Families and Communities Programme
Communities for Children Facilitating Partner
Community Strategic Plan
The Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (FP) Sub-activity
FPs are place-based and develop and facilitate a whole of community approach to support and
enhance early childhood development and wellbeing for children from before birth to 12 years.
FPs build on local strengths to meet local community needs and create capability within local
service systems, using strong evidence of what works in early intervention and prevention as
identified by the Families and Children Expert Panel. They collaborate with other organisations
to provide a holistic service system for children and families. FPs fund other organisations
(known as Community Partners) to provide services including parenting support, group peer
support, case management, home visiting services and other supports to promote child
wellbeing.
The Community Strategic Plan
The Community Strategic Plan (the Plan) supports FPs to set out a vision for their service area.
It identifies the key needs and service gaps in the community, develops ways to better
coordinate and collaborate and outlines priority areas and strategies to address need and
improve outcomes for children and families.
The Plan should build on the extensive knowledge that FPs and their Committees have gained
in working with their communities, often over long periods of time. This new Community
Strategic Plan presents an opportunity to critically reflect on what is changing and what
continues to be the strengths and challenges for your local community.
The Plan also reflects the Australian Government’s commitment to civil society and an
acknowledgement that it is only through everyone in a community working together that true
change in outcomes and trajectories can be achieved. This includes governments,
non-government organisations, academia, business and community members.
The Community Strategic Plan should be developed with the aim of achieving the Families and
Children Activity Outcomes and the Communities for Children FP objectives. The objectives of
the Communities for Children FP are outlined below, including the new objective around school
transition and engagement.

To improve the health and well-being of families and the development of young
children, from before birth through to age 12 years, paying special attention to:
o
Healthy young families — supporting parents to care for their children before
and after birth and throughout the early years;
o
Supporting families and parents — support for parents to provide children
with secure attachment, consistent discipline and quality environments that
are stable, positive, stimulating, safe and secure;
o
Early learning — provide access to high quality early learning opportunities in
the years before school; provide early identification and support for children
Page 1
at risk of developmental and behavioural problems; assist parents with ways
they can stimulate and promote child development and learning from birth;
and
o

School transition and engagement - support children and families to make a
smooth transition to school and work with local schools to assist children and
families with their ongoing engagement with school.
To create strong child-friendly communities that understand the importance of
children and apply this capacity to maximise the health, well-being and early
development of young children at the local level.
Community Strategic Plan Guidance
All Facilitating Partners are required to provide a Community Strategic Plan by 1 April 2015 for
each Service Area and will cover the period to 1 July 2019.
The Plan includes the following sections:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Communities for Children Facilitating Partner’s Details
Community Informed Service Mapping
Community Engagement
Service Area Vision
Priority Areas
When developing your Plan, you should consider the following documents:






Families and Children Guidelines Overview
Communities for Children FP Operational Guidelines
Your Families and Communities Programme Grant Agreement, especially Item B
Families and Children Performance Framework
Families and Children Programme Logic, and
State, territory and local government policies, plans and services
FPs will likely generate a substantial amount of valuable information as they develop their Plan.
However, as part of the Department’s commitment to reducing reporting requirements, FPs can
limit responses to one page per section and one page per priority area.
The Plan must be developed in conjunction with your Communities for Children Committee and
signed by an authorising officer in your organisation before is it submitted to your Grant
Agreement Manager for review.
Please contact your Grant Agreement Manager if you need assistance developing your Plan or
if you may have difficulty in meeting the due date.
Page 2
Other useful information resources include:











Factsheet on the Families and Children Expert Panel
Factsheet on Collaboration
Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage
Closing the Gap: National Indigenous Reform Agreement
The Toolkit for Indigenous Service Provision
The Working and Walking Together handbook prepared by SNAICC
The Engaging hard-to-reach families and children report by Natasha Cortis, Ilan Katz
and Roger Patulny
The Family Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) What Helps and Hinders, FRSA
Linkages and Collaboration Project Report
Interagency Collaboration by the Australian Institute of Family Studies
Promising Practice Profiles at the Australian Family Relationships Clearinghouse by the
Australian Institute of Family Studies
Creating Conditions for Collective Impact
Page 3
1. Communities for Children Facilitating Partner’s Details
Facilitating Partner Details
Service Area Name
Gladstone
FP Name
Gladstone Area and Development Pty
Ltd
FP Contact Name
Maree Tisdell
FP Contact Title
Program Coordinator
Address
105 Toolooa Street
Gladstone
State/Territory and Postcode
Queensland 4680
Community Strategic Plan
Date Communities for Children
Committee agreed to Community
Strategic Plan
Name of Facilitating Partner
Authorising Officer
1 April 2015
Glenn Churchill
Signature of Facilitating Partner
Authorising Officer
DSS Use
Date of Submission to DSS
Date of DSS approval
DSS Delegate Name
DSS Delegate Position
DSS Delegate Signature
Page 4
2. Community-Informed Service Mapping
Describe the key needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families in your
community, and the current services and service gaps within your service area.
You should reflect on:



What are the key needs of families at risk of poor outcomes in your service area?
Are there emerging needs for your community that you need to get on the front foot in
addressing?
What are the existing children and family services doing to meet those needs? Are there
gaps?
You should draw on feedback from community consultations, your existing knowledge of the
community’s demographics and social issues as well as other available resources, which may
include:





