Australia will deny welfare payments to parents who don't vaccinate their children

Australia has taken a stand against the anti-vaccination movement.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced what he's calling a "no jab, no pay" policy, where parents who refuse to vaccinate their children won't be given government welfare benefits. The law is expected to take effect early next year.

Previously, Australia's welfare beneficiaries could receive childcare money if they had "a philosophical or religious objection to vaccines," BBC News reports, but Abbott said the law will "soon be substantially tightened."

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In a statement, Abbott said that the decision not to vaccinate children "is not supported by public policy or medical research, nor should such action be supported by taxpayers in the form of child care payments."

The news comes as the U.S. and some parts of Europe have seen a resurgence in measles, for which the anti-vaccination movement has been deemed responsible, at least in part.