2025 national survey – childhood vaccination barriers in Australia Key findings summary This page presents key findings from the National Vaccination Insights project survey of 2,012 parents of children under 5 years of age. The study was conducted by NCIRS and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute to examine 15 common access and acceptance barriers to childhood vaccination. Responses were then compared with the results from the 2024 survey.Access barriers are practical factors that make it difficult for parents to vaccinate their child, even when they want to. Acceptance barriers are beliefs or concerns that reduce parents’ confidence or willingness to vaccinate their child.Jump to sectionKey messagesPrevalence of childhood vaccination barriers in 2025Barriers most strongly associated with partial vaccination in 2025Barriers most strongly associated with not vaccinating in 2025Changes in barriers to childhood vaccination between 2024 and 2025 Key messagesAcceptance barriers increased in 2025 and became more strongly associated with partial childhood vaccination than access barriersThe most common acceptance barrier in 2025 was negative beliefs about the safety of vaccines The second most common acceptance barrier in 2025 was lack of trust in vaccine information from healthcare providers Access barriers remained relatively stable between 2024 and 2025Access comprehensive findings from the survey (pre-print) Prevalence of childhood vaccination barriers in 2025 Prevalence of 15 common access and acceptance vaccination barriers reported by all parents, and parents of up-to-date, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated children in 2025. Barriers most strongly associated with partial vaccination in 2025To understand why some children are not fully vaccinated, we compared barriers to childhood vaccination for parents of partially vaccinated children and parents of up-to-date children. All 11 acceptance barriers and nearly all access barriers were more common among parents of partially vaccinated children than parents of up-to-date children. Top 3 barriers associated with partial childhood vaccination Barriers most strongly associated with not vaccinating in 2025To understand why some children are not vaccinated at all, we compared barriers to childhood vaccination for parents of unvaccinated children and parents of up-to-date children. All 11 acceptance barriers were more common among parents of unvaccinated children than parents of up-to-date children. Top 3 barriers associated with childhood non-vaccination Changes in barriers to childhood vaccination between 2024 and 2025To understand whether barriers to childhood vaccination are becoming more or less common over time, we compared responses of all surveyed parents in 2024 with all surveyed parents in 2025. Acceptance barriers that were more common in 2025 than 2024Not believing vaccines are safe: 6.0% → 8.3% Not trusting information about vaccines from doctor/nurse: 6.4% → 8.8% Acceptance barriers that were less common in 2025 than 2024Feeling distressed about vaccinating: 60.2% → 32.0%† Not believing vaccinating on time is my responsibility: 4.3% → 2.0% Access barriers that were less common in 2025 than 2024* Not being able to afford costs associated with vaccinating: 11.0% → 8.6% Finding it difficult to travel to a vaccination appointment: 5.2% → 2.9% Other barriers were relatively similar from year to year.*No access barriers increased in prevalence between 2024 and 2025.†This overall decrease reflected reduced prevalence among parents of up-to-date children between 2024 and 2025. Access comprehensive findings from the survey (pre-print)Back to childhood vaccination insights 1101 views
