Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative Submission 402

Hubs as a Pivotal Platform to Support the Local Delivery of Thriving Kids

About the Network…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Recommendation 1. Leverage the existing network of 470+ Child and Family Hubs as a key local service delivery mechanism for Thriving Kids……………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Recommendation 2: Invest in long-term funding for the ‘glue’ to strengthen service integration and expand the reach of existing Child and Family Hubs………………………………………………………. 11

Recommendation 3. Expand virtual eHubs nationally to provide low-stigma, equitable, high-reach access to evidence-based resources and support…………………………………………………………………………. 15

Recommendation 4: Converge funding across government reforms (e.g. the Building Early Education Fund) to establish new Hubs, to enable more children and families to benefit from locally integrated service delivery…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17

Appendix A: Evidence Summary of Child and Family Hubs…………………………………………………. 20 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23

About the Network

The National Child and Family Hubs Network (Network) is a national, multidisciplinary group dedicated to strengthening Child and Family Hubs across Australia. Hubs enable children and families to access the support and services they need and provide a welcoming place to meet other families and build essential social networks. The Network supports over 470 Child and Family Hubs (Hubs) across Australia and unites over 1,850 caregivers, service providers, policymakers, sector leaders and academics to strengthen Hubs and ensure they deliver high-quality, integrated support to children and families.

Executive Summary

The Network welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative. We commend the Commonwealth Government for prioritising children’s health and development through this vital reform.

Thriving Kids presents a powerful opportunity to improve equitable outcomes for children with mild to moderate developmental concerns, delays, or disabilities and build a future where every child has the chance to thrive. It can catalyse system-wide change by strengthening universal services to better support children, driving a more connected and locally responsive service system and enabling parents and carers to understand and act on best practice early intervention. The national network of Child and Family Hubs can play a key role in achieving this vision and serve as a local service delivery mechanism for Thriving Kids.

Currently, 12.5% children begin school developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains, the highest since the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) begun in 2009. This figure rises to 20.3% for children living in the most disadvantaged areas and 26.5% for First Nations children.i These figures underscore the need for Thriving Kids to deliver an equitable, culturally responsive and integrated approach, embedded where children live, learn and play.

The role of Child and Family Hubs

Hubs serve as welcoming, family-centred ‘one-stop shops’, supporting child development, education, and family health and wellbeing. They do this by facilitating equitable, seamless access to a range of education, health and social services; strengthening parental capacity; and fostering community and social connections for families.

Hubs are trusted and non-stigmatising ‘front doors’ in their local community and offer multiple access points such as through early years services, primary school sites, primary care services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, or virtual platforms (see Figure 1). While Hubs are tailored to reflect the needs of their local communities, they all share a commitment to integrated, high-quality, care for children and families in welcoming spaces. This is made possible by the ‘glue’, the leadership, coordination, and relationships that enable integration, family engagement and collaboration across services.

Figure 1. Hubs as trusted front doors in a variety of settings

Child and Family Hubs provide an established platform to deliver locally responsive, integrated supports, making them central to realising the vision of the Thriving Kids reform. There is growing domestic and international evidence demonstrating how Hubs can support early identification of developmental vulnerability, increase service uptake, and better coordinate supports, leading to better child health, education and justice outcomes.iii

Hubs are ideally positioned to:

• Empower families with evidence-based resources, training and supports and connections to other families;
• Enable seamless and coordinated support for children and families, by integrating universal services (such as antenatal care, child and family health nurses, early childhood education and care, primary schools, primary care and social care) with tiered supports and connections to NDIS services; and
• Enable equitable access to universal and tiered services for families experiencing intersecting challenges such as socioeconomic disadvantage, cultural or linguistic diversity, and geographic isolation, by addressing systemic barriers and promoting inclusive service delivery.

