New Early Years Centre for Bendigo

Aboriginal families living in Bendigo will benefit from the Victorian Government’s funding boost to the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative through the $250 million Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.

Aboriginal kids and their parents in Bendigo will get access to culturally responsive services and care via the service’s innovative Early Years Centre.

The $800,000 investment announced in March will go towards building the second stage of the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative’s Early Years Centre.

When completed, the $1.7 million centre will allow the Co-operative to expand services to local Aboriginal families, from pregnancy right through to school age. All services are focussed on improving the health, wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children. The centre will also feature facilities that cater for 22, three-year-old and 66, four-year-old kinder places.

Alongside its Early Years Centre, the Co-operative provides health and wellbeing services supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families living in the Dja Dja Wurrung traditional area. These services include youth programs, health promotion programs and supports for children in out-of-home care, or at risk of homelessness or family violence.