What We Do
Early Years Strategy
The Australian Government has developed an Early Years Strategy (the Strategy), which sets out the Government’s vision to best support Australia’s children and their families.
Keep reading to find out how ARACY is supporting this important initiative.
Recognising how critical the early years are for children’s development and continued success over their lifetime, the Strategy articulates how the Australian Government will prioritise and support child-centred policy development, and target investment in early years supports and services over the next 10 years.
ARACY was pleased to welcome the release of the Early Years Strategy in early 2024, accompanied by Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth’s strong commitment that “Children’s policy, funding, and programs should no longer be siloed.” As a member of the Early Years Strategy Advisory Panel, ARACY played a critical role in advising the government and contributing to this holistic, 10-year vision for Australia’s children.
We are proud that ARACY’s The Nest, Australia’s first child wellbeing framework, was a key influence in shaping the Strategy. Our ongoing efforts to support and advocate for the wellbeing of all children across Australia are reflected in the Strategy’s evidence-based, long-term approach.
To learn more, access the Strategy and accompanying evidence summary on the Australian Government Department of Social Services website.
Where to next?
In mid-2024 ARACY hosted a webinar with the Australian Government that included Jacqueline Hrast (Branch Manager, Child and Parenting Wellbeing Branch, Department of Social Services) and Helen McInerney (Acting Branch Manager, Early Learning and First Nations Priorities Branch, Department of Education) who presented an outline of the Strategy, updated on next steps and answered some questions that the audience had.
You can view the recording below.
Where it started
To assist in the development of the Early Years Strategy, the Federal Government hosted a National Early Years Summit on February 17, 2023, at Parliament House. The summit was co-chaired by Minister Amanda Rishworth and Minister Anne Aly, and aimed to initiate essential discussions on helping young children thrive. A summary report of the summit was later made available.
A 14-member expert Advisory Panel was established to guide the Strategy’s development. This panel included then ARACY CEO Penny Dakin, bringing her extensive child advocacy experience, and Professor Fiona Stanley, the founder of ARACY and patron of Telethon Kids Institute.
Before the summit, Penny Dakin published an opinion piece in The Canberra Times, reflecting on the decades of research showing that when children thrive, so do their families and communities. She emphasised the importance of not repeating past mistakes and expressed hope and determination ahead of the summit.
In preparation for the event, ARACY reviewed the outcomes of the March 2020 National Early Years Summit, which it co-hosted with partners. That summit gathered around 500 participants to explore emerging issues for young children, discussing what a blueprint for children’s wellbeing should include.
A post-Summit webinar hosted by ARACY talked about:
– How the Summit functioned to gather and focus the expertise present in the room
– How that work is already impacting policy, thinking and advocacy (for example, the blueprint has already fed into the National Community Recovery Summit held in July 2020)
– Where to now? What ARACY and our partners are doing to continue the work of the Summit and how you can get involved in the ongoing work.
View the webinar below
WHAT WE DO
Looking for more?
Search through our extensive Resource Library including Research papers, Submissions, Reports and much more.
What else we do
Right@home
right@home is a relationship-based nurse home visiting program for Australian families, delivered by trained professionals within the universal health service. It empowers parents to create a safe, nurturing environment that supports early child development.
Early Years Strategy
The Australian Government’s Early Years Strategy, developed with input from ARACY, outlines a vision to support children and families by prioritising child-centered policies and targeted investment in early years services over the next 10 years, recognising the crucial role early development plays in lifelong success.
ARACY Longitudinal Studies
Established in 2006, ARACY’s Longitudinal Studies Collaborative (LSC) fosters collaboration between Australian and New Zealand studies focused on children and youth. The LSC promotes data sharing, supports new and ongoing studies, advocates for longitudinal research, and disseminates findings to a broad audience.
Maximising the Middle
‘Maximising the Middle’ is a unique initiative based in Campbelltown and Penrith that aims to see middle years children and young people (MYC&YP), aged 8-14 years, thrive. It is a collaborative project initiated by Uniting NSW.ACT, ARACY and the Stronger Smarter Institute (SSI).
ARACY's The Nest
What's in The Nest?
With six connected areas, The Nest ensures young Australians have everything they need for the best start in life, helping them reach their highest potential.
Our Nest projects
Using The Nest, has helped ARACY to be at the forefront of disease prevention and the promotion of holistic health for young Australians.
The Nest initiatives
Here you’ll see some examples of how The Nest has been used in organisations outside of ARACY across Australia.
