The City of Clarence has engaged Ninety Mile Consulting to develop a Children’s Services Strategy to guide future planning, investment, and decision-making across the municipality’s children’s services system.

Responding to a Changing Children’s Services Landscape

Children’s services play a vital role in supporting the wellbeing, development and learning of children while enabling families to participate in work, education and community life. As communities grow and change, so too do expectations of the services that support children and their families.

Like many municipalities across Australia, Clarence is experiencing a range of opportunities and challenges that are reshaping the children’s services landscape. Population growth and new housing development are increasing demand for services in some areas, while workforce shortages, rising operating costs and regulatory requirements continue to place pressure on providers across the sector. At the same time, families increasingly expect services that are accessible, responsive and able to meet the diverse needs of children and communities.

These changes are occurring within a service environment that includes Council-operated services, community organisations, schools, early years providers and private operators. While each organisation plays a different role, long-term planning and collaboration are becoming increasingly important to ensure services remain sustainable, accessible and aligned with community need.

Building a Long-Term Framework for Decision-Making

The Children’s Services Strategy will provide a clear and evidence-based framework to support future decision-making. It will help Council better understand current and future demand, identify opportunities and challenges across the service system, clarify Council’s role within the broader children’s services landscape, and establish priorities to guide future investment, partnerships and service planning.

The project will commence with a review of existing strategies, service information and demographic data to build a comprehensive understanding of the current environment. This will be supported by benchmarking with comparable councils and targeted engagement with stakeholders across the children’s services sector.

Shaping the Future Together

Insights from this work will then be tested and refined through consultation with Council representatives, service providers, schools, community organisations and other key stakeholders. These conversations will help validate findings, explore future directions and identify the priorities that matter most for children and families across Clarence.

Stakeholder engagement will be a key part of the project, with opportunities for internal and external stakeholders to contribute throughout the coming months. Through consultation, benchmarking and collaborative workshops, the project will draw on local knowledge, sector expertise and community insight to help shape a shared vision for the future of children’s services in Clarence.

Looking Ahead

The final Strategy will be accompanied by an implementation-ready Action Plan and Evaluation Framework to support delivery, monitor progress and ensure the Strategy remains focused on practical outcomes for the community.

By taking a long-term and evidence-based approach, the City of Clarence is seeking to ensure that children’s services continue to evolve alongside the needs of children, families and communities, providing a strong foundation for future planning, investment and collaboration across the municipality.