Broader system reforms

While Hubs can play a critical role in realising the vision for Thriving Kids, they must be complemented by broader system reforms to ensure all children and families receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

Thriving Kids when aligned with other national investments and reforms, including the Building Early Education Fund, the Investment Dialogue for Australia’s Children (IDAC), Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment (PLACE), Closing the Gap, the Early Years Strategy, the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, creates an unprecedented window for lasting change. By bringing these efforts together and converging funding, we have a unique opportunity to build a joined-up early childhood development system that is inclusive, equitable and responsive from the start. Central to this reform is co-design and co-development with children, families, and communities to ensure solutions are grounded in lived experience and local context. iv

We recommend Thriving Kids is used to drive system-wide reform centred around three core elements:

• Uplift of mainstream health and education systems: Strengthen universal systems to meet children’s developmental needs by embedding proportionate responses in everyday settings. This includes uplifting workforce capability to identify and respond to children’s developmental needs, and enabling trauma-informed, culturally safe, multidisciplinary approaches.
• Local solutions with national guardrails: Place-based, local approaches empower communities and services to design responses that reflect the needs of children and families. Thriving Kids can provide a national framework with clear guardrails to ensure local solutions meet children’s needs. Child and Family Hubs offer a tangible mechanism for delivering locally responsive, integrated support.
• Enabling parents to understand and act on best practice early intervention: Thriving Kids should ensure parents have access to inclusive, evidence-based supports to understand child development, strengthen parenting skills, navigate services, and build social and community connections.

Figure 2. Broad system reforms required for Thriving Kids (Murdoch children’s Research Institute)

Recommendations to leverage Child and Family Hubs to support the local delivery of Thriving Kids

This submission focuses on presenting the evidence on Hubs in relation to connecting parents with evidence-based information and resources; enabling early identification and support for children with mild to moderate developmental delays, disability and autism; facilitating equitable access to services, and seamless transitions through mainstream and specialist systems, as outlined through the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.

We welcome opportunities to brief Committee members on these recommendations.

1. Leverage the existing national network of 470+ Child and Family Hubs as a key local service delivery mechanism for Thriving Kids
2. Invest in long-term funding for the ‘glue’ to strengthen service integration and expand the reach of existing Child and Family Hubs. The ‘glue’ is a vital component of Hubs funding that supports the integration of services and supports to reduce fragmentation
3. Expand virtual eHubs nationally to provide low-stigma, equitable, high-reach access to evidence-based resources and support
4. Converge funding across government reforms (e.g. the Building Early Education Fund) to establish new Hubs, to enable more children and families to benefit from locally integrated service delivery.

Recommendation 1. Leverage the existing network of 470+ Child and Family Hubs as a key local service delivery mechanism for Thriving Kids

Child and Family Hubs are ideally positioned to support the delivery of Thriving Kids by empowering parents to support their children and facilitating seamless transitions through tiered supports including universal and specialist early childhood intervention services. With over 470 Hubs nationwide, supported by the National Child and Family Hubs Network, these sites co-locate and integrate a wide range of mainstream services, such as child and family health nursing, playgroups, early learning, primary schools, allied health, social services and specialists services, though the exact combination varies by community. This extensive social infrastructure already exists and offers a strategic platform for locally tailored, place-based solutions aligned with state and territory systems. However, to fully realise their potential, adequate and sustained investment is essential—particularly in the integration “glue” (recommendation 2) that enables coordinated service delivery, workforce support, and family engagement.

Hubs empower parents to identify if their child has a mild to moderate developmental delay and support parents to support their children (Terms of Reference [TOR] 1)

As welcoming, inclusive spaces tailored to the needs of their local communities, Hubs are places where families feel safe to seek help, access evidence-based information and parenting strategies, and connect with others. This supportive environment fosters early engagement and can help build parenting capacity and confidence through access to trusted advice, group programs such as facilitated playgroups, and one-on-one support delivered in a familiar setting or in the home.

Hubs help families effectively navigate complex health, education, and social care systems and reduce disruptions for families by facilitating access to multiple services all in one place. Their integrated approach can enable seamless delivery of both low-intensity or periodic allied health and family-centred services, as well as coordinated delivery of more intensive supports, such as coordinating NDIS services on school sites. Hubs also help families navigate and integrate with external supports, from other community-based supports through to the NDIS and Kids Hubs (formerly Head to Health Kids) for families with psychosocial needs. This ensures children and families receive timely, coordinated and comprehensive support.

