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Australian parents continue to show their confidence in vaccinations, with record rates of childhood immunisations in the first quarter of 2021.
For the fourth consecutive quarter, the coverage rate for five year olds has increased to a historic 95.22 per cent.
This surpasses our national aspiration of 95 per cent, and gives Australia the herd immunity needed to stop the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
It is also well above the estimated World Health Organization international average immunisation coverage rate of 86 per cent for five year olds, making Australia a world leading vaccination nation.
Each year, the Australian Government invests more than $400 million in the National Immunisation Program.
The Childhood Immunisation Education Campaign contributed to the growth in immunisation rates across the country, including in areas where there has been some vaccination hesitancy.
Across Australia, the coverage rate for one year olds has increased to 94.91 per cent for the 12 months to March 2021. Two year old children have a coverage rate of 92.53 per cent.
The highest coverage rate continues to be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at five years of age – an impressive 97.26 per cent.
The vaccination rate for two year old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children increased to 91.73 per cent, while for one year olds it was 93.70 per cent.
These high childhood coverage rates also reflect the trend of the 2020 influenza season, where more than 17.6 million flu vaccines were made available on the Australian market, including through the National Immunisation Program.
It’s particularly pleasing to see immunisation rates climbing as Australia and the world continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parents continue to show their confidence in the expert medical advice and in Australia’s independent medical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, to protect their children.

To cut the cost of living for around a quarter of a million families and to help boost workforce participation, the Morrison Government will make an additional $1.7 billion investment in child care as part of the 2021-22 Budget.
The investment will add up to 300,000 hours of work per week which would allow the equivalent of around 40,000 individuals to work an extra day per week and boost the level of GDP by up to $1.5 billion per year.
The changes deliberately target low and middle income earners with around half the families set to benefit having a household income under $130,000.
Importantly it lowers the structural disincentive to take on an additional day or two of work for many families.
For example, under the Government’s changes, a single parent on $65, 500 with two children in four days of long day care who chooses to work a fifth day will be $71 a week better off compared to the current system.
Under the current arrangements the maximum child care subsidy payable is 85 per cent of child care fees. The level of child care subsidy is also tapered so that those families that earn the least receive the most.
These subsidies apply at the same rate per child, no matter how many children a family may have in child care. As a result, for families with more than one child in care this means that their child care costs double when they have a second child.
Additionally, families with combined incomes above $189,390 face a child care subsidy cap of $10,560 per child per year. As a result, these families start paying full fees towards the end of the year which reduces their incentive to participate in the workforce.
As part of the 2021-22 Budget, and starting on 1 July 2022 the Government will:

• Increase the child care subsidies available to families with more than one child aged five and under in child care, benefitting around 250,000 families
• Remove the $10,560 cap on the Child Care Subsidy, benefitting around 18,000 families

For those families with more than one child in child care, the level of subsidy received will increase by 30 percent to a maximum subsidy of 95 per cent of fees paid for their second and subsequent children.
These changes will ensure half of Australian families will receive a 95 per cent subsidy for their second and subsequent children.
Under these changes, a family earning $110,000 a year will have the subsidy for their second child increase from 72 to 95 per cent, and would be $95 per week better off for four days of care.
A family with three children on $80,000 would have the subsidy increase from 82 to 95 per cent for their second and third child and be $108 per week better off for four days of care.
The Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the investment builds on the $10.3 billion the government is already investing in child care this year.
“These changes strengthen our economy and at the same time provide greater choice to parents who want to work an extra day or two a week.”
“This is a targeted and proportionate investment that simultaneously makes child care more affordable, increases workforce participation and boosts the Australian economy by up to $1.5 billion per year.”
Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said the measures would further ease the cost of child care and encourage workforce participation, particularly for larger families.
“Our child care system provides the most support to those who need it most,” Minister Tudge said.
“These measures will help remove the barriers for parents, particularly mothers, to return to the workforce or to increase their hours, as their family grows.”
The measures build on the Morrison Government’s 2018 Child Care Package which has kept out-of-pocket child care costs low for Australian families.
There are now 280,000 more children using child care than when we came to office
Minister Payne said this significant investment in the Child Care Subsidy would mean there is greater choice for Australian women and men as they balance their family and work responsibilities.
“For women in particular, it opens the door for those choosing to work or to work more, which is critical to their own economic security and a prosperous Australian economy,”
“Increasing the Child Care Subsidy is an important measure that will help reduce the disincentives for women to participate in the workforce to the full extent they choose.”
Minister for Women’s Economic Security Jane Hume said these measures will see more women back in the workforce sooner, helping to further close the pay and participation gaps.
“The measures announced today are specific and targeted; designed to help women who have had a second child return to the workforce so they can continue to progress their own careers and contribute to Australia’s economy.”
BENEFIT FOR FAMILIES WITH TWO CHILDREN IN CHILD CARE FOUR DAYS