Australian Early Development Index at www.rch.org.au/aedi
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy at www.naplan.edu.au
Australian Bureau of Statistics, to access census data such as age profiles,
unemployment and cultural diversity information, at www.abs.gov.au
Settlement statistics at www.immi.gov.au/settlement
State and territory specific information, including statistics on school attendance,
domestic violence, child protection and crime.
Community and Service Mapping
Also find attached:
Attachments A (Survey Evaluation),
Attachment B (Gladstone C4C Scoping Profile)
Attachment C (Summary of School Results)
Attachment D (Committee Terms of reference)
Population Profile
Located around 550km north of Brisbane and 110km south of Rockhampton, the city of Gladstone
has a population of around 53,000 and the seaside community of Boyne Island/Tannum Sands
with around 12,000, and provides a quality residential area for the wider Gladstone area. The
Gladstone region as defined by the local Government boundaries, is 10 465.8 sq. kms, which
incorporates city, and rural and remote areas.
With one of Queensland's premier ports, the region is home to 2 world class alumina refineries,
aluminium smelter, cement plant, Orica chemical plant, and 3 LNG plants currently under
construction, and due for completion within the next 18 months, together with a major new port
facility construction and major rail infrastructure.
With massive industrial and subsequent residential growth over the last 4 years, the community
has been under enormous stress, with a large transient population moving to the area for
employment and creating pressure point on already stressed community and social services.
The Gladstone area's growth is cyclical in nature and complex with construction peaks and
troughs that bring their own sets of challenges within community Boyne Island/Tannum Sands is a
community with quite different geography and social dynamics but still feeds into the Gladstone
job market and infrastructure and is reliant on that larger regional economy and service industries.
Both communities have a very transient population.
Page 5
Whilst indigenous families only make up 3.5% of the population, some 23.2% of these are aged 014 years. The traditional owners of the area are acknowledged as the Bailai (Byellee), Gooreng
Gooreng, Gurang and Toolooa.
Our community is suffering from "consultation fatigue", particularly given the amount of
consultation that has been undertaken by each of the major industrial projects that have been
undertaken in recent years. The Gladstone Communities for Children Committee determined that
there would be little value in engaging "another consultant" to determine the gaps and priorities for
this Strategic Plan. The ground work consultation has already been done by various means as
detailed in this Plan, and together with the depth of knowledge and experience of the committee
members (including an Early Childhood consultant) the committee strongly supports the Priorities
and Outcomes of this Plan to deal with the complexities of the challenges being faced in this
region, to deliver a whole of community approach to support and enhance early childhood
development and wellbeing for children from before birth to 12 years.
Table 1 Demographics
Population Characteristics
Total people
Males
Females
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people
Age
Key Demographic Indicators, 2011 Census
4680, Qld
Queensland
Australia
No.
%
No.
%
No.
26,335 51.8
2,148,221 49.6
10,634,013
24,496 48.2
2,184,518 50.4
10,873,704
1,809
3.6
155,825
3.6
548,369
4680
No
4,124
3,879
3,814
%
8.1
7.6
7.5
Queensland
No.
%
297,893
6.9
286,989
6.6
290,982
6.7
%
49.4
50.6
2.5
Australia
No.
1,421,050
135192
1,371,054
%
0-4 years
6.6
5-9 years
6.3
10-14 years
6.4
Income (aged 15 and over)
Average Individual income
$716
$587
$577
($/Weekly)
Average household income
$1,955
$1,453
$1,481
($/Weekly)
Average Family income
$1,780
$1,235
$1,234
($/Weekly)
Family Characteristics
Total Families
12,913
1,148,179
5,684,051
Couple families without
4,698
36.38% 453,102
39.46% 2,150,299
37.83%
children
Couple families with children 6,438
49.86% 491,200
42.78% 2,534,397
44.59%
One parent families
1,626
12.59% 184,547
16.07% 901,634
15.86%
Other families
151
1.71%
19,330
1.68%
97,721
1.72%
 Median age of people in 4680 younger than in Queensland or Australia. (Census 2011)
 Children aged 0 – 14 make up 23.2% of the population of the 4680 region.
 While average incomes in Gladstone are significantly higher than those across
Queensland and Australia these figures are skewed by the very high incomes earned by
those working in construction on Curtis Island. There are households and areas within the
Local Government jurisdiction that are regarded as economically disadvantaged -16.6% in
rural areas to the north and south as well as some suburbs within Gladstone itself, p17
Gladstone Region’s Cultural Diversity Review
Page 6









Forecast population growth in the major catchment is HIGH – total population expected to
increase by 2.35% p.a. from 2014 to 2018 (net 4948 persons) (ABS 2011).
Population of children under 5 in the catchment area is forecast to increase at a higher
rate of 2.88% p.a. from 2014 to 2018 – net 506 children. Proportion of children aged under
5 (8.36% and growing) is higher than the state average (6.9%) 1
Population of Gladstone is expected to double in the next 20 years – according to Census
2011 the population was 57, 882 in 2011.
Higher percentage of Couple families with children than Qld or Australia
Lower percentage of one parent families in Gladstone
Lower percentage of couple families without children in Gladstone compared to Qld and
Australia.
Overseas arrivals as at 2011, 7178 and 25% of these have arrived in the last five years. 2
Approximately 1 (one) in 4 (four) Gladstone Region's residents were overseas-born (this
significantly contrast with the results encountered by the ABS Census 2011, in which only
five (5%) of the residents were from overseas-born being a large majority from AngloCeltic background), incorporating 72 nationalities (including Chinese, Filipino, Indian, etc.)
and 53 languages other than English.3 (www.abs.gov.au, 2013). The Gladstone Region
has become increasingly diverse.
From Feb 2014- Jan 2015 there were 562 babies born at Gladstone District Hospital4
Within a twelve months period (ending on 30th March, 2015) and mainly due to sudden
industrial growth and its associated continuous demand for skilled workforce, Gladstone'
Region's overall population has increased by 6,105 people, which is a population growth
rate of 3%, compared with a 2% increase for Queensland. 5
Gladstone C4C Area has 8 main population Centres
Table 2 Gladstone C4C Area Population Centres6 and disadvantage index
District
Population
Index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage7
*Boyne Island – Tannum
Sands
11,303
1,049.7
*Clinton-ByelleeCallemondah
5,977
1032.9
Gladstone City
1,503
1017.1
Kin-Kora – Sun Valley
4,277
999.8
New Auckland-Kirkwood
4,982
1050.3
1
http://www.hereforgladstone.com.au/asset/download/805/6311fa/icm-childcare-needs-assessment-gladstone-qldaugust2014.pdf)
2
Gladstone Regional Scoping Report for Good Beginnings p8, 2014
3
www.abs.gov.au, 2013
4
Dr Barb Panitz, Gladstone GP Obstetrics, 27 February 2015
5
http://statistics.oesr.qld.gov.au/qld-regional-profiles
6
http://profile.id.com.au/gladstone/about?WebID=210
7 http://profile.id.com.au/gladstone/seifa-disadvantage?es=2
Page 7
South Gladstone – Barney
Point
4,721
974.3
Telina – South trees – Glen
Eden – Toolooa –
O’Connell
5630
1050.3
West Gladstone
5,241
987.7
Based on the SEIFA index the suburbs of Kin Kora,-Sun Valley, South Gladstone-Barney Point
and West Gladstone are areas of highest disadvantage.
Child Development, Well-being and Safety