Case Study: Integrated Hub at Doveton College enables access to health checks and positive changes at home

At Doveton College, an integrated place-based approach operating as a school Hub, a pilot initiative embedded a Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurse into a weekly playgroup. This change was implemented in response to many refugee-background families not engaging with MCH services and were often missing Key Ages and Stages health checks. By delivering MCH support within a familiar and welcoming setting, the pilot helped families build trusting relationships with practitioners, access appointments, and receive developmental guidance in a culturally safe and accessible way.

The initiative, led by Our Place, 54 Reasons, and the City of Casey, achieved significant outcomes. Some families attended MCH services for the very first time, and there was a clear increase in parent-initiated engagement, with more families booking appointments and coming prepared with questions. MCH appointments more than doubled in one term. All surveyed participants reported making at least one positive change at home, including improvements to sleep routines, nutrition, dental care, and screen time. The model also successfully addressed key barriers for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families, such as limited awareness of services, language and literacy challenges, and lack of trust in formal systems.

Reference: OurPlace, Doveton College, Victoria, 2025.

Hubs enable early identification and support for children with additional health and development needs (TOR2)

Early identification of additional health and development needs is critical to improving outcomes for children and families. It can also reduce the need for more intensive interventions later in life. Hubs can provide a tiered approach to identification and response from universal to specialist services, where all services can work together to support children and their families and reduce the need for families to switch from the universal service system to a separate specialist service.

Hubs have been associated with improved identification of developmental vulnerability and increased access to services and early intervention, particularly for families who might not otherwise engage with these services.v, vi

„…the Child and Family Hubs idea is really the hidden prevention and early intervention opportunity that I think all governments are currently looking for.” — Anne Hollonds, National Children’s Commissioner, Webinar - Setting up Child and Family Hubs, 2024

Hubs facilitate equitable service access (TOR3)

Families often encounter services that are fragmented, difficult to navigate, or feel stigmatising, especially for those experiencing disadvantage or who identify as First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse. This can delay or prevent engagement with services. Children in these circumstances are more likely to experience developmental vulnerabilityvii but are often least likely to receive support. The NDIS Review highlighted significant gaps in foundational supports for disadvantaged communities, reinforcing the need for more equitable service pathways.viii

Hubs address these barriers by offering coordinated services in familiar everyday settings that are welcoming, and culturally responsive. Practical challenges such as transport, cost, and time are reduced through co-location, and by embedding services like allied health into soft-entry points such as playgroups, Hubs create inclusive and trusted access pathways. In addition, the relational approach of Hubs, especially when supported by key workers, cultural liaison officers, or outreach roles, helps build trust with families who may be hesitant to engage with formal systems or unaware of available supports. This also reduces the need for families to retell their story. These relationships are central to creating a safe, supportive environment where families feel comfortable seeking help and are empowered in their parenting role.

Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) are leading the way, having long implemented inclusive, holistic, and culturally responsive Hub like service models. These community-led services support the well-being of First Nations children by addressing cultural, social, and environmental factors through strengths-based, whole-child approaches. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander integrated early years centres, embody these principles by serving as culturally safe community Hubs which support early identification and improve access to both universal services and tiered interventions.

Case Study: Tjitji Tjapu Tjuta’s Story — Providing Early Identification and Integrated Support for Children in Coober Pedy

Tjitji Tjapu Tjuta is an Aboriginal Early Learning and Childcare Centre in Coober Pedy, operated by the local Aboriginal community for over 25 years. Originally a community centre, it has grown into a culturally safe and trusted space for families across the town. The centre has developed strong partnerships with allied health professionals to support children with disability and developmental vulnerabilities. Delivered in a familiar, community-run environment, these supports include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, paediatrics, hearing checks and developmental assessments.

This integrated approach ensures children receive the help they need in a space where they feel safe and supported, laying the foundation for improved learning and wellbeing outcomes.

This model of integrated care has led to the early identification of a range of needs, including hearing impairments, autism, and physical disabilities, such as Spina Bifida. Educators, many who had limited experience supporting children with additional needs, have received training from allied health professionals and Inclusion Support services. This has strengthened staff confidence and capability, enabling more tailored and inclusive care. High staff-to-child ratios also support the individual attention required to meet each child’s unique needs.

