'Closing the Gap' is a national agreement aimed at reducing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage. All levels of government have agreed to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve life expectancy, child mortality and access to early childhood education, educational achievement and employment outcomes.
The IECD NP is an agreement between the Australian and Queensland Governments to improve the early childhood outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to give them the best start in life.
The IECD NP is part of the 'Closing the Gap' commitment and aims to improve developmental outcomes, pregnancy and birth outcomes, and use of early childhood development services.
Under the IECD NP, the Australian Government has allocated $293 million to establish at least 35 children and family centres across Australia, of which $75 million has been allocated to establish 10 children and family centres in Queensland by mid 2014.
The children and family centres will help improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families' use of the early childhood development services they need to expand developmental and learning opportunities for their children. Participation in quality early childhood education in particular, has been shown to drive improvements in literacy and numeracy, employment, life-long earnings and social functioning.
The children and family centres will provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with access to culturally responsive services. They will connect with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and become places where children and families feel comfortable while receiving the support they need.
For further information, a copy of the Indigenous Early Childhood Development National Partnership Agreement is available at http://www.coag.gov.au/ 
Children and family centres will be established in Cairns, Doomadgee, Ipswich, Logan, Mackay, Mareeba, Mornington Island, Mount Isa, Palm Island and Rockhampton.
These locations represent remote, rural, regional and urban locations with high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations and high levels of disadvantage.
The children and family centres will offer a range of integrated early childhood education and care programs, parent and family support and child and maternal health services.
Early childhood education and care services will be provided at or through the children and family centre.
Early childhood education and care services refer to the range of education and care services for children under school age and in the early years of school. Objectives of these services include the provision of care, learning and social support to children, for example adjunct care, playgroup, kindergarten and long day care.
Where other early childhood education and care services are currently providing long day care and kindergarten programs in the community, effective linkages will be established by the children and family centre to extend delivery of these services and to increase participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The children and family centre will implement a range of facilitation strategies with the linked service, to ensure participation is increased at the long day care and/or kindergarten service.
The children and family centre will provide a broad range of parenting and family support services which may include:
The children and family centre will increase access to child and maternal health services, which may include:
The children and family centres will be operated by a non-government organisation in conjunction with service providers already operating in the area. Each children and family centre will complement and, in some cases, link to these other initiatives, not duplicate or replace existing services.
All families who are expecting a child or have children aged up to and including eight years will be able to use the children and family centres, however, there will be a specific focus on providing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
The children and family centres will provide services for all families with children, however, there will be a focus on providing services for families who are expecting a child or have children aged up to and including eight years.
The successful establishment of the children and family centres is dependent on the development of strong government and non-government partnerships. Engagement with the local community is vital for the success of this initiative.
Consultation has taken place in all locations involving key partners and stakeholders (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and non-government organisations delivering services).
A Local Advisory Committee is a group comprised of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and regional government officers. Local Advisory Committees are chaired by the Department of Education and Training's Regional Directors and provide valuable location specific advice regarding key aspects of the children and family centre implementation. Local Advisory Committees have been established in Cairns, Ipswich, Logan, Mareeba, Mount Isa, Mackay and Rockhampton in 2011. Existing local governance structures are being utilised in Doomadgee, Mornington Island and Palm Island.
The contact officers for the Local Advisory Committees are the Chairs, who are the Regional Directors of the Department of Education and Training in each location. Local Advisory Committees have been established in Cairns, Ipswich, Logan, Mareeba, Mount Isa, Mackay and Rockhampton.
The contact details for the Regional Directors in each location are listed below.
| Children and family centre location | Regional Director | Phone number |
| Mount Isa, Mornington Island, Doomadgee and Palm Island | Mike Ludwig, North Queensland | 07 4726 3105 |
| Cairns and Mareeba | Clive Dixon, Far North Queensland | 07 4046 5271 |
| Ipswich | Chris Rider, Metropolitan Region | 07 3422 8352 |
| Mackay and Rockhampton | Wayne Butler, Central Queensland | 07 4951 6902 |
| Logan | Glen Hoppner, South East Region | 07 5562 4833 |
The children and family centre Implementation Reference Group is comprised of Queensland's key peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. The group provides advice on key aspects of the children and family centre implementation at the state level.
