The Hon Jim Chalmers MP
Treasurer
The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Social Services
The Albanese Labor Government is stepping up its work with communities to drive coordinated, locally led change under a new national Place Partnership Model - backed by almost $40 million - that will deliver better outcomes for children and families who need it most.
Rolling out across 18 communities, the new model will deliver better outcomes for children and families, as well as create local jobs, and reduce crime.
The model puts community and local leaders in the driver's seat, to use their local knowledge to better guide where government funding goes, including through initiatives such as the Children and Family Support program.
The funding can support geographically specific activities like community-led school engagement and mentoring programs, locally driven employment pathways, youth recreation programs, and tailored family support services like counselling for children.
By listening to local communities and targeting the drivers of disadvantage in each location, the government will be able to better direct intensive support to areas of greatest need.
The new national model builds on the successful place-based work being led by local leaders right across Australia.
Today, the Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek were in Logan, Queensland - one of the 18 partnership locations - to see firsthand how the local community is coming together to make the biggest difference for their children and families.
The Ministers visited Logan Together, a local non-profit organisation improving the wellbeing of children aged 0 to 8 years of age.
Logan Together is one of many organisations that demonstrate the power of local solutions and ideas combined with Government partnership and investment. They have worked with more than 2800 families in the past five years, to help develop connections with child development services.
Through their Maternal and Child Health Hubs, the rate of still births for First Nations babies now sits at 0.3% as opposed to between 1% and 5% across other parts of Queensland. In Berrinba, Logan Together's programs have supported a 23.5% increase in children who are developmentally on track.
