These diseases are on the rise. 80,000 children are unprotected

Childhood vaccination coverage has fallen for the fifth year in a row, leaving tens of thousands of children unprotected against a resurgence in preventable diseases, including measles and whooping cough.

The trend has alarmed experts who warn Australia has not seen worse vaccination coverage for more than a decade.

“We’re really at a crisis point now,” said Margie Danchin, a professor of paediatrics and vaccinology at The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and a co-lead on the national vaccination insights project.

“I just hope that it’s not going to take the death of children and young people for us to really act on this situation.”

The proportion of fully vaccinated one-year-olds fell to 90.5 per cent in 2025, down more than 4 percentage points from five years ago, analysis released by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance on Wednesday reveals.

Coverage rates for two-year-olds and five-year-olds have also declined significantly.

The decline means at least 80,000 children under the age of five are not fully protected against resurgent but entirely preventable infectious diseases.

Australia is battling its biggest rise in whooping cough (pertussis) cases in 35 years, leading to infant deaths for the first time in about a decade.

The 181 measles cases recorded in Australia last year were triple the number recorded in 2024. NSW is on track to record the state’s highest number of measles cases since 2019, with 37 cases already this year – mostly in the Sydney region.

Danchin said the decline in immunisation coverage could not be blamed solely on vaccine-hesitant or “anti-vax” parents, although survey data currently under journal review shows there was a marked increase in these concerns between 2024 and 2025.

“There are a lot of parents who have been influenced by what’s been going in on in the US, by the Trump administration and RFK Jr [US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr],” she said.

There is a larger number of partially vaccinated children whose parents say they struggle to afford or find an appointment to get their child immunised in time.

“That’s pretty shocking when you think that in Australia, these vaccines are free,” Danchin said.

Danchin said particular communities, such as the NSW Northern Rivers and some suburbs of Perth, had even lower vaccine coverage. First Nations children and children with a disability enrolled in special schools were also less likely to be fully vaccinated.

In a blow to efforts to eliminate cervical cancer, the proportion of 15-year-olds vaccinated for HPV has fallen to 78.7 per cent for girls and 75.6 per cent for boys – short of the national 90 per cent target.

Danchin said declining school attendance since COVID, workforce shortages, and the reduction in HPV vaccination from two doses to one have combined to reduce opportunities for teenagers to be immunised.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the decline was alarming, and the government was spending $600 million to supply 31 vaccines covering 18 preventable diseases through the National Immunisation Program.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.