Family income	Current out of pocket child care cost per week	Current subsidy	New 2nd child subsidy	Future out of pocket child care cost per week	Total better off per week
$40,000	$124.60	85%	95%	$83.20	$41.60
$80,000	$149.18	82%	95%	$95.39	$53.79
$110,000	$232.38	72%	95%	$136.99	$95.39
$140,000	$315.58	62%	92%	$190.78	$124.80
$180,000	$416.00	50%	80%	$291.20	$124.80

*Based on: average hourly centre-based day care rate of $10.40 per hour for a 10-hour session

Small brewers and distillers will benefit from $255 million in tax relief to support more jobs and investment as part of the 2021-22 Budget.
Under our plan to support jobs in this growing sector, small brewers and distillers will benefit from a tripling of the excise refund cap for small brewers and distillers from $100,000 to $350,000 per year.
From 1 July 2021 eligible brewers and distillers will be able to receive a full remission of any excise they pay, up to an annual cap of $350,000. Currently, eligible brewers and distillers are entitled to a refund of 60 per cent of the excise they pay, up to an annual cap of $100,000.
This will align the benefit available under the Excise Refund Scheme for brewers and distillers with the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) Producer Rebate.
There are around 600 brewers and 400 distillers across Australia, with around two thirds operating in rural and regional areas. The announced changes will allow these brewers and distillers to keep more of what they earn, helping them to invest, grow and support around 15,000 Australians that are currently employed in the sector.
Additional support to brewers and distillers across the country will also serve as much-needed relief for those businesses severely impacted by COVID-19.
Today’s announcement builds on the Morrison Government’s track record of supporting small brewers and distillers including by enabling them to automatically receive excise duty remissions when they lodge excise returns; providing them with record investment incentives; and fast tracking the reduction in the small company tax rate to 25 per cent by 1 July 2021.
The Morrison Government is committed to assisting local manufacturing businesses to grow, create jobs and support Australia’s economic recovery.

Greens MPs today are calling on the Federal Government to step up and redouble its efforts for the people of India and provide much needed assistance as the country battles millions of current cases.
India is currently facing a tragic second wave of COVID19 with a record 349,691 new cases on Sunday and 2,767 deaths. Hospitals are running out of medical supplies including oxygen and basic medicines, there aren’t enough hospital beds or ventilators. Cremation and burial sites are over capacity for the first time in recent memory.
Australia has announced it will send oxygen, ventilators and personal protective equipment to India as part of an immediate support package.
The Australian Government must engage with the Indian diaspora in Australia to continue to assess ongoing needs and ensure relief is comprehensive, sustained and delivered with utmost transparency.
The following list of urgent needs has been provided by Mercy Mission (MM) which is a coalition of NGOs based in Bengaluru that has come together to fight COVID.
1) Liquid Oxygen Cylinders and Jumbo cylinders which can be used by hospitals to increase procurement and use as demand has increased 4 to 5 fold and there is low transport and storage capacity at hospitals. As per reports, there is adequate generation capacity of Oxygen in industries, but the supply chain and transport / storage equipment is inadequate which will help immediately ease the situation.
2) Oxygen Concentrators of capacity 5L to 10L per min, which can be used by individuals in their homes.
3) Oxygen generating plants of sizes of 1KL that can be installed at individual hospitals and related equipment to build/ install the same.
4) Ventilators (invasive and non-invasive) and HFNC (High flow nasal cannula) machines that can be distributed to small hospitals to address critical patients.
5) At this moment, there is a shortage of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab medicines, which are being prescribed by doctors for moderate/ severe patients resulting in high demand.
Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said:
“We in Australia are in the unique situation of having COVID-19 well under control, and we should use this opportunity to help others.
“I’ve worked closely with groups from the Indian diaspora in Australia and they’re so distressed about what’s happening there and are calling on Australia to step up.
 
NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge said:
“Australia talks big about the relationship with India when it comes to trade, this needs to extend to providing support when it is so desperately needed.
“In recognition of the risk of the crisis there, the Government has acted to limit arrivals from India but this must be balanced with a hand outstretched to help.
“Our assistance with oxygen, ventilators and medication right now could save thousands of lives, communities here deserve to know we have done what we can,” Mr Shoebridge said.

The Government will implement a temporary pause on travellers from India entering Australian territory if the passenger has been in India within 14 days of the person’s time of departure.
The temporary pause follows today’s meeting of National Cabinet and was based on advice about the worsening COVID-19 situation in India. The pause will come into effect at 12:01 am on Monday, 3 May 2021.
The risk assessment that informed the decision was based on the proportion of overseas travellers in quarantine in Australia who have acquired a COVID-19 infection in India.
Failure to comply with an emergency determination under the Biosecurity Act 2015 may incur a civil penalty of 300 penalty units, five years’ imprisonment, or both.
The temporary pause will be reconsidered on 15 May by the Government following advice from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The CMO will consider the epidemiology in India and likely impacts on Australia’s quarantine capacity, and provide a further expert assessment of the public health risk to Australia to inform a proportionate response.
The Government does not make these decisions lightly. However, it is critical the integrity of the Australian public health and quarantine systems is protected and the number of COVID-19 cases in quarantine facilities is reduced to a manageable level.
India has been reporting more than 300,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day for the past week. The total number of cases in India is now close to 19 million and more than 200,000 people have died.
Our hearts go out to the people of India – and our Indian-Australian community. The friends and family of those in Australia are in extreme risk. Tragically, many are contracting COVID-19 and many, sadly, are dying every day.
Following consultation with the Indian Government, Australia has agreed to provide emergency medical supplies.
The initial package of support includes more than 1,000 non-invasive ventilators, with capacity to deploy up to a total of 3,000 ventilators.
The Government has offered to supply a significant package of personal protective equipment (PPE), including one million surgical masks, 500,000 P2/N95 masks, 100,000 surgical gowns, 100,000 goggles, 100,000 pairs of gloves and 20,000 face shields.

The Greens say that quarantine will be part of managing the pandemic for the foreseeable future and purpose built facilities should be built now.
“The Western Australian Government needs to urgently close the quarantine hotels that have been identified as high risk and improve other areas of its approach to quarantine. These hotels are not fit for purpose and we cannot go any longer using these sub-par facilities that can result in outbreaks.
“Hotels were never made to be medical facilities. While they may have been an emergency solution, we are now over a year into this pandemic and making the same mistakes over and over again.
“Mr McGowan went to the election on a promise of keeping Western Australians safe. At the moment our safety is in jeopardy if we don’t fix hotel quarantine. This is a state and national responsibility.
“There is no doubt that airborne transmission is playing a role in hotel quarantine outbreaks. The Federal Government must urgently update its own guidelines to recommend minimum ventilation and PPE standards that reflect the scientific evidence.
“It’s not good enough after the outbreak in WA last week that we still don’t have updated guidelines. Nor is it sensible to have Covid positive people near other people in quarantine, they shouldn’t be next door, on the same floor and ideally not in the same hotel.
“Under questioning at the Senate Select Committee into COVID-19 last night, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners confirmed that people over 50 years old who have underlying health conditions, including a history of blood clots, can get AstraZeneca. There is a good body of evidence that there are no underlying health conditions that predispose people to the rare side effect of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome.
“The Commonwealth Government must urgently update its messaging and play a role in addressing vaccine hesitancy, particularly amongst those who are hesitant because of discussions about the risks of blood clot.
“Australia clearly needs a no-fault vaccine compensation scheme to help increase vaccine confidence and secure other vaccine deals. Having such a scheme in place will ensure people don’t need to pursue compensation through the legal system in the rare event of adverse side effects.”