First Steps in Closing the Gap
Early Childhood
The early years of a child’s life determine their future health and wellbeing. The health of a child starts before birth.
For the critical years from conception to age eight, we are focusing on three areas:
- child and maternal health services;
- early development and parent and family support; and
- literacy and numeracy in the early years.
Currently, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children do not get an equal start in life.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies are three times more likely to die in their first year than other Australian children. They are more likely to suffer from poor maternal nutrition and be of low birth weight, contributing to chronic disease later on. An Indigenous baby born today can expect to live an average 17 years less than a non-Indigenous baby.
Maternal and child health and development are critical to improving Indigenous
life-expectancy.
In February the Government committed $101.5 million over five years to 2010-11 for New Directions: An equal start in life for Indigenous children – child and maternal health services. This builds on the 2007-08 Budget measure Health@Home Plus and provides for more comprehensive child and maternal health services and wider access to home-visiting programs.
This strategy, to address early childhood development including maternal and child health, provides health care and access to early learning support for Indigenous mothers, babies and children. It also funds a control program for acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. In 2005-06, hospitalisations for rheumatic heart disease were eight and 13 times higher for Indigenous males and females respectively than for non-Indigenous Australians. Matched funding is being sought from State and Territory Governments.
An additional $10 million over three years to 2010-11 is provided in the Budget for an Indigenous mothers’ accommodation fund, to support women who need to leave their communities temporarily to have their babies.
Across the Australian community, the Government is making early childhood education a key plank of our Education Revolution. We have committed to providing universal access to early learning programs, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in remote areas. All four years olds including Indigenous children living in remote communities will have access to 15 hours of affordable, quality early learning programs a week, for a minimum of 40 weeks a year delivered by a qualified teacher. This initiative will be rolled out progressively until fully
implemented in 2013.
Considerable evidence points to the benefits of early learning programs for disadvantaged children, including laying the foundation for later literacy and numeracy achievement.