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




Child Safety is working with approx. 220 children most of the time with approx. 160 in
foster care and the rest being at home or in other places8
Early Childhood Network (including police representative), teachers have flagged an
increase in bullying amongst young people in primary school (see Background Document)
In 2012, 21.3% of children were found to be developmentally vulnerable in their first year
of school and 11 per cent of children were found to be developmentally vulnerable on two
or more domains.
AEDC 2012 results also indicate that 18.4% of Indigenous children in Gladstone are
developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains whereas 10.5% of non-indigenous
children were vulnerable on two or more domains. (See Attachment C)
In Gladstone C4C area, Gladstone children were considered to be developmentally
vulnerable across the Social Competence domain, the Language and Cognitive Domain
and the Communication Skills and General Knowledge domain (See Attachment C)
School transition figures (provided to C4C by DETE) indicate that:
o 55.8% of Indigenous children are transition to school well in their first year of
school compared to non-indigenous children (70.8%).
o 41.9% of indigenous children have parents who are actively engaged with the
school and supporting their children’s learning compared to 73.7% of nonindigenous children
o 44.2% of Indigenous children are read to regularly compared to 71.5% of nonindigenous children
9
The AEDI also breaks the results down to local communities and when results are
analysed across all domains it is clear that children from South Gladstone/Barney Point
and Sun Valley and Surrounds (includes West Gladstone and Kin Kora) are more
developmentally vulnerable than other children in Gladstone (See Attachment C).
Children living in these areas attend Gladstone South State School, Kin Kora and
Gladstone West State School.
The School Transition figures for Gladstone indicate that children in Gladstone may not be
exposed to early literacy in the home before they start Prep as often as other children in
Queensland.10
The Naplan Results for Indigenous Students Year 3 indicates:
oA spike in the number of Year 3 students in the lower bands (well below National
Minimum Standards) across all strands
oOverall decrease in the number of Year 3 students in the average and Upper two
bands across all strands
8
Sourced from Department of Communities Gladstone
http://www.aedc.gov.au/ClientData/CommunityProfiles/2012_33350.pdf
10 http://www.aedc.gov.au/ClientData/CommunityProfiles/2012_33350.pdf
9
Page 8
Summary of Outcomes from Surveys, Consultations, Forums and Group Interviews of
Parents, Organisations and Children over the period May 2014 to February 201511 (see
Attachment A)
What Parents Say
Top needs identified by parents in Gladstone C4C Area
 Parenting Education Programs
 Occasional Childcare/Adjunct care
 Transport
 Service Awareness – what and where?
 Early Intervention Programs for children starting school
 More activities for children over 8 -12

What Organisations say (including Government, Non-Government, NFPs, Social Service
and Community Groups, Early childhood Network, Parent Information Group, Indigenous
Organisations12)
Top needs/issues identified by Organisations in Gladstone C4C area:
 Under professionalisation of the field – many are performing roles they are not qualified to
perform;
 High turnover of professionals and non-professionals due to transient population of
Gladstone impacts on service delivery and on continuing attendance of service by clients;
 Parents need more support around dealing with their child/ren’s behaviours – parenting
education programs
 Increasing needs identified when interacting with children such as speech and language
Impairment and delays, fine and gross motor skills lacking, Social skills and behavioural
issues. This identified by ECN and teachers in the teacher survey as increasing numbers
of children are experiencing difficulties with a smooth transition to school.
 Dislocation of GP services and allied health i.e. allied health professionals are contacting
doctors with their concerns regarding children and nothing is happening.
 Lifestyle programs – exercise and nutrition
 Adjunct care is needed for parents who want to attend programs – not always appropriate
for children to be there
 Lack of reliable public transport
 Growing IT addiction of young children
What Police/CCRDFV says
Identified by police representative on Early childhood Network and by CCRDFV
 Bullying amongst younger age groups is increasing – Social media plays a huge role in
this13
 Suicide rates in the 18 to 25 year age group in Gladstone area are increasing14 - this is
often an outcome from issues that start as young as under 10
 Rates of reported Domestic and Family Violence in Gladstone are substantially higher in
Gladstone than across Queensland 15 16
 Parents need more support with children’s behaviour
 More programs for children over 8 (that is where the problems are starting)
11
See attached Survey – Attachment A
12
See attached Survey
13
Advice from Gladstone Community police officer
14 Advice from Gladstone Community police officer
15 Magistrates Court of Queensland: Annual Report 2012-2013 http://www.courts.qld.gov.au
16 Gladstone Observer 14 March 2015
Page 9
What Educators say – including Kindergarten, Childcare and Primary teachers
Difficult to quantify numbers or even percentages of children with needs from the responses given
to survey questions from this group. However, common themes were:






Noticeable numbers of children in the classroom are struggling to meet the demands of
Prep
Children are starting school with noticeable issues – behavioural/developmental etc. are
starting school without a diagnosis
Less than half of the children starting Prep accessed early intervention services prior to
starting school.
Many children lacking in fine and gross motor skills (can’t hold pencils, cut with scissors,
play with balls, sit up properly at their desks)
Majority of respondents knew referral options available for families – there are protocols
and procedures in place for this.
Parents need more information
What the Children say
Majority of children surveyed were in the 6 years and over cohort. Their main concerns were
around the issue of not having enough to do on the weekends and during school holidays. They
said that there are places they could go (skate park was mentioned) but “big kids go there and
they don’t feel safe”.
3. Community Engagement
In order for GAPDL Communities for Children to achieve the vision of “Living, Learning, Growing
Together for Stronger Families and Stronger Futures” we recognise that we must focus on
building partnerships across the three sectors Community, business and government in order to
build the capacity of our communities and improve developmental outcomes for children and
their families.
Gladstone population is a very transient one and services have to be flexible in order to ensure
service delivery is relevant and gaps are being addressed. The Strategic Plan is a living
document and will need to be revisited regularly to ensure that Priorities contained in it and in
the Work Plan are relevant to the needs of the target groups.
Gladstone C4C recognises that to support families in the Gladstone Region an integrated
service response by individuals, communities and agencies is the most effective way to promote
effective and long lasting change.
The C4C committee works very closely with the Early Childhood Network and many are
members on both committees. Currently monthly C4C committee meetings are attended by:








