Parents who oppose vaccinations on conscientious grounds won’t allowed to enrol their children at New South Wales childcare centres under legislation to be introduced by the state opposition.
Labor leader Luke Foley announced the policy on Sunday and said the legislation, set to be introduced this week, would plug the loophole which had allowed specialist anti-vaccination childcare centres to be set up.
The changes won’t affect children who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, such as a specialised cancer treatment.
“We need to be encouraging vaccinations not discouraging them,” Foley said in a statement.
“Vaccinations are the only way to protect against serious diseases like polio, mumps, whooping cough, meningococcal, diphtheria and tetanus.”
Foley said his plan would also cover family day care operations.
The announcement comes after an unvaccinated NSW girl was diagnosed with tetanus earlier this month. It’s believed the seven-year-old picked up the disease through an open wound on her foot while playing in the garden of her northern NSW home.
The case prompted renewed debate in the north coast region, which has some of the lowest immunisation rates in Australia.
Unvaccinated children would be barred from childcare in NSW under new proposals
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