Another 6 Connected Beginnings sites will be established to help thousands more First Nations children get ready for school.
The sites, 5 in Queensland and 1 in New South Wales, are:
- Maryborough, Qld
- Hervey Bay, Qld
- Cairns, Qld
- Bundaberg, Qld
- Rockhampton, Qld
- Broken Hill, NSW.
Connected Beginnings is an Australian Government grants program and Closing the Gap measure.
The program aims to increase Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children’s and families’ engagement with health and early childhood education and care. It improves access to existing early childhood, maternal and child health, and family support services so children are safe, healthy and ready to thrive at school by the age of five.
The new locations are expected to support up to 4,500 children get prepared for school.
The announcement means there are now 40 Connected Beginnings sites across Australia.
In 2021, the Australian Government committed $81.8 million to expanding Connected Beginnings to 50 sites nationally by 2025. The program has the potential to support up to 20 per cent of all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children aged zero to five.
The program is jointly delivered by the Departments of Education, and Health and Aged Care in partnership with SNAICC National Voice of our Children and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).