1 x Local Government Representative and GAPDL Board member
1 x Representative from Federal Government – DHS
1 x Representative from Federally funded IPSP program
3 x Representatives from State Government – DET, Department of Communities, Child
Safety and Disabilities, Maternal and Child Health
3 x Representatives from various Allied Health services
3 x parent representatives
4 x Community Partners including multicultural organisation
1 x Rep from Indigenous health Organisation
Page 10
To seek feedback around emerging needs, issues and themes for families and children in
Gladstone C4C area the C4C team have consulted with a variety of service providers, families
and children during the past eight months.
The process was planned from the beginning to ensure that consultation occurred across a
broad representation of families and service providers. C4C has broadened it’s presence in the
Community and in the different Service provider networks and was able to gather data and
themes around need that had not been previously known/realised.
The report is in Attachment A, the Gladstone C4C Scoping Profile is at Attachment B (this
profile is regularly reviewed and updated).
The C4C team have completed consultations in the following key areas:


Service Providers including:
o Children’s and Family Services
o General Practitioners and Allied Health Services
o Department of Human Services (Centrelink)
o Nhulundu Indigenous Health Service
o Maternal and Child Health
o Child and Youth Mental Health Services
o Central Queensland Indigenous Development
o Department of education (Early Childhood)
o Schools, Kindergartens and childcare
o Private Providers of healthcare
o Recreation, leisure activities and sporting clubs
o Local government
o CQU
o Police and CCRDFV
Family Surveys competed with over 240 families. Surveys were distributed through:
Page 11
Table 3 List of Community Venues for Parent Survey Distribution
Venue Surveyed
Kin Kora Shopping Centre
Valley Shopping Centre
Kin Kora Shopping Centre
Boyne Tannum Plaza
17
Airport
Parenting Programs
Child and Family Centre
Gladstone
Child and Family Centre
Gladstone
Parenting Program –
Boyne/Tannum
Parenting Program –
Boyne/Tannum
Parenting Program GP
Super clinic
East Shores Community
facility
Indigenous Playgroup
Parents
Friends Park (Barney
Point)
Gladstone Women’s
Refuge Parents
Child Safety parents
Playgroups
Sporting Venues –
Football, Basketball and
Soccer
Survey Monkey
One on One
Date Surveyed
7 March 2014
6 November 2014
13 March 2015
22 September 2014
22 October 2014
# Participants
23
17
12
15
11
5 December 2014
9
27 August 2014
10
24 September 2014
9
22 September 2014
8
1 July 2014
21 and 22 January 2015
10
37
5 March 2015
6
8
5
Over period September
2014 – March 2015
7
24
31
31
6



Children Surveys – Childcare Centres, Playgroups, Sporting venues and schools
Meetings with current Community Partners and through their progress reports
Gladstone Early Childhood Network and Parent Information Group

17
This survey was carried out with a group of FIFO workers waiting to catch a plane for their rostered week at home.
.
Page 12
Strengths of Gladstone C4C Community
The top themes identified by families that are working well in Gladstone to help raise children
are:




Community Facilities/Parks
Community Activities – Playgroups, Library, Weekend events
Sport
Support Groups
The following have been identified as strengths by Service Providers in Gladstone C4C Area:






Supportive
Communication is getting better and Networks are strengthening
Lots of different sports for families
Community Events
Early childhood Network
Want best for families
Gaps in the Community & Service Sector
Following gaps in the service sector were identified:

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







Limited access to specialists and long waiting lists
Dislocation between allied health services and GPs/Specialists i.e. allied health
professionals are contacting doctors with their concerns re: children and nothing is
happening.
Lack of early intervention services
Not enough Parenting programs for families wanting to access and services needing to
refer (this was identified as the biggest area of need by service providers and parents)
Current service system is disconnected and services can be hard to find if you are not
already in the system
Lack of occasional childcare and adjunct care
Not enough services specific for 8-12 years.
Not enough support for families with challenging behaviours or complex families
Public Transport is non-existent or very limited depending on where you live
Transient population can lead to a high turnover of staff working in the Social Services
sector.
Growing addiction to IT of young people including mobile phones, Facebook, Social
media.
Increasing needs identified when interacting with children such as speech and language
Impairment and delays, fine and gross motor skills lacking, Social skills and behavioural
issues. This identified by ECN and teachers in the teacher survey as increasing
numbers of children are experiencing difficulties with a smooth transition to school.
Lifestyle programs – exercise and nutrition
Page 13
Limitations and/or barriers that exist:
Identified by service Providers






Transport and distance between services – Gladstone is very hilly and very hot and
there are not enough footpaths
Cost
Limited knowledge and uncertainty about the services available
Fear of judgement
No affordable childcare
Services not integrated/no one place for people to go for information
Identified by parents:





Transport
Fear of judgement
Cost
Lack of knowledge about what is available
Affordable childcare
Emerging themes, issues and priorities
Housing
At the height of Gladstone’s boom (latter part of 2011 to early 2014) rentals and houses for sale
were hard to find. Median prices of housing were well above the State average and there were
negative rental vacancies. As a result Gladstone attracted property developers who came in
and built multiple numbers of houses and blocks of units to meet the demand. Local real estate
agent advised that in the last 12 months unit prices have decreased by up to 46% and house
prices have also dropped significantly. The rental market is now in oversupply and rents have
dropped in response. The RTA figures show a 33.3% and 30.2% change in rental prices for
Units and houses from 2013 to 2014. House prices are now cheaper than the state average
and back to 2008 levels (Sourced from local Real Estate Agent).
Many of the houses that were built by developers from out of the region in the ‘boom’ period
have building and structural defects. Builders are unable to be contacted and owners are
having to pay for the defects to be fixed without being able to use insurance. Many young
families purchased homes when prices were very high and rentals were very difficult to find –
they are now in situation of negative equity. The knock on effect is that husbands/fathers often
have to work away on a FIFO roster to keep servicing the loan.
Anecdotally there has also been an increase in Mortgagee in possession sales in the past 12
months – many of those defaulting are families with children.
Employment
At the height of the “boom” Gladstone enjoyed an unemployment rate that was much lower than
the rest of the State and Australia – in June Quarter 2013 unemployment rate in Gladstone was
4.4 per cent in comparison to Queensland 6.0 per cent. Unemployment rate in January 2015 in
Gladstone was 7.5% (sourced from DHS).
At the peak of the Construction phase of the LNG plants there was a total of 14,000 workers
employed – approx. 4700 were Gladstone residents and the rest FIFO/DIDO workers.
Page 14
Construction phase is now winding back as the plants move into the operational stage. Each of
the three LNG plants will only have a direct operational workforce of 180-200 people. There will
also be indirect employment of the Plant Service Contractor for each with about 50 – 70 people
in normal operations. 18
It is predicted that the bulk of redundancies will occur in September and December this year i.e.
2015. There will be some through the year prior to this but timing will be very much about the
stage of construction people are working on.
It is very difficult for anyone to know what the future will be for Gladstone except to say that it is
changing all the time. This is a relatively young and very transient population. Many of the
families who have come to town for employment will stay here but many will leave and still
others will become FIFO families. There are a number of different groups looking at the FIFO
phenomenon and its impact on families – CQU has been involved in a project around FIFO and
it will be very important that C4C and the service sector draws knowledge from that research to
inform future plans. It is also difficult to determine if the needs will be the same two years from
now. The growing demographic of young families in the Gladstone Region are at higher risk of
greater disadvantage without access to the right services.
The recent change of government which came soon after the previous change of government
has also introduced a level of uncertainty particularly in the Social Services sector. How this
change will impact on programs and employment is yet to be seen.
Emerging themes, issues and priorities identified include:








