July 2025 update
July 2025 Update
Dear members and subscribers,
Welcome to Families ACT’s Winter update 2025.
In this edition: Child First Forum; AEDC 2024 results; commissioning and the ACT Budget 2025-26; Joint Case Review update; Child, Youth and Family Services Program (CYFSP) Workforce Capability and Learning Framework and Inquiry into Human Right (Housing) Bill 2025.
As Canberra cools down, Families ACT has been warming up! Since our last update, we’ve been busy preparing for and hosting the Child First Forum in May 2025 (see more below). Since then, we’ve delivered a series of follow-up sessions, offering attendees deeper insight into childhood vulnerability, disadvantage, and poverty by sharing the latest research and data to increase our collective understanding of the issues and potential solutions.
These activities sit alongside our continued work to recommence Joint Case Reviews, lead reforms to the CYFSP Workforce Development and Training, and engage in policy, legislative, and budgetary advocacy through the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Child First Forum 2025
On 13 May, Families ACT and partners, hosted the inaugural Child First Forum. The event brought together advocates and experts from the community sector, government, and research bodies to explore child vulnerability, disadvantage, and poverty in the ACT.
Facilitated by the talented team at Yellow Hat, the Forum guided participants through a thought-provoking, information-gathering process designed to identify key issues, spark creative responses, and inspire collaboration and change.
The day featured a powerful panel discussion with:
Jodie Griffiths-Cook, ACT Children and Young People’s Commissioner;
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, ACT Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People; and
Dr Claire Achmed, Chief Children’s Commissioner of Aotearoa/New Zealand, who also presented on the development and lessons learnt from New Zealand’s Child Poverty Reduction Act.
Anna Perry, from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), provided insights from the 2021 census to help prepare participants for the release of the 2024 results (2024 AEDC update available below).
Families ACT and its partners will continue to drive ongoing projects arising from the Forum in partnership with attendees and advocates to increase our shared understanding and strengthen responses to reduce childhood vulnerability and poverty in the ACT. As part of this program, we’ve already offered two online workshops:
The Community Jigsaw with Professor Sharon Bessell (online, 26 June).
AEDC 2024 update (online, 1 July).
Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas (online, 29 July 2025) - register here.
Further workshops and projects are planned throughout 2025 and beyond, so please get in touch with Families ACT to join these collective efforts to reduce childhood vulnerability towards a Canberra where all families thrive!
You can also learn more about the Forum via its dedicated webpage and the following media reports:
The Child First Forum’s commitment statement, signed b attendees of the Forum.
Australian Early Development Census 2024 findings
The latest AEDC 2024 findings show that children in the ACT remain the second-most developmentally vulnerable in the country, after the Northern Territory. Since 2015, the number of ACT children identified as developmentally vulnerable when starting school has increased significantly.
In 2024, 28.1% of children were identified as developmentally vulnerable in one or more AEDC domains—up from 22.5% in 2015, and well above the national rate of 23.5%.
Alarmingly, the proportion of ACT children vulnerable in two or more domains rose from 11.1% in 2015 to 14.9% in 2024, also exceeding the national rate of 12.5%. Only 43.8% of ACT children are now on track across all five domains—below the national figure of 52.9%.
In response to this ongoing and concerning trend, Families ACT has called for a whole-of-government action on early intervention, calling on the government to review and strengthen its current early years strategy, Best Start for Canberra’s Children: The First 1000 Days. Families ACT also calls for this cross-portfolio prioritisation of the early years strategy to be led by the Chief Minister.
Families ACT’s full media release in response the AEDC 2024 is available here. In addition to this Canberra Times article.
Commissioning and the ACT Budget 2025-26
As highlighted in previous updates, the former Community Services Directorate (CSD) had implemented a rollover of funding for the majority of Children, Youth, Families Services Programs (CYFSP) for an additional one to two years. This decision continues the pattern of commissioning rollovers that has been in place since 2015.
Since that announcement, the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) was released to inform the Commissioning for the CYFSP. Families ACT and other stakeholders were part of the collective advocacy for the SIP’s timely release. This activity, along with the more recent survey of CYFSP participants, are part of Families ACT’s ongoing advocacy and support for commissioning reform.
