Connected Beginnings

What is Connected Beginnings?

Connected Beginnings aims to improve access to existing early childhood, maternal and child health and family support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, to ensure they are safe, healthy and ready to thrive at school by the age of five.

The program supports children from birth to school age, and pregnant women, with school readiness and educational outcomes to close the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and non-Indigenous children. This is achieved by sharing knowledge and improving outcomes for children and facilitating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement with integrated early childhood education, health and family support services across the country.

Connected Beginnings projects have been established in every state and territory of Australia with 50 sites across Australia supporting over 24,800 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Jointly funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Aged Care, the program is comprised of a network of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations that provide culturally safe support services for children and families in their area.

The programs are developed and run by ‘backbone organisations’, which are teams that work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and organisations to codesign goals and solutions to support children. This ensures the sites:

are led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
fund meaningful activities delivered in place and on Country
fund solutions that meet the unique needs of each community.

Connected Beginnings sites ultimately yield strong, holistic support and care based on best practices of what is effective on the ground for our children and families.

Our Role

SNAICC is the official Community Partner of Connected Beginnings. We are funded by the Department of Education to help guide the approach for community-led and culturally safe early childhood projects around Australia by:

taking the lead in scoping new sites and providing foundational support
providing ongoing tailored support for existing sites to establish and embed their work in line with community priorities
testing ideas and responding to emerging challenges
facilitate ongoing learning and networking across the growing number of sites nationally.

We are also a co-chair of the Advisory Group, where we provide leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early years, child and maternal health and place-based initiatives.

National Gathering 2024 on Kaurna Yarta

Watch the events from the Connected Beginnings 2024 National Gathering on Kaurna Yarta/Tarndanya.

At the 2024 National Gathering communities, service providers and leaders came together to share knowledge, celebrate successes and strengthen partnerships.

Click the link to watch six interviews with community leaders and hear the impact Connected Beginnings is having in communities across Australia as speakers reflect on how the program is achieving better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

Watch community leader interviews

Connected Beginnings in lutruwita

With the support of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Connected Beginnings visited communities and services across lutruwita/Tasmania to connect with families, educators and health professionals.

These visits strengthened relationships, shared knowledge and demonstrated the importance of Connected Beginnings’ community-led approach to supporting Aboriginal children’s early development. Hear from those involved as they discuss the impact Connected Beginnings is having in their communities.

SNAICC pays tribute to the team at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for their leadership and dedication to supporting thriving families and communities.

Watch all the events in lutruwita

Ngura Yadurirn (Ceduna)

At the heart of Connected Beginnings is a commitment to focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, doing, and being, ensuring that the rights and needs of children remain the core focus.

To achieve this, and to align with commitments to Priority Reform 2 under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the Department of Education, in Partnership with SNAICC, is transitioning funding from non-ACCO-led backbone organisations to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. The ACCO Leadership Transition Framework guides this work, prioritising cultural authority and community voices, making self-determination central to decision-making.

Watch to find out what Connected Beginnings means for community in Ceduna.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress

Connected Beginnings at Central Australian Aboriginal Congress is cohesively designed to include all aspects of Early Years and Health engagement for families and children.

The program benefits children and families by providing a comprehensive health and education support system, giving children the best chance of success when they begin school. Central Australian Aboriginal Congress provide comprehensive, holistic and culturally-appropriate services to Aboriginal people living in and nearby Alice Springs, including nearby remote communities Amoonguna, Ntaria (and Wallace Rockhole), Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa), Utju (Areyonga), Imanpa, Yulara, Mutitjulu and Kaltukatjara.

Watch to find out what Connected Beginnings means for community in Alice Springs.

More about the program

The aim of the program is to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s and families’ engagement with health and early childhood education and care.

Connected Beginnings is a grants program that supports 40+ sites across Australia. Grants are made available in every state and territory in Australia, with funding used to integrate local support services so children and families can access culturally appropriate support services, including:

maternal and child health
early childhood education and care
family support
preschools and schools
local government and council support

By leveraging the resources and expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the program improves access to early childhood, maternal and child health and family support services.

External links

Evaluation of Connected Beginnings: mid-term report 2023

The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Aged Care commissioned a mid-term evaluation of the program for 2023 to be carried out by Inside Policy. It found the program supported positive early educational and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Download the mid-term 2023 assessment

Evaluation of Connected Beginnings Program: final report 2019

Australian Healthcare Associates was appointed to evaluate the program, which has been progressively rolled out since July 2016. This report presents findings on the program’s effectiveness, key learnings and characteristics of successful program sites.

Download the final report (2019)

Resources

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Kids Come First: The Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations Leadership Transition Framework

August 2023

Kids Come First: The Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations Leadership Transition Framework is designed to assist leaders in Connected Beginnings communities. The framework aims to guide the transition of the Connected Beginnings backbone role from non-Indigenous organisations to ACCOs where there is agreement and support from the community.

Download

Guiding Principles of the Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations Leadership Transition Framework

September 2022

Excerpts from the draft of the Leadership Transition Framework with consultation with Aboriginal people and Connected Beginnings sites.