Improve service access for all families but particularly hard to reach and vulnerable
families
Better public transport
Increase access to information/ service awareness
Improving availability of occasional and adjunct childcare
Improved access to early intervention services
Increased reported incidents of Domestic and Family Violence
Bullying is an increasing issue (reported from Police rep)
Construction winding back
Maintaining Community Consultation and Engagement
Community engagement will be maintained through the work of the C4C team and the C4C
Committee. C4C coordinator is currently involved in a number of community and service
provider networks as well as professional organisations and is able to keep contact with what is
happening on the ground through these networks. It will be important to ensure that the
planning and evaluation of services is continuous because of the rapid change the community is
experiencing. In conjunction with Community partners and the Committee, C4C will continue to
develop better needs analysis processes to map changes in the environment.
The C4C committee is a broad representation of the community we live in- there is currently
some work being done around trying to engage industry reps, business reps and university input
so that there is real feedback from all sectors particularly given the amount of change.
18
Marine & Stakeholder Manager | Downstream Operations GLNG Operations Pty Ltd, 03 March 2015
Page 15
Service Area Vision
Drawing on your community-informed service mapping and community engagement processes,
describe the vision for your Service Area. Ensure that your vision encompasses the Families
and Children Activity outcomes and the Communities for Children Facilitating Partner objectives.
Our vision statement is that families, children and their parents are supported in “Living,
learning and growing together for stronger families and stronger futures”. This Vision
became part of the Gladstone Region Child and Family Charter which was officially
endorsed on 27 May 2010.
As a community we want to empower families to function more effectively, advocating that
parents and carers have the most critical role to play in their children's health, well-being
and education.
We want to ensure people have access to the necessary specific supports that will help
them by detecting and acting on crises before they happen, developing a shared
responsibility for vulnerable families and children rather than risk aversion.
By advancing changes to our service practice culture in relation to families and
children we will be able to strengthen universal and targeted early intervention
and prevention processes.
By sharing knowledge, coordinating service delivery and working collaboratively over the
long-term we will achieve sustainable systemic change and so continue to build strong
connections and relationships between family and children's services and their clients.
In this way, through the building of a supportive family culture we will enhance the wellbeing and resilience of children and their families in a healthy, active, safe and caring
community.
Taking this child-and-family-friendly approach we aim to strengthen the provision of
quality services to clients in order to improve the social integration and cohesion of the
region.
Page 16
4. Priority Areas
Building on previous parts of the plan, describe the priority areas that you need to focus on to
achieve your vision. Priority Areas are the areas that the community has identified need to be a
focus of effort. The priority area may be a particular target group (e.g. engaging young parents),
a service gap (e.g. parent education), or systemic issue (e.g. adult services being disconnected
from children’s services).
Your response should include:






An overview of the priority area
Why you have chosen it as a priority area
How it relates to the Families and Children Activity’s outcomes and Communities for
Children FP objectives
What strategies you will use to achieve improved outcomes in this priority area
o Your strategies may include funded direct service delivery but could also focus
on other actions a FP and its Committee could undertake, such as improving
service delivery capability, building community awareness, or engaging with
other relevant service providers, such as adult services.
The method you will use to measure whether outcomes in this priority area have
improved.
Outline the key stakeholders that will be critical for success.
Page 17
Priority Area One
Children pre- birth to 12 years and their families living in the Gladstone C4C area and
providers of formal and informal learning settings including early intervention
services, playgroups, Early Childhood Education settings, Primary schools and early
High School years (11 and 12 years).
This area was recognised as an area of priority for Gladstone children from Parent survey,
stakeholder interviews, Organisational needs survey AEDC and other Educational results.
ABS Census data and local knowledge was used to help map areas of greatest need in the
Gladstone C4C Area.
AIMS
Increase families and community understanding of and commitment to learning in the early
years, including successful transitions to school.
Promote and support early learning programs that promote children’s developmental and
educational outcomes.
OVERVIEW
This strategy aims to improve children’s Social Competence, Language and Cognitive skills
and Communication Skills and General Knowledge through a range of community and
school based programs.
Under this strategy, parents and carers will be provided with opportunities to actively
participate with their children in a number of programs that introduce families to the service
system in non-threatening ways. These programs include parents, children and service
providers and focus on activities such as mobile playgroups, transition to school playgroups,
supported playgroup in Women’s Refuge, Indigenous Playgroups, early year’s
literacy/numeracy programs and homework support.
This activity will actively encourage and source resources/professional development
programs to support services working with early years. C4C will support collaboration
between services and promote the importance of service integration and coordination.
Outreach of services will be encouraged and supported and strategy will work towards all
services wanting the same outcomes for families.
The lack of reliable public transport in Gladstone has been recognized across the sector as a
major barrier for families trying to access services. Service providers have recognized that
they all need to work together in a much more integrated way in order to access hard to
reach and vulnerable families and a multi-disciplinary approach is needed. C4C will broker
partnership arrangements with organisations, industry and business to source innovative
solutions for transport. Mobile Playgroup and other services will travel to parks in areas
throughout Gladstone and Boyne Tannum together with a focus on residential areas that
have been recognized as particularly disadvantaged (see AEDC data around schools,
SEIFA index and local knowledge).
A particular focus of this priority area is around ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander families in the area have access to early learning programs. Naplan results for 2014
Year 3 students and the 2012 AEDC for Indigenous children clearly show that this group are
more vulnerable across domains than non-indigenous children and their literacy, language
and communication outcomes are much lower than that of non-Indigenous children.
Indigenous organisations in Gladstone continue to support this strategy and work with
families to ensure they are engaging with the program. Parents engage with children around
importance of education and communicating with schools to ensure the best outcome for
their children. This strategy will build on the success of the previous playgroup strategy to:
Page 18
This strategy will build on the success of the previous playgroup strategy to:

Focus on early intervention initiatives for Indigenous and vulnerable children in the
Early Years and include new initiatives that focus on evidence based programmes
designed to support learning through play, homework support and parent support
programs.