Integrating health services with early learning services has helped overcome barriers that previously limited access for families. These included lack of transport, hesitation around using formal health services, and limited availability of culturally safe options. With professionals travelling over 800 kilometres from Adelaide and Port Lincoln to deliver services on-site, families are now engaging more comfortably and consistently.

The success of this community-led model shows that meaningful early intervention is possible, even in remote locations and provides a potential approach for implementing universal service uplift. Reference: SNAICC, Tjitji Tjapu Tjuta’s Story — Providing Tailored and Integrated Support for Children in Coober Pedy, August 2023.

Domestic and international policy experience and best practice show integrated services deliver improved outcomes (TOR5)

Families of children with disability frequently express the desire for more holistic, integrated support.ix There is growing evidence of the benefits from wrap-around supports which provide more holistic, coordinated approaches.x,xi Collaborative approaches enable more seamless service delivery, minimise disruptions for children and families, and lower barriers to participation. The UK has recently taken this approach, through its Early Years Strategy, announcing the expansion of Family Hubs to cover every local authority, with Hubs based in disadvantaged communities where they are needed most and the addition of virtual Hubs.xii

Children with additional health and development needs often benefit from a combination of strategies such as early intervention, allied health, parenting programs, education programs and family services that address broader social determinants. Emerging research highlights the benefits of stacking complementary early interventions to maximise impact on children’s outcomes and reduce inequities.xiii,xiv,xv Hubs by design are well placed to coordinate these supports through holistic, child-and-family-centred approaches.

Case Study: Cairns Early Years Centre provides service integration to provide a better experience for families

Seven-year-old Jake* was referred to The Benevolent Society’s Cairns Early Years Centre after a paediatrician suspected he may be living with a disability. Centre staff reached out to his mother, Liz*, who has an intellectual disability, and invited her and her younger daughter, Tina*, to join the Explorer group for children with developmental delays.

Through regular engagement with the centre’s playgroup, supported by occupational and speech therapists, staff identified Tina’s speech delay. With the centre’s guidance, both children were assessed and diagnosed with ADHD, and Tina with additional speech and learning disability. Tina received tailored support across multiple settings, including one-on-one sessions, playgroup, and kindergarten, and was enrolled in an early childhood development program. When she wasn’t ready to transition to school, the centre provided an additional year of support.

Liz, empowered by the support she received, began volunteering at the centre and eventually secured permanent part-time employment assisting with administration and playgroup support.

This case illustrates the power of integrated, wraparound services. As Centre Manager Cassy Bishop explains:

“Having the transdisciplinary team, the child and family practitioners with social work, psychology, early education backgrounds, and the allied health and Queensland health nurses, having that holistic eye on the child… That’s how the integrated space helps the child.”

*Names changed to protect identities.

Reference: Graham, C. and Sydenham, E. (2023) Integrated child and family centres overcome fragmented service delivery, Social Ventures Australia.

Recommendation 2: Invest in long-term funding for the ‘glue’ to strengthen service integration and expand the reach of existing Child and Family Hubs

Research consistently shows Hubs are most effective when services are well connected. The ‘glue’ is the vital ingredient that ensures families can access the right supports when they need them, providing a seamless and collaborative transition through mainstream and other services and supports (TOR6).

Glue strengthens service delivery across three key domains: internal integration, external partnerships, and family engagement and outreach.xvi

The glue is multi-dimensional and comprises multiple, interconnected components—relational infrastructure, cross-sector governance and distributed leadership, coordination systems and backbone infrastructure, physical and place-focused design and a shared culture of responsibility.xvii Each of these are components are essential for effective integration but can be tailored to the unique needs of each community through a process of co-design.xviii

Key workforce required to support the glue, and therefore Thriving Kids (TOR4), include:

• A Key Worker located within Hubs to help families access services and evidence-based support tailored to their children’s needs. These roles are well suited to peer workers with lived experience or cultural knowledge, such as parents of children with disability or cultural liaison roles.
• Family outreach and community engagement to build trusted relationships and meet families where they are. This may involve peer or community support workers, engagement activities, and mechanisms to embed community voice in decision-making.
• Hub Leads or Coordination to support:
  • Internal integration between co-located services and professionals, including joint planning, information sharing, common practice approaches, and the governance, IT, systems and processes that underpin a high-quality service experience for families. In addition, workforce development is critical to enable cohesive support across health, education, and social care and provide seamless support for children and families.
  • External integration and service relationships to support warm referrals for families and link Hubs to the broader service system including the NDIS and Kids Hubs (formerly Head to Health).

