Healthy Starts: The state of Australia’s child and family health service system is a report from the Centre for Policy Development that maps the experiences of families accessing the network of health services and supports available from the very beginning of pregnancy, through birth, and across the first 2,000 days of a child’s life.
Research consistently shows that a child’s early years lay the groundwork for their entire life. This is a critical period that shapes lifelong outcomes across a wide range of areas, including educational achievement, career pathways, physical and mental health, and future interactions with social and justice systems.
While parents and families play the central role in a child’s development, governments have a critical responsibility to ensure that our child and family health service system is properly resourced, integrated, and accessible so that every family gets the right support at the right time.
While there are areas where the system is working well, the report highlights a number of gaps and policy barriers preventing families from accessing services and receiving the support they need. Addressing these gaps through policy reform and investment will be vital to building a system children and families can rely on.
This is made even more important in light of the Prime Minister’s commitment to building a universal early education and care system, something that must be underpinned by a cohesive, accessible child and family health system. It is also critical to national reform initiatives like Thriving Kids—where seamless integration between health, education, and care services is essential to delivering early, inclusive developmental support based on a child’s needs rather than a diagnosis alone.