Continue support of the literacy/numeracy program delivered to children in foster
care in Gladstone. There are over 200 children in care in the area and this strategy
will ensure that there is some ongoing support of the child regardless of where they
are.
In the consultation process concerns were raised by police, CCRDFV and other service
providers around increased incidents of bullying, increased suicide rates in Gladstone for 18
to 25 year olds and the rate of Domestic and Family violence. This activity will support the
development of age appropriate programs that work with children in primary school and the
younger high school cohort to build resilience and emphasise the importance of respectful
relationships with others. Programs will extend to community, parents, families and service
providers.
Underpinning Objectives
 Healthy young families – supporting parents to care for their children before and after
birth and throughout the early years
 Early learning – provide access to high quality early learning opportunities in the
years before school; provide early identification and support for children at risk of
developmental and behavioural problems; assist parents with ways they can
stimulate and promote development and learning from birth
 School transition and engagement – support children and families to make a smooth
transition to school and work with local schools to assist children and families with
their ongoing engagement with school
Target Groups
 All families and children aged 0 – 12 with a particular focus on:
o Children at risk of poor developmental and educational outcomes
o Indigenous families and their children aged 3-5
o Culturally and linguistically diverse families and their children aged 3-5
o Children with additional needs and their families
 Early Childhood sector
 Children aged 0 to 7
 Children aged 8 to 12 years
 Children in foster care and out of home care in Gladstone
Strategies to Achieve Goals
Collaborative Service Delivery to Parents and Children
 In discussions with the new role in the Office of Early Childhood and the Early
Childhood Network support the implementation of integrated service delivery to
improve life trajectories of children aged 0 to 8
 Encourage and support the development of programs that strengthen families
capacity to foster healthy development and learning in their children starting pre-birth;
 Support delivery of programs that target children aged 8 to 12 years
 Sourcing of an age appropriate program that delivers respectful relationship
resources for the older cohort in Primary school and early high school (especially
boys) about impact of domestic and family violence and assault and effects of
bullying
 Support families in Women’s Refuge through facilitation of Supported Playgroups in
service
Page 19
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
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Outreach programs to areas in the Gladstone C4C Area that are recognised areas of
disadvantage.
Transition to Prep programs that concentrate on 3 to 5 year olds and their speech,
language, literacy and mathematics development in particular.
Continued support of the highly successful Learn to Grow Indigenous playgroup
Capacity Building
 Broker partnerships and strengthen network relationships between organisations
working with children and families
 Support delivery of evidence based programs that assist families to value education
and prepare children for success at school
 Support strategies to overcome barriers to kindergarten tick programs participation
with a focus on vulnerable families
 Establish the needs of groups that have not been able to be identified:
o Children aged 8 years old to 12 years old
o Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
o Disabilities
 Identify role of C4C in the Family and Child Connect and Intensive Family Support
services under Qld Stronger Families initiative
 Support the development of Child and Family Centre for Gladstone Region through
the formalisation of a consortium of organisations who will continue to work through
the issues and source funding opportunities
 Initiate further training where gaps in knowledge exist
 Work collaboratively with existing resources to source solutions for identified gaps in
service delivery around occasional care, adjunct care and transport.
Community Awareness
 Broker partnerships and strengthen network relationships between organisations
working with children and families
 Identify media partners and promote the services of programs through the use of
electronic media, print media
 Development of promotional resources to distribute widely through face to face and
technological mediums
 Develop website and social media tools that will promote Communities for Children
as a central place people can go to access information and links to other
services/programs
 Support development of Professional Services Directory
 Strengthening support for White Ribbon Days
 C4C Program Coordinator at relevant forums
 Greater awareness in the Community of the importance of respectful relationships
and the need for changes in attitudes towards women and Domestic and Family
Violence.
Outcomes
 Improved kindergarten tick programs participation rates and overall educational
outcomes in Gladstone over period 2015-2019 to 100% (CQ participation rate in
Kindy tick programs was 80.2% in 2013)
 Improved AEDC outcomes for children especially around current areas of
vulnerability
 Referral pathways for families and children developed
 Children transitioning to school successfully
 Improved partnerships between ECEC settings and schools
 Increased Community and service provider awareness around importance of
educational outcomes for children
 Parents feel empowered in their children’s education
Page 20
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Improved language and literacy outcomes for Indigenous children in the Early years
Evaluated and documented examples of collaboration across organisations working
with parents and children – particularly in relation to shared areas of need and
service delivery gaps e.g. occasional child care and transport
Improved outcomes for families post service at designated milestones, 3 – 6 months
and more than 6 months if clients continue in the service.
Increased numbers of participants from target groups
Decreased number of families in contact with the Child Protection system
Evaluated and documented referral pathways
Key Stakeholders
 Early Childhood Network
 Early Childhood Settings – Childcare Centres and Kindergartens
 Primary Schools & High Schools
 Education Queensland
 Good Beginnings
 Playgroup Queensland
 Inclusion Support Agency
 Nhulundu Indigenous Health Services
 WIN (Welcoming Intercultural Neighbours)
 Services for children with disabilities
 CCRDFV – Coordinating Community Response for Domestic and Family Violence
 GPs and Health Professionals
 Pyjama Foundation
 Central Qld university
 Gladstone Regional council
 QPCYC
 Central Queensland University
 Families
Page 21
Priority Area Two
Parenting education
Provide quality parenting education programs through a variety of mediums to
enhance parent-child relationships and strengthen families in the Gladstone Region.
OVERVIEW
The need for parenting education programs identified by and through consultations with:
 Child and Community Health – Early Intervention Specialist
 Maternal and Child Health
 Department of Communities, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability
Services and Disability Services
 Child and Youth Mental Health
 Gladstone Women’s Health Centre
 Local GPs and psychologists working with families
 Educators in early childhood settings
 Evaluations and feedback from parents
 CCRDFV
 Women’s Refuge
 Nhulundu Indigenous health
 Good Beginnings
 Autism Qld
 Disability Services Queensland
 Welcoming Intercultural Neighbours
 CCRDFV
 Playgroup Qld
 Parent Survey 2014/15
Communities for Children and the above stakeholders have partnered to facilitate a number
of Parenting Education Programs across Gladstone and Boyne/Tannum area through 2013
and 2014. The need for these programs was raised after an approach was made to C4C
and Gladstone Women’s Health Centre by the Early Intervention Specialist from Maternal
and Child Health and Child and Youth Mental Health. Both had long waiting lists with more
than 100 parents looking for further assistance and support with parenting. There have been
11 parenting programs facilitated across the Gladstone and Boyne/Tannum area since the
first meeting and there is still a waiting list of parents wanting to attend. The Parent
Information Group has been established so that the approach to provision of programs can
be more coordinated and delivered by certified facilitators. This group which includes C4C
representation will work collaboratively to ensure referral pathways are established and for
the best outcomes of parents and children. Parenting Education Programs have been
identified as the biggest need for parents in the Parent surveys and evaluations and the
Community Organisation evaluation.
Parent education programs, whether explicit or implicit, assume an underlying theory of
action; that is, intervening with parents directly can improve (a) parenting skills and
capacities, (b) certain child outcomes, and, ultimately (in some cases), (c) can reduce the
future risk of harm. The Circle of Security program, 123 Magic and Triple P are three
programs that were facilitated across the Gladstone region over the past two years. All have
been identified by AIFS as evidence based programs with an outcomes focus around
healthy families and will continue to be delivered in a much more targeted and flexible way
across the C4C area. These programs will be considered successful if there are longer term
outcomes for parents and children.
Page 22
Underpinning Objectives
 Healthy young families – supporting parents to care for their children before and after
birth and throughout the early years
 Supporting families and parents — support for parents to provide children with secure
attachment, consistent discipline and quality environments that are stable, positive,
stimulating, safe and secure
 To create strong child-friendly communities that understand the importance of
children and apply this capacity to maximise the health, well-being and early
development of young children at the local level
Target Groups
All parent groups with a particular focus on families and children at risk of poor outcomes or
at risk of abuse and neglect.
Target groups include:
 Indigenous families
 Single parents or blended families
 Families where Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services has
an involvement and/or experiencing violence or significant trauma
 Families who are currently working with the Family Court or justice system
 Families experiencing financial instability and/or housing issues
 Culturally and linguistically diverse families
 Men and fathers
 Young Parents up to 25 years
 Parents with intellectual disabilities or a mental illness
Strategies to Achieve Goals
Collaborative Service Delivery to Parents and Children
 Foster a flexible approach to service delivery in order to increase participation
including home visits, provision of transport, provision of childcare and the use of
culturally appropriate and gender appropriate facilitators/support workers.
 Encourage and support organisations in the Gladstone Region to ensure the
development of tailored parenting programs that strengthen families’ capacity to
foster healthy development and learning in their children starting pre-birth.
Capacity Building
 Broker partnerships and strengthen network relationships between organisations
working with parents/caregivers and their children;
 Collaborate with services and Community Partners to build effective referral practices
across the Community sector;
 Form partnerships strong partnerships across broad range of sectors to broker
solutions for needs such as transport, central place for information and Occasional
care
Community Awareness
 Broker partnerships and strengthen network relationships between organisations
working with children and families
 Identify media partners and promote the services of programs through the use of
electronic media, print media
 Wide distribution of promotional resources through face to face and technological
mediums
 Develop website and social media tools that will promote Communities for Children
as a central place people can go to access information and links to other
services/programs
 Support development of Professional Services Directory
Page 23