The membership of the Implementation Reference Group is comprised of representatives from:
The Implementation Reference Group was formed in mid-2010 and meets every four to six weeks.
The Implementation Reference Group has provided culturally appropriate and sector specific advice on key aspects of the children and family centre implementation including: sites, service model, funding rounds, community consultation and design.
Community members and families can continue to have their say in how the children and family centres will operate and the services they will deliver in each location.
Ongoing consultation with communities will inform the mix of services and the way in which they are delivered to best meet the changing needs of communities. This could be through centre-based, mobile, outreach and/or linkages with existing services.
The following service providers have been approved as 'Lead Agencies' to establish and operate the following children and family centres:
Services are scheduled to commence from temporary premises from mid 2011 and from permanent premises from early to mid 2012
Not-for-profit, incorporated non-government organisations may apply for funding to establish and operate a children and family centre.
Funding rounds opened on Friday, 29 July 2011 for children and family centres to be established in Logan and Rockhampton.
Funding rounds opened on Friday,12 August 2011 for children and family centres to be established in Palm Island and Mackay.
Interested organisations can apply to operate one or more of the children and family centres, but must lodge a separate funding submission for each location. Funding Information Papers and Submission Forms are available at http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/office/indigenous/children-family-centre.html or by calling (07) 3898 0373.
Funding Submissions for the Logan and Rockhampton children and family centres close at 5.00pm Monday, 12 September 2011.
Funding Submissions for the Palm Island and Mackay children and family centres close at 5.00pm Monday, 26 September 2011.
Funding Information Sessions will be held in each location to provide an overview of the children and family centre initiative and the application process.
Date and Time: Friday, 5 August 2011 from 11am to 12 noon
Venue: School library, Frenchville State School (entry via Geordie Street, Frenchville)
Date and Time: Tuesday, 2 August 2011 from 10am to 11am
Venue: Conference room, Department of Education and Training - Logan office, Level 2, 6 Ewing Road, Woodridge. Some street parking is available in Carmody Street and Blackwood Road.
Date and Time: Monday, 22 August 2011 from 11am to 12 noon
Venue: Ground floor, State Government Building, 187-209 Stanley Street, Townsville.
Date and Time: Thursday, 18 August 2011 from 1 pm to 2 pm
Venue: Conference Room, Department of Communities, Level 2, 67-69 Sydney Street, Mackay (above Day and Night Pharmacy).
Operational Guidelines, Funding Information Papers and Funding Submission Forms for each location are available at http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/office/indigenous/children-family-centre.html or by calling (07) 3898 0373.
Funding for Cairns, Doomadgee, Ipswich, Mareeba, Mornington Island and Mount Isa is expected to commence 1 July 2011 for a period of three years until 30 June 2014.
Funding for Mackay, Logan and Rockhampton is expected to commence from 1 January 2012 for a period of two years and six months until 30 June 2014.
No. Funding amounts will vary for each children and family centre depending on the mix of services and location specific differences such as the level of remoteness and the cost of service provision. Specific funding amounts are detailed in the Funding Information Papers for each location.
Funding submissions will be assessed against the selection criteria outlined in the Funding Information Papers and Submission Forms for each children and family centre location, available at http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/office/indigenous/children-family-centre.html.
Yes. Your application should address each selection criteria. Each selection criteria has a number of sub-criterion under the 'Indicators and Supporting Evidence' column. Your application will be assessed against each of the sub-criterion.
If you have a question regarding the children and family centre initiative please call (07) 3898 0373 or email ChildrenandFamilyCentres@deta.qld.gov.au.
This page was last reviewed on 05 May 2011
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