Figure 3. The glue ecosystem

Figure 4. Elements of the glue

The ‘glue’ improves outcomes for children and families, particularly those facing disadvantage or with complex needs. It also enhances the efficiency of government investment by increasing service utilisation, improving staff retention, and reducing future expenditure.

However, the glue does not happen automatically in a Hub; it requires intentional design and sustainable funding to support the people, systems, relationships, and infrastructure that make integration possible.xix Current funding is often service-specific and rarely covers the cost of the glue. While some support comes from state governments or philanthropy, it is often inconsistent and short-term. Without sufficient funding for the glue, there is a risk of fragmented support, leading to missed opportunities for early intervention, families falling through the cracks, and poorer outcomes for children.

To strengthen existing Hubs, the Commonwealth can invest in long-term funding for the glue and treat the glue as core infrastructure, embedded in policy and funding agreements. This would enhance support for families, leveraging existing platforms for greater impact. While flexibility is needed to reflect local context, a national integration framework could guide how the glue is defined, measured, and funded consistently. This framework could build on existing knowledge around the core components of the gluexx and enable continuous improvement through data collection, evaluation, and shared learning to refine future funding models and drive system reform.

Case Study: Key Worker Supporting a Burmese-Karen Speaking Family to Access integrated Support

At Karitane’s Fairfield Integrated Child and Family Hub in Western Sydney, NSW, a Burmese-Karen speaking mother and her 4-year-old son attended a weekly, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate supported playgroup.

The Integrated Hub’s Key Worker observed and identified the child exhibiting signs of behavioural and developmental concerns during the playgroup. As such, the Key Worker engaged a certified interpreter to support effective communication with the mother in completing an intake history and discussing the concerns she held for her child’s development.

Utilising her industry connections and background in Child and Family Health Nursing, the Key Worker then played a central role in coordinating internal referrals to Karitane’s Carramar Parenting Centre (part of the Integrated Hub) and external referrals to Northcott Services (the Early Childhood Partner for NDIS access) both accessible in the family’s local area. The Key Worker also made warm referrals to a local Community Health Service for paediatric, dietetic, occupational therapy, and speech therapy support. The child has now seen a dietitian and is waitlisted for other services. Following the referrals, ongoing weekly check-ins continue.

As is the Integrated Hub’s procedure, culturally appropriate interpreters were utilised by the Key Worker through every stage of family engagement, as well as providing regular opportunities for the mother’s feedback and accommodating any suitable adjustments to service delivery. This reinforced the mother’s autonomy while supporting her to be a respected and an equal partner in decision-making processes.

The mother has expressed gratitude to the Key Worker for the care her son is receiving and the positive progress that he is making with Karitane’s support. Developmental progress and gains are seen weekly in the playgroup and are also reported by the mother.

Reference: Karitane’s Fairfield Integrated Child and Family Hub, NSW, 2025

Recommendation 3. Expand virtual eHubs nationally to provide low-stigma, equitable, high-reach access to evidence-based resources and support

Families are often overwhelmed by the volume of information available through health websites and parenting portals. What they are seeking are simple solutions that help them solve issues relating to their child’s health, development and wellbeing concerns, including reassurance; practical tips or connections to local services. The Child and Family eHub is a user-friendly, equitable online portal designed to meet these needs. Co-designed with families, the eHub offers locally tailored access to evidence-based resources, parenting programs, opportunities for both online and in-person social connection and links to local services to support parents to support their children (TOR1).