Strengthen support amongst parents for special days that draw public attention to
issues such as Harmony Day, Closing the Gap Day, Domestic Violence, Naidoc
Week, etc.
C4C Program Coordinator and Committee members promote services at relevant
forums
Greater awareness in the Community of the importance of respectful relationships
and the need for changes in attitudes towards women and Family Violence.
OUTCOMES
 Provide parents with skills to support their own and their child’s emotional and social
development and to assist their children with transition into new environments
including school
 Develop parenting confidence
 Improved family health and early childhood development outcomes
 Enhanced relationships within the family and attachment with children
 Connection to support networks in their local communities.
 Access programs that assist them to gain educational/vocational qualifications
 Support for women experiencing domestic violence
 Evaluated and documented examples of collaboration across organisations working
with parents and children
 Improved outcomes for families post service at designated milestones, 3 – 6 months
and more than 6 months if clients continue in the service.
 Increased numbers of participants from target groups
 Decreased number of families in contact with the Child Protection system
 Evaluated and documented referral pathways
STAKEHOLDERS
Key Stakeholders include:
 Gladstone Women’s Health Centre
 Maternal and Child Health
 Child and Youth Mental Health
 Department of Communities, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability
Services and Disability Services
 Department of Human Services (Centrelink)
 Gladstone Regional Council
 Good Beginnings
 Playgroup Queensland
 Welcoming Intercultural Neighbours
 Industry Partners
 Relationships Australia
 CCRDFV
 Ozcare (Women’s Shelter)
Page 24
Priority Area Three
Working in Partnership – Parents, professionals, service Providers and Community
This strategy aims to develop activities that support vulnerable children and their families
with complex needs across the Gladstone Region, including the development of linkages
and direct pathways to relevant services and community services. C4C Gladstone will
contribute to an effective and coordinated diverse service system that ensures families and
service providers in the community have access to all information and services/activities.
Partnerships and networks have been established and will continue to be supported through
the creation of opportunities for shared training and professional development in order to
support a strong foundation across the Social Services Sector. Activities in this strategy aim
to work with children, parents and families to recognise and build on the strengths and
capabilities of all children and families in the region.
Communities for Children will continue working with key stakeholders as listed below
including to bring to fruition the construction of a purpose- built multi-disciplinary Child and
Family Centre that will function as an integrated service delivery environment that includes
occasional care Outreach activities. The Centre will operate under a purposeful
community development and capacity-building approach to foster p o s it i ve a n d
meaningful s o l u t i o n s . Rather than rely primarily on corrective actions, services at
the centre will focus on early preventative intervention before families reach crisis
point. The emphasis on early preventative intervention is imperative in light of findings
by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that the number of children in out-ofhome care (foster care, approved kinship care, provisionally approved care and
residential care services) has risen every year over the last 10 years.17 Alarmingly,
the Department of Communities, Department of Communities, Child Safety and
Disability Services and Disability Services March 2014 quarterly statistics has identified
53.2% of children (4,552) in out-of-home care in Queensland, are aged between 0-9
years.
A major area of concern raised in the consultation process for parents and service
providers were the issues of not knowing where to go for information and not knowing
what to ask for or what was needed. The issues around dislocation of services as well
as the geography and distances between physical locations were also raised as areas
of concern and barriers that prevented people from seeking help.19 This strategy will
work with all stakeholders in a collaborative way to share resources and capacity so
that families and children can have better outcomes.
Parents identified that their GP is the main point of first contact for them when they
need help. They also identified that Facebook/Social Media were great sources of
information. GP services are very busy and it has proved to be quite difficult to
engage with this group of professionals. There is some value in having pamphlets or
even electronic advertising in the surgery but this is very expensive and difficult to
make changes. It would be preferable to provide an easy to use product with details
of services and establish relationships with Practice Managers.
A Facebook page and website will also be developed under this strategy that has
accurate, up to date information of programs and services in Gladstone and is
monitored regularly.
19
See Community Survey
Page 25
Encourage and source professional development with development programs and
training for parents and professionals with a commitment to building capacity of
organisations working in the early years
Underpinning Objectives
To improve the health and well-being of families and the development of young children,
from before birth through to age 12 years, paying special attention to:
 Healthy young families — supporting parents to care for their children before and
after birth and throughout the early years
 Supporting families and parents — support for parents to provide children with secure
attachment, consistent discipline and quality environments that are stable, positive,
stimulating, safe and secure
 Early learning — provide access to high quality early learning opportunities in the
years before school; provide early identification and support for children at risk of
developmental and behavioural problems; assist parents with ways they can
stimulate and promote child development and learning from birth
 School transition and engagement - support children and families to make a smooth
transition to school and work with local schools to assist children and families with
their ongoing engagement with school.
To create strong child-friendly communities that understand the importance of children and
apply this capacity to maximise the health, well-being and early development of young
children at the local level.
Target Group
 Services working with children aged 0-12 years and their families in the Gladstone
C4C area.
 All end users of programs and services
 Health professionals
 Early childhood educators
 Business and Industry
Strategies
Collaborative Service Delivery to Parents and Children
 Creation of strong child-friendly communities that understand the importance of the
early years and apply this capacity to maximise the health, well-being and early
development of young children at the local level.
 Advocate for child friendly spaces for families to interact
 Continue to facilitate sector needs with partners
 Drop in sessions with partners – C4C will facilitate a wide range of partners listed
below to man the Child and Family Centre on a rotational basis. This will not only
enhance services knowledge about the Centre but will also provide one on one
advice to parent and community members who engage with the Centre.
 Support the development of a clear framework for referral, assessment and ongoing
work with families
 Support the development and improvement of joint working practices across
children’s and adults services.
Capacity Building
 Networking – Public and Private Sectors including local business networks such as
Chamber of Commerce
 Community Forum with the aim of gathering data from community members
particularly families
 Continue professional development – as Gladstone is an itinerant and has an under
professionalised community sector it is important that C4C continue to source and
facilitate appropriate professional development
Page 26


