Nearly half of all families targeted with ‘no jab, no pay’ warning letters in the past year have responded by bringing their children’s vaccinations up-to-date, the Federal Government claims.

The government contacted the families of about 350,000 children in the 12 months to June 2019 to notify them that they did not meet the immunisation requirements for Family Tax Benefit Part A and were at risk of having their fortnightly payment reduced by $29.

The notifications led to almost 174,000 children being fully immunised, according to Minister for Social Services Anne Ruston.

“We will be continuing with this program to try to encourage anybody whose child that isn’t vaccinated to get them vaccinated because it’s in the best interests of the child, it’s in the best interest of the community,” she said on Sunday.