National survey shows declining vaccine confidence among parents

The survey of 2,012 parents assessed 15 common barriers to vaccinating children under 5 years of age and compared results with 2024 data.

Responses received indicate that there is lower parental vaccine confidence in 2025 compared with 2024, and that there has been a shift in the factors influencing vaccination decisions for parents of partially vaccinated children.

In particular, more parents of partially vaccinated children (4.1% of the survey sample) were likely to be influenced by concerns about vaccine safety rather than practical issues like travel or cost.
 

A shift in factors influencing parental decision-making

Although the survey shows parents still face practical challenges, such as the cost of vaccination and getting to appointments, the results indicate these issues are no longer the main drivers of missed or delayed childhood vaccinations in 2025. 

It also highlighted the potential role of international vaccine commentary in shaping parental attitudes in Australia.

The study’s authors emphasise the importance of strengthening trust, supporting healthcare providers to address concerns and ensuring accessible, responsive vaccination services.
 

Barriers to vaccination in 2025

The most reported parental barriers to vaccinating children in 2025 was feeling distressed about vaccinating (32%).

This was followed by:

• not trusting information from a doctor or nurse (8.8%)
• not being able to afford costs associated with vaccination (8.6%)
• not prioritising vaccination appointments (8.6%)
• concerns about vaccine safety (8.3%)
• difficulty getting an appointment (7.7%).
   

Key differences for partially vaccinated children

Parents of partially vaccinated children were more likely than parents of up‑to‑date children to report:

• negative beliefs about vaccine safety (54.9% vs 4.7%)
• lack of trust in vaccine information from a doctor or nurse (50.9% vs 5.4%)
• not prioritising vaccination (46.4% vs 5.6%).
   

Findings for unvaccinated children

Among parents reporting their child was completely unvaccinated (2.2% of the sample), differences were even more pronounced, particularly negative beliefs about vaccine safety (88.3% vs 4.7%) and the belief that vaccination does not protect others (84.3% vs 3.1%).  
 

Next steps

Insights from the project will help guide strategies and interventions that support parental decision‑making, reduce the influence of mis‑ and disinformation, and improve access through convenient and affordable services.

Access the full study

Access the key findings summary
 

The National Vaccination Insights project is a collaboration between Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, NCIRS and the University of Sydney Social and Behavioural Insights in Immunisation research group.