Identify and disseminate funding opportunities to our diverse range of stakeholders
Through the Early Childhood network we will disseminate information about other
professional development opportunities
Community Awareness
 Broker partnerships and strengthen network relationships between organisations
working with children and families
 Identify media partners and promote the services of programs through the use of
electronic media, print media
 Development of promotional resources to distribute widely through face to face and
technological mediums
 Develop website and social media tools that will promote Communities for Children
as a central place people can go to access information and links to other
services/programs
 Support development of Professional Services Directory
 Strengthening support for White Ribbon Days
 C4C Program Coordinator at relevant forums
.
Key Stakeholders
 DET – Department of Education and Training
 CCRDV
 QPCYC
 Kindergartens
 Carers
 Services that support children with additional needs and their families
 Allied Health Professionals
 Playgroups Qld
 Department of Human Services
 Department of Child Safety
 Good Beginnings Australia
 Roseberry Community Services
 Welcoming Intercultural Neighbours
 Gladstone Child and Youth Mental Health,
 Autism Queensland,
 Inclusion Support Agency
 Gladstone Women's Health Centre
 Gladstone Regional Council
 GAPDL
Page 27
References
ACARA 2015, My School website
http://www.myschool.edu.au/SchoolProfile
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015, Census Data, ABS, Canberra
http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/data?opendocument#frombanner=LN
Australian Early Development Index 2012, Community Profile 2012, Gladstone Queensland
http://www.aedc.gov.au/ClientData/CommunityProfiles/2012_33350.pdf
Australian Government Productivity Commission, Early Childhood Education and Care, viewed
2015
http://www.pc.gov.au/research/recurring/report-on-government-services/2015/childcareeducation-and-training/early-childhood-education-and-care
Australian Institute of Family Studies, Preschool Participation amongst Indigenous Children in
Australia, AIFS, Canberra viewed 7 January 2015
http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2014/fm95/fm95e.pdf
The Benevolent Society, (2012). Family joblessness and pathways to employment.
http://servicedelivery.dss.gov.au/2012/04/16/benevolent-society-publishes-snapshot-on-familyjoblessness-and-pathways-to-employment/
Bradbury, B 2006, ‘Disadvantage among Australian Young Mothers’, Australian Journal of
Labour Economics, vol. 9, No. 2, No. 2, June 2006, pp 147 – 171
Council of Australian Governments 2008, COAG, Canberra, viewed 12 November 2014
https://www.coag.gov.au/closing_the_gap_in_indigenous_disadvantage
Department of Justice and Attorney-General, 2015, Child Protection Reforms, Brisbane
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/corporate/justice-initiatives/carmody-report-recommendations
Gladstone GP Obstetrics Facebook page, Dr Barb Panitz, 27 February 2015
https://www.facebook.com/GladstoneGpObstetrics
Naplan Assessment Program
http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html
Gladstone Regional Council 2015, Community Profile, Gladstone
http://profile.id.com.au/gladstone/seifa-disadvantage?ed=2
Page 28
Here for Childcare, Here for Health Rio Tinto Alcan, Childcare needs assessment, Gladstone,
viewed 8 January 2015
http://www.hereforgladstone.com.au/asset/download/805/6311fa/icm-childcare-needsassessment-gladstone-qld-august2014.pdf
Hughes, L 2014, ‘Gladstone Regional Scoping Report: Good Beginnings Australia’ pp 8 – 10
Magistrates Court of Queensland: Annual Report 2012-2013
http://www.courts.qld.gov.au
Moody, S 2015, ‘#Terror at Home’, Gladstone Observer, 14 March, pp 1 – 7
Queensland Government Statisticians Office 2015 Queensland Regional Profiles
(http://statistics.oesr.qld.gov.au/qld-regional-profiles).
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