The eHub is built on a replicable digital infrastructure which leverages existing platforms, including a health directory powered by Infoxchange and trusted and evidence-based content from Raising Children Network, a national government-funded platform. There is an opportunity to expand the eHub nationally, helping families easily navigate support systems wherever they are. Expansion should be guided by a continuous improvement approach, co-designed with families, to ensure the platform remains responsive, inclusive, and informed by lived experience. To be effective, digital platforms such as the eHub must embed equity and access from the outset.

eHubs complement physical Hubs by offering low-stigma, high-reach mechanisms for all families, and are especially valuable in areas with limited services, such as rural and remote communities. An eHub can provide a pathway to connect families with the network of over 470 physical Child and Family Hubs for more comprehensive, integrated care provided in person. The eHub can also act as a “Hub in your pocket,” allowing families to access support without needing to physically attend a Hub or to help maintain connection to services and relationships built through Hubs.

As shown in Figure 3, the eHub provides flexible, tailored support through a tiered model based on family needs.

Figure 5. Tiers of a Child and Family eHub

The Child and Family eHub has been successfully co-designed with families, inclusive of families of children with additional health and development needs, and local service providers to support parents to support their children (TOR1). This eHub helps families navigate a complex system of services and information to find the right support at the right time. An evaluation including over 250 caregivers in NSW and Victoria found the eHub reached the right audience - that is families who were culturally and linguistically diverse, experiencing high levels of adversities and unmet health and social needs. When surveyed about the main areas of concerns they sought support for via the eHub, autism, behaviour challenges, development stages and managing emotions were all identified. Of those families who used the eHub xxi 81% found the information useful and 71% found the services useful. There was also a reduction in the use of medical/health related services and an increase in psychosocial services as a result of using the eHub. The evaluation also showed improvements in child (0-2 years) mental health. This evaluation builds the evidence for best practice (TOR5).

„Thinking back to when I had my first daughter and I had no idea what I was doing or what I was in for. I think the family eHub would have been a really great resource to have… with all the information in one place is really handy”.

• Caregiver from Wyndham Vale

Recommendation 4: Converge funding across government reforms (e.g. the Building Early Education Fund) to establish new Hubs, to enable more children and families to benefit from locally integrated service delivery

Significant reforms and investments are underway across multiple portfolios, many of which aim to support the same children and families as Thriving Kids. This policy environment presents an opportunity to converge funding across portfolios to maximise the impact of these investments and deliver improved outcomes for children and families. In particular, the $1.03b investment in the Building Early Education Fund and $50m co-investment with IDAC, offer a chance to prioritise the establishment of integrated Early Childhood Hubs in areas of greatest need, rather than focusing solely on standalone Early Childhood Education and Care centres.xxii

Hubs also offer a practical vehicle to help deliver on other key reform priorities including the Early Years Strategy, Closing the Gap, Entrenched Disadvantage Package, Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment (PLACE) and Better and Fairer Schools Agreement. Delivering on these reforms in isolation, risks inefficiency and missed opportunities and may add to system fragmentation. Taking a holistic, coordinated approach offers a pathway to a more inclusive and effective early childhood development system, which gives every child the chance to thrive.

Expanding on the existing network of over 470 Hubs would provide integrated support to more children and families, and help reach the 111,000 young children experiencing high early childhood disadvantage and hardship.xxiii The UK has recently taken this approach, through its Early Years Strategy, announcing the expansion of Family Hubs to cover every local authority, with Hubs based in disadvantaged communities where they are needed most and implementation of virtual Hubs,xxiv showcasing international policy experience and best practice (TOR5).

By aligning efforts and converging funding, we have a unique opportunity to build a joined-up early childhood development system that is inclusive, equitable and responsive from the start. Hubs have the potential to be the cornerstone of an integrated, place-based support system, enabling prevention and early intervention and more equitable outcomes for children and families.

