who you are, child's name and details, your decision NOT to vaccinate and Medicare number.  Lodge or fax the Statutory Declaration form (signed by a Justice of Peace) to the Medicare Office Fax (03) 6281-0555 or post Medicate Australia, GPO Box 295, Hobart TAX 7001, or your nearest Medicare Office. This means that if your doctor and/or health nurse refuses to sign the form,  you have another option, so that you can still receive all Centrelink Childcare and family entitlements.  Medicare will ONLY accept a Statutory Declaration form if you now also provide the names of  at least two doctors that refused to sign the Conscientious Objector Form (as per telephone discussion, June 2007).  

Outbreaks of measles or whooping cough are of particular concern to the Health Department.  There is one particular ‘safeguard’ that has been emplaced deliberately to try to enforce vaccination. Which is, if there is a confirmed report of either disease at a school or childcare facility, then there maybe a two week (or more) exclusion period imposed, from school, for any unvaccinated child.

But Note. The Health Department ONLY, and not the school, can enforce this rule. In some cases the initial diagnoses has been wrong, with children being removed from school unnecessarily. Pathology testing is required to enforce this exclusion.

The government blue book lists very little information, and excludes details about the individual vaccines. This important information can be sourced from  www.visainfo.org.au  or  you can find this information in the MIMS book (accessible at doctors and pharmacies).

P & C  Bohackyj

Healthy Families of Illawarra

A contact for Vaccination Information SA http://www.visainfo.org.au

Mobile 0422 933 993