25 November 2011 - On the 25th November, the Commonwealth announced multiple changes to immunisation in Australia, summarised below. (For frequently asked questions and answers, see Immunisation - Resources)
· Maternity Immunisation Allowance ($129) paid to parents of children fully immunised at 2 and 5 years - to be removed July 2012
· Family Tax Benefit A ($726/child) to be linked to immunisation ($726 is paid at the end of the financial year when parents submit their tax return. From July 2012, in the financial year that a child turns 1, 2 or 5 years of age, it will only be paid for that child if he/she is fully immunised, on a recognised catch-up schedule, or the parents have signed a confidentiality form.
· MMRV (Priorix-Tetra) to be given at 18 months of age instead of current Varicella vaccine (18 months) and MMR Dose 2 (4 years). MMR Dose 1 will still be given at 12 months of age – from July 2013.
· Meningococcal, pneumococcal and Varicella vaccines will all be required for a child to be considered fully immunised (they are currently not included in the assessments) – from July 2013.
· New whooping cough campaign to be implemented. The number of reported cases in Australia has risen from 4864 in 2007 to 34,785 in 2010.