FTB Immunisation Requirements: Keeping Your Family Payments Compliant

Australia's "No Jab, No Pay" policy links immunisation compliance to family assistance payments including Family Tax Benefit Part A. For your children to be considered eligible for FTB payments, they must meet immunisation requirements or have an approved exemption. Understanding these requirements helps ensure your family maintains full payment eligibility while protecting your children's health.

Understanding No Jab, No Pay

The No Jab, No Pay policy was introduced to increase childhood vaccination rates across Australia. Under this policy, children must meet immunisation requirements to be eligible for the Family Tax Benefit Part A end-of-year supplement. While your regular fortnightly FTB Part A payments continue regardless of immunisation status, you may lose the annual supplement if your children are not up to date.

The FTB Part A supplement is a significant amount, currently up to $91.90 per child per year. For a family with three children, losing this supplement means missing out on over $275 annually. Beyond the financial impact, immunisation protects your children and the broader community from preventable diseases.

Services Australia automatically checks your children's immunisation status through the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). When your myGov account is linked to both Centrelink and the AIR, this verification happens seamlessly. If there's a mismatch, you'll be notified so you can address the issue.

The National Immunisation Schedule

Australia's National Immunisation Program provides free vaccines at scheduled ages from birth through to adulthood. For FTB purposes, children need to be immunised according to this schedule or be on an approved catch-up program. The schedule includes vaccinations at birth, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 4 years.

Each age checkpoint has specific vaccines required. For example, at 2 months old, babies receive their first doses of vaccines protecting against diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B, and more. Missing these scheduled vaccines can affect your immunisation status for FTB purposes.

The schedule continues with booster doses at 4 years old and additional vaccines for adolescents. Children under 20 years of age who are included in your FTB claim must meet the immunisation requirements for their age. This includes teenagers receiving vaccines for HPV, meningococcal disease, and other conditions.

Checking Your Child's Immunisation Status

You can check your child's immunisation status through several channels. The easiest method is through your myGov account linked to the Australian Immunisation Register. Here you can view an Immunisation History Statement showing all recorded vaccinations and whether your child meets the requirements.

Alternatively, you can request an immunisation statement from Medicare by calling or visiting a service centre. Your child's vaccination provider can also access the AIR to confirm their status. Keep in mind that vaccinations can take up to 10 business days to appear on the register after being administered.

If a vaccination is missing from the register despite being given, contact your vaccination provider to ensure they reported it correctly. Healthcare providers are required to report all vaccinations to the AIR within 24 hours of administration. Errors can usually be corrected by providing evidence of the vaccination.

Catch-Up Programs and Overdue Vaccines

If your child has missed scheduled vaccinations, they can undertake a catch-up program to become compliant. The catch-up schedule varies depending on the child's age and which vaccines were missed. Your GP or immunisation provider can develop an appropriate catch-up schedule tailored to your child.

Children on a registered catch-up program are considered to meet immunisation requirements for FTB purposes, even before completing all the catch-up vaccines. The key is that the catch-up program is documented on the AIR and the child is actively progressing through it.

Catch-up vaccines are available free of charge through the National Immunisation Program until certain ages. After those ages, some vaccines may need to be purchased. Speak with your healthcare provider about the most cost-effective approach to catching up on missed vaccinations.

Medical Exemptions

In some cases, children cannot be immunised due to medical reasons. Valid medical exemptions include having a medical condition that makes vaccination dangerous, having a natural immunity to a disease, or having previously had a severe reaction to a vaccine. These exemptions must be certified by a GP or immunisation provider.

Medical exemptions are recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register and automatically satisfy the immunisation requirements for FTB purposes. The exemption may be temporary or permanent depending on the medical circumstances. Temporary exemptions need to be renewed when they expire.

It's important to note that conscientious objection is not a valid exemption for FTB purposes. The No Jab, No Pay policy removed the conscientious objector exemption that previously existed. Parents who choose not to vaccinate for non-medical reasons will not receive the FTB Part A supplement for those children.

What Happens If Your Child Isn't Compliant

If your child doesn't meet immunisation requirements and has no approved exemption or catch-up program, the main impact is losing the FTB Part A supplement at the end of the financial year. Your regular fortnightly FTB Part A payments continue, but you won't receive the additional supplement amount during reconciliation.

Services Australia will notify you if your child's immunisation status affects your payments. You typically receive a grace period to bring your child's immunisations up to date or to register them on a catch-up program. Taking action during this grace period can restore your supplement eligibility.

Once your child becomes compliant, their immunisation status is updated on the AIR, and this flows through to Centrelink. Future FTB Part A supplements will be paid as normal, though supplements lost for previous periods when the child was non-compliant cannot be recovered.

Key Takeaways

• Immunisation compliance is required for the FTB Part A end-of-year supplement
• The National Immunisation Schedule sets out required vaccines by age
• Check your child's status through myGov linked to the AIR
• Catch-up programs count as meeting requirements while in progress
• Medical exemptions are valid; conscientious objection is not
• Only the supplement is affected, not regular fortnightly FTB payments

Meeting immunisation requirements is straightforward for most families who follow the standard vaccination schedule. If you're behind on vaccinations, starting a catch-up program quickly restores your FTB Part A supplement eligibility. The system is designed to be practical while encouraging immunisation for the health benefits it provides to individual children and the broader community.