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‘Anti-vax only’ child care centres on the rise

Vaccine-free childcare centres are advertising to parents who will be cut off from subsidies under the no jab, no play pro-vaccination penalty.

A child who is not fully vaccinated will not have their childcare subsidised under rules introduced by Social Services Minister Scott Morrison in April to scrap exemptions for anti-vaccine conscientious objectors.

Parents of unvaccinated children would not receive the childcare benefit, childcare rebate and the family tax benefit part A end of year supplement.

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New operators in Sydney and Melbourne have begun advertising on Facebook to seek enrolments for anti-vaccine or vaccine-free childcare centres, the Guardian reported.

Prices for a minimum eight hours will be $56 at a Dromana-based centre on the fringe of Melbourne, the Guardian reported, the centre will begin taking bookings on June 22.

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A US whooping cough vaccination program.

“I’ve got things all set up in our new place,” the organiser of the Dromana centre wrote, adding that she would be advertising only through Facebook and word of mouth.

The Sydney organiser, who the Guardian reported is going through the process of registering her business, said her centre would begin running next year.

“So excited! I will be up and running by next year! Vax free kids welcomed with open arms! There’s a high chance of a mud kitchen being built!” the Guardian reported her saying on social media.

She said her centre would get some income tax breaks for business expenses “I wouldn’t be in it for the money. I think the only benefit is I can claim a lot of tax, e.g. internet, part of my bills”.

The news sparked fears the children would be driven into parallel societies where being unvaccinated excludes them from many Australian schools.

Early Childhood Australia chief executive Samantha Page told the Guardian she feared the children would be driven underground because of the government’s policy.

“Unvaccinated children has been a concern to some providers for some time because of the risk some of these diseases pose to pregnant women, as a lot of women work in the industry,” she said.

The Victorian Government is introducing its own policy which forces children to be fully immunised before they can be enrolled in childcare.

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