Tuesday, 29 July 2025

Maternal and child health services

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (18:35): (1752) My adjournment is for the Minister for Health, and the action I am seeking is for funding to be revitalised across the maternal and child health system. Increasingly my office is hearing from concerned parents across the state, and their stories are painting a worrying picture. The Victorian government is cutting maternal and child health services. For a long time local government has been warning that the state government’s share of funding for maternal child health services has been dropping, and the results are now starting to be seen.

In late April I received an email from parents in the inner west of Melbourne. As their toddler was transitioning through important developmental milestones, they were troubled to find out that their council-run maternal and child health clinic had insufficient resources to meet demand. The service had placed the child on a waitlist for their 18-month key age and stage appointment, and by the time the next milestone at two years old rolled around they still had not been seen for the one that they missed.

Then in May whispers were circulating that funding for council-run sleep-settling services was being cut. A week out from the budget the council received the message: the Department of Health was not renewing this funding and they should locate additional funds or cut these critical services. Many parents were concerned that this essential support would soon be inaccessible for them.

Last year councils were told to sign on to the health department’s new data system and pay $2.32 per immunisation logged. Councils protested that this was just another cost-shifting exercise and would be difficult for them to absorb without cuts being made elsewhere. Then just weeks ago Western Health announced the closure of their walk-in childhood immunisation clinic at Joan Kirner hospital due to cuts to funding for that specialised program.

Childhood vaccinations, key age and stage appointments and sleep-settling services are all essential health care and foundational for the wellbeing and future prospects of entire generations. It is reckless of Labor to make these the subject of a cost-cutting exercise. These investments in early years maternal and child health services are broader than just those council-delivered services, but certainly they are an important part of them. These are absolutely critical. As we have seen with the failure of the government to effectively regulate the childcare sector despite years of warnings about the consequences, the message these service cuts sends to Victorian parents is that children and families are not a priority.