Overview of how the Hub recommendations address each of the Inquiry’s terms of reference

Table 1. How Hub recommendations address each term of reference

Appendix A: Evidence Summary of Child and Family Hubs

There is a growing domestic and international body of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of Hubs. Hubs can facilitate early identification of developmental vulnerability, increase service uptake, and better coordinate supports, leading to better child health, education and justice outcomes.xxv Hubs also deliver a strong economic return, with a Deloitte Access Economics evaluation finding a social return of $3.5 for every $1 invested in the National Community Hubs Program (NCHP).xxvi Evidence from Sure Start in the UK also indicates that for every £1 spent, Sure Start delivered £2.05 in benefits, which at scale was equivalent to £2.8 billion in government savings.xxvii

Hubs enable early identification and intervention

Child and Family Hubs have been associated with improved identification of developmental vulnerability and increased access to early intervention service. They are particularly effective in reaching families who may not otherwise access services including those experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, and children from families who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse and First Nations.xxviii, xxix, xxx

Evidence from the UK’s Sure Start program reinforces this. An evaluation of over 3,290 Sure Start early childhood Hubs found engagement in Hubs likely increased early identification of special educational needs or disability (SEND) by age 5, while reducing the proportion identified at ages 11 and 16.xxxi By age 16, the likelihood of having an Education, Health and Care Plan dropped by 9%, translating into better child outcomes and reduced government expenditure.

A systematic review found parenting interventions within Sure Start also led to long-term clinical improvements in ADHD and Conduct Disorder, along with improved screening rates.xxxii Another study of Sure Start found that parents in Local Programme areas showed less negative parenting and provided stronger home learning environments. Their three-year-old children also demonstrated better social development, including greater self-regulation and positive social behaviour, compared to peers in similar areas without the program.xxxiii

Locally, the Our Place site in Doveton, Victoria, demonstrated similar benefits. Co-location of NDIS services on school grounds allowed children to spend more time in class, while access to high-quality learning through the Hub reduced developmental vulnerability at school entry from 55% to 36% on one or more domains, and from 24% to 13% on two or more domains.xxxiv

Hubs enable equitable service access and empower parents to support their children

Research shows families of children with a disability face a range of barriers, including financial burdens from healthcare and travel, long waitlists and limited access to the NDIS, stigma and poor cultural sensitivity which can delay diagnoses and isolate families.xxxv They

need better hospital play spaces, quieter areas, tailored education, safe friendships, and coordinated care to support wellbeing, especially for rare diseases and those in rural areas.

Child and Family Hubs help reduce barriers to service access by offering coordinated, culturally responsive support in familiar settings. They are particularly effective in engaging families who may face disadvantage, including children and families who identify as First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, and those from low socioeconomic communities. By addressing practical challenges such as transport, cost, and time, and through a relational approach that builds trust, Hubs create safe and inclusive pathways to support.xxxvi

Evaluations in Tasmania and Queensland show that Hubs can increase service uptake and improve outcomes. In Tasmania, the Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLCs) found that increased engagement was driven by the trust families developed in services. Parents reported a strong sense of ownership and described the Centres as welcoming, informal, and non-judgemental and that these qualities made the difference to their engagement with services.xxxvii As a result, CFLCs were found to enhance parent-child relationships and foster parental growth.xxxviii

In Queensland the Benevolent Society’s Early Years Places (EYS) helped identify and support developmental delays, including among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse children. Via engagement in both playgroups and kindergartens, children who had suspected developmental delays were identified and referred for support. High uptake of development support among families, reflected strong trust in Hub professionals. Furthermore, an evaluation found that 71% of parents in the Hub increased their Parental Empowerment and Efficacy Measure (PEEM) scores, reflecting greater confidence in parenting decisions, responsibilities, and connection to information and formal networks.xxxix

Further, an evaluation of integrated health and social Hubs at two Sydney-based sites showed significant improvement in attendance at child and family health (CFH) services and higher maternal surveillance for migrant women and their infants who were attending these Hubs, compared with routine CFH nursing services.xl

Research from NSW Aboriginal Child and Family Centres, found that 78% of children attending early learning at the centres had not accessed early learning services previously.xli Participation also increased age-appropriate health checks from 81% to 95% in one year.xlii Further, mutual referrals and care coordination between Early Start Diagnosis Workers and other service providers helped families more easily access and coordinate service both within and outside the Hub.xliii

Integrated services deliver improved outcomes

Emerging evidence highlights the benefits of stacking complementary early interventions to maximise impact on children’s outcomes and reduce inequities.xliv,xlv,xlvi There is also growing evidence of the benefits from wrap-around supports which provide more holistic and coordinated support.xlvii,xlviii

Child and Family Hubs by design are well placed to coordinate stacked interventions and provide holistic, child-and-family-centred approaches.