In other budgetary news, the ACT Government announced a funding increase to the community sector in its 2025-26 Budget. The sector will see a funding boost of $10 million, allocated across 150 eligible organisations, to address existing funding shortfalls highlighted by the community sector as part of the ACT for Community campaign. This funding boost is for two years and is not an ongoing investment. To access this funding, an organisation must be providing services under multi-year funding agreements with the ACT Government that receive Community Sector Indexation (CSI).
Families ACT welcomes this additional funding to the sector, and alongside other peaks will engage the Minister’s office regarding questions, concerns and advise, whilst specific details to this funding’s implementation are worked through. Families ACT will continue to remain engaged and keep members updated as more information regarding implementation is made available.
Concerning children, young people and families, the 2025-26 Budget has not made any major new investments. However, the government has made funding commitments that we hope will provide much needed supports to children and families include:
Youth mental health services ($9.46 million over four years);
Continuing Free Meals in Schools program ($13.45 million over four years);
Safer Families funding, supporting frontline family, domestic, and sexual violence services ($24.85 million over four years);
Improving affordability and access to GPs ($7.3 million over four years);
Additional support for out-of-home care (extraordinary residential care, $13.21 million in 2025-26);
Support to vulnerable first-time parents (Baby Bundles, delivered by Roundabout Canberra, $1.02 million over four years); and
Planning for a perinatal mental health residential mother and baby unit (feasibility study, $0.73 million).
Whilst Families ACT is supportive of the measures detailed above, we remain concerned about the ongoing lack of dedicated funding for early intervention initiatives targeting childhood developmental vulnerability in the ACT. Prioritising early intervention - guided by evidence such as the AEDC - will have a profound and lasting impact on the ability of children and families in the ACT to thrive and intergenerational outcomes for family wellbeing.
Joint Case Reviews update - become a JCR Facilitator
Families ACT and its Joint Case Review (JCR) partners are finalising details for the 2025-2026 program. We will be hosting four sessions over the next 12 months, aiming to commence in August 2025. Under the new structure, some JCR sessions will include a detailed focus, such as disability.
We are accepting applications to train six facilitators to host the JCRs for the next 12-months. As a trained facilitator, you will:
Help guide case-based learning using systems and trauma-informed lens.
Build sector-wide collaboration and reflective capacity.
Gain practical skills in group facilitation, inquiry-based learning and peer supervision.
Be supported by Families ACT with resources, session planning support and co-facilitation opportunities.
Further information about submitting an expression of interest is available here. Applications are due by Monday, 28 July 2025. Please contact Families ACT at comms@familiesact.org.au should you have any questions.
Workforce Development and Training Strategy
In partnership with the Youth Coalition of the ACT, Families ACT has secured funding to develop a Workforce Capability and Learning Framework for the CYFSP. The purpose of this framework is to guide future WDT decisions and ensure alignment and coordination of workforce development and training opportunities and standards across the CYFSP. It will also help identify gaps and training needs throughout the sector.
This project is the first phase of a three-phase project that aims to strengthen the current WDT approach by creating a transparent, evidence-informed, and future-focused strategy to guide workforce development over the next 3 to 5 years.
For further information about this project, please contact either the Youth Coalition of the ACT (office@youthcoalition.net) or Families ACT (comms@familiesact.org.au).
In other news:
Families ACT also made a submission to the Legislative Assembly’s inquiry into the Human Rights (Housing) Bill 2025, which proposes making housing a legislated human right in the ACT. The inquiry has received 26 submissions, with the final report available here.
Meet our new board member - Sarah Milson-Mahy. Sarah is a highly qualified family lawyer with over 30 years’ experience. She has worked extensively on Care and Protection matters for many years, has led law reform and advocacy, trained other lawyers, managed stakeholders and conducted extensive representation work. Sarah has assisted many families experiencing systemic disadvantage by means of her legal work undertaken pursuant to Legal Aid grants and from her time at Women’s Legal ACT. She has an extensive knowledge of the issues facing vulnerable and marginalised children and families. Sarah is currently in her fourth year as a Councillor on the ACT Law Society and has held positions on many Associations over the years. Families ACT and its board welcome Sarah and are looking forward to her contribution to our activities in the years ahead.
Please contact Families ACT if you have any questions about any of the projects and other activities listed above.
With warmth,
Rebecca Zappelli
Executive Director, Families ACT
M: 0402 718 579 E: rebecca.zappelli@familiesact.org.au
