Submission 354 — Central Goldfields Shire Council — Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative

Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability

Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative

Submitted by: Central Goldfields Shire Council

Date: 3^rd^ October 2025

Introduction

Central Goldfields Shire Council welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative. As a rural municipality in Victoria, our community faces entrenched socio-economic disadvantage that significantly impacts the health, development, and wellbeing of children. We urge the Committee to consider the unique challenges faced by rural communities like ours and the critical need for sustained investment in foundational supports outside the NDIS.

1. Identifying Developmental Delay and Supporting Families

Central Goldfields has long struggled with high rates of developmental vulnerability among children. According to the Australian Early Development Census (AECD), in 2024:

• 40.7% of children in Central Goldfields were developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains, compared to the national average of 23.5%.

• Vulnerability in the physical health and wellbeing, social competence and emotional maturity domains was particularly high, reflecting the impact of poverty, intergenerational disadvantage and limited access to early intervention services.

Over the past 5 years the Go Goldfields’ Every Child, Every Chance initiative has taken a holistic, collaborative place based approach to supporting children and their families. This approach has resulted in measurable progress in supporting families to identify and respond to developmental concerns.

However, the closure of The Nest—a vital drop-in space for new parents—due to exhausted funding, highlights the fragility of these supports and the urgent need for sustainable investment.

2. Effectiveness of Current Programs

Go Goldfields has demonstrated the power of place-based, collaborative models. Since its inception:

• Kindergarten participation (children attending 15 hours per week) increased from 33% in 2019 to 85% in 2024.

• Over 2,200 families accessed The Nest between July 2022 and April 2025, resulting in 1,300 referrals to health and family support services.

Despite these successes, the lack of ongoing funding has led to service closures, leaving families without essential supports. The discontinuation of The Nest has had a profound emotional and

practical impact on parents, many of whom relied on it for mental health, breastfeeding support, and social support.

3. Equity and Intersectional Issues

Central Goldfields has a higher proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents. The Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates (2.3%) than the Victorian average (1.0%). Maternal and Child Health (MCH) birth rate data indicates that 10% of the children born in Central Goldfields over the last five years are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders. These families often face compounded barriers to accessing services, including cultural safety concerns, transport limitations, and service fragmentation.

Additionally, the region has a growing number of families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, who require tailored engagement strategies and bilingual support.

4. Workforce Gaps and Training Needs

Our research and analysis undertaken through the development of the Central Goldfields Early Years Infrastructure Masterplan (2023) and the Central Goldfields Early Childhood Education Workforce Strategy (2023) identifies:

• A shortage of qualified early childhood educators and allied health professionals.

• A need for an integrated service hub to reduce fragmentation and improve access.

• Aged infrastructure and under-supplied kindergarten spaces, which limit service capacity.

Without targeted workforce development and incentives to attract professionals to rural areas, the delivery of Thriving Kids will be severely constrained. In addition, limited housing stock and significant childcare waitlists, prevent interested health professionals considering rural locations like ours.

5. Best Practice and Seamless Transitions

Central Goldfields supports the Inquiry’s emphasis on mainstream and community-based supports. Our experience shows that co-located services, are effective in reducing stigma, improving engagement, and facilitating smooth transitions from early childhood to school.

We recommend the Thriving Kids initiative adopt a flexible, locally driven model that allows communities to tailor services to their unique needs, supported by robust evaluation and continuous improvement frameworks.

We also strongly encourage local community health providers to be mandated to offer early childhood allied health services, rather than remaining an opt in model as currently operates. This will ensure equity for children and families who may be unable to travel outside their LGA to access community health.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Central Goldfields Shire Council urges the Committee to:

1. Fund foundational supports outside the NDIS for children with mild to moderate needs, with a focus on rural and disadvantaged communities.

2. Reinstate and expand programs like Every Child, Every Chance and The Nest, which have proven impact and community trust.

3. Utilise existing Community Health services and ensure that paediatric services are a mandated area of service provision.

4. Invest in integrated infrastructure and workforce development, including incentives for rural service provision.

5. Ensure cultural safety and equity for First Nations and CALD families.

6. Support place-based models that empower communities to lead change.

We thank the Committee for its consideration and welcome further engagement to ensure every child in Central Goldfields has every chance to thrive.