A new integrated model of care in the UK, co-designed by clinicians, parents, carers, children and young people, includes enhanced primary care clinics, targeted biopsychosocial early interventions for children with long-term conditions, and population health initiatives to identify unmet needs. Working with support services and other agencies, the Children and Young People Health Partnership (CYPHP) deliver improved care by addressing health needs alongside broader family challenges such as food and housing insecurity, unstable employment, financial stress, and parental mental health. Early evaluations show reduced acute service use, improved health and care quality, and increased access, particularly for children in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.xlix

A review of the National Community Hubs Program, which supports culturally and linguistically diverse families, found improved early childhood outcomes and reduced developmental delays among participating children, resulting in estimated savings of $7.3 million in 2023 alone.l Further schools saved approximately $756,000 due to reduced need for intensive educational supports.li

References

i Commonwealth of Australia (2025). Australian Early Development Census National Report 2024. ISSN 2206-284X (Online). Department of Education, Canberra. ii Commonwealth of Australia (2025). Australian Early Development Census National Report 2024. ISSN 2206-284X (Online). Department of Education, Canberra. iii Honisett, s., Cahill, R., Callard, N., Eapen, v., Eastwood, J., Goodhue, R., Graham, c., Heery, L., Hiscock, H., Hodgins, M., Hollonds, A., Jose, K., Newcomb, D., O’Loughlin, G., Ostojic, K., Sydenham, E., Tayton, s., Woolfenden, s., and Goldfeld, s., (2003). Child and family hubs: an important ‘front door’ for equitable support for families across Australia. iv Coles, L., Thorpe, K., Chawla, J. (2025) Understanding the experiences and research priorities of children with disability and their families in a hospital setting in Australia A novel multi-modal participatory research framework: Working Paper Series no. 2025-11,. 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• The Benevolent Society, [he Early Years Impact Report Early Years Places in Queensland, 2022

xi! Carneiro, P., Cattan, S., Conti, G., Crawford. C., Farquharson, C., Ridpath, N. (2025). The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children’s outcomes, The Institute for Fiscal Studies.

vail Hayre, J., Pearce, H., Khera, R., Lunn, A.D., Ford, J.A. (2025). Health impacts of the Sure Start programme on disadvantaged children in the UK: a systematic review. BMJ Open. Feb 20;15(2):e089983. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2024-089983

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ov Coles, L., Thorpe, K., Chawla, J. (2025) Understanding the experiences and research priorities of children with disability and their families in a hospital setting in Australia A novel multi-modal participatory research framework: Working Paper Series no. 2025-11,. Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland.

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vovill Taylor, C. L., Jose, K., van de Lagewega, W. I., and Christensen, D. (2017). Tasmania’s child and family centres: a place-based early childhood services model for families and children from pregnancy to age five, Journal of Early Child Development and Care, VOL. 187, NO. 10, https:/ /doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2017.1297300.

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xvi Molloy, C., O’Connor, M., Guo, S., Lin, C., Harrop, C., Perini, N., & Goldfeld, S. (2019). Potential of ‘stacking ‘early childhood interventions to reduce inequities in learning outcomes. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 73(12), 1078-1086. https://dol.ore/10.1136/jech-2019-212282

xvii Olson, J. R., Benjamin, P. H., Azman, A. A., Kellogg, M. A., Pullmann, M. D., Suter, J. C., & Bruns, E. J. (2021). Systematic review and meta- analysis: Effectiveness of wraparound care coordination for children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 60(11), 1353-1366.

xvi Therese, M., Cumming, T. M. and Strnadova, |. (2022).: A Wraparound Approach to Whole of Student Issues, Research Brief 30, University of New South Wales.

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’ Deloitte (2024). Community Hubs Australia Social return on investment evaluation of the National Community Hubs Program, 2023.