Community Hub Initiative

The national Community Hub initiative is funded by philanthropy and all levels of government to increase the social and economic opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Community Hubs are currently located across three states: Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and are co-located on school sites. They are designed to be welcoming places where parents and carers from refugee and migrant backgrounds can connect with others in their local school community.

A recent evaluation shows the national Community Hub initiative is effective to support children and families in getting to know their local school, increase confidence in the education system, and improve linkages to helpful community services.

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What support is available?

Every Community Hub is designed differently to meet the needs of the local community. Some examples of community hub offerings may include:

Facilitated parent programs

English classes

Information sessions on education in Australia

Information sessions by community request

Craft activities

Playgroup (often in community languages)

Fitness activities

Computer classes

The impact of Community Hubs

Research suggests that Community Hubs are a powerful tool to link children and families into universal services such as Maternal Child Health nurses, kindergarten, and more. Findings from a recent evaluation of the initiative show positive reports from participants:

- Over 80% said that coming to a Hub helped them support their child with their education, and the program offerings improved their child’s school readiness

- 79% of parents and carers said coming to the Hub helped them understand the school system better.

The evaluation revealed that families were helped to understand the expectations for children’s learning and transition to school by building relationships, establishing communication, networking, and, importantly, overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers. Hubs appear to provide a range of benefits to individuals, family and community – read more about the far-reaching impacts of the initiative here.

Where are they?

Community Hubs are currently located in the local government areas (LGA) listed below. Follow the link for your LGA to see where hubs are in your area.