About the Network

The National Child and Family Hubs Network (the Network) is a national, multidisciplinary group dedicated to strengthening Child and Family Hubs across Australia. The Network unites service providers, community-based organisations, advocates, researchers and policymakers to build the capacity of Hubs and enable more children and families to access the care they need to thrive.

The Network:

• supports meaningful connections between Hubs across Australia and creates opportunities for shared learning and capacity building
• builds the evidence to enable a common and best practice approach to developing and evaluating Child and Family Hubs
• advocates for sustainable funding models to ensure Hubs have the resources required to meet the diverse needs of children and families.
• makes evidence and resources accessible to help drive improvements in Hubs, children’s development and family health and wellbeing. 

Learn more about the work of the Network.

 

Advancing fairer health and wellbeing for families

Children’s health and development outcomes are strongly influenced by the resources and opportunities available to their families and communities. These differences in outcomes, known as ‘inequities’ are both unjust, unfair and preventable and result from the environments in which children are born, live, learn and grow.

Child and Family Hubs are a promising solution for addressing inequities as they centre around the unique needs of families in each community. Hubs offer a wide range of health, education and social care services in one accessible location. They remove the need for families to navigate complex service systems and provide a welcoming space for families to connect with each other.

Child and Family Hubs ensure that children and families, regardless of their background or location, have the supports they need to thrive, with those facing adversity and disadvantage benefiting the most.

Learn more about Hubs

 

Why the Network is needed

In most Australian jurisdictions there is increasing interest for a Child and Family Hub.  There are more than 460 Child and Family Hubs in Australia, yet there is no national plan for how Hubs should be set-up, funded and evaluated. Prior to the establishment of the Network, there was no coordinated group of organisations specifically focused on optimising Hubs to promote the wellbeing of Australian children, families and communities through evidence-based practice.

This is a missed opportunity. Working together helps to ensure that Hubs have the support, funding and resources they need to meet the diverse needs of children and families. It also allows Hubs to learn more about how to improve outcomes for children and families, particularly those experiencing adversity. 

Importantly, the philanthropic sector is a key stakeholder in the early years space and a Network partner with a critical role to play shaping investment in child and family initiatives.