Fewer kids immunised

AUSTRALIAN children are falling behind in immunisation rates while facing rising rates of mental illness, according to a report from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

ARACY’s five-year snapshot, released yesterday, shows the proportion of two-yearolds who have been fully immunised fell from 92.7 per cent in 2008 to 90.5 per cent in December 2017.

With mental illness, the report found that in 2014-15, the percentage of 18-to-24 yearolds suffering from high or very high psychological distress rose to 15.4 per cent, compared with 11.8 per cent in 2011.