Early parenting centres expansion and upgrade program

In May 2019, the Victorian Government announced a $123 million investment to expand and upgrade the early parenting centre network.

The initial investment includes:

• the upgrade and expansion of existing EPCs in Noble Park and Footscray
• the construction of seven new centres in the growing areas of Ballarat, Bendigo, Casey, Hastings, Geelong, Whittlesea and Wyndham.

Factors such as locations of existing centres, population growth, and levels of need for healthy child development were considered when deciding locations for the new EPCs.

The new EPCs will include:

• residential family units
• day-stay places
• shared kitchen and dining areas
• multi-purpose rooms
• indoor and outdoor play areas
• administration and staff areas.

The early parenting centres expansion and upgrade program aims to deliver the following benefits:

More families supported
The program will more than triple existing service capacity, allowing more than 5,000 extra families to be supported each year.

More in-centre residential services
The expansion and upgrade program will increase the number of services available to Victorian families. This includes residential family units, where families can stay overnight for support.

More support for regional and outer-metropolitan Victorian families
An expanded EPC network is getting us closer towards the goal of state-wide coverage, providing access to specialist parenting support for more families, closer to home.

Jobs for Victorians
The program will create and sustain around 400 construction jobs across the state. It will also create new job opportunities for multidisciplinary teams of qualified professionals to operate the new centres.