Health and wellbeing

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) is a key pillar of our preventative health system and the challenges of providing these services is left to Council.

Melton City Council operates 19 MCH centres with allocation for 28 qualified MCH nurses who, in the last financial year, saw 18,275 children, conducted 2,881 home visits and provided 1,109 parents referrals or other support.

Demand is growing with total infant records of 18,275 in 2023 compared to 17,212 in 2022 and 16,809 in 2021. We are also seeing more complex cases, with 5,488 children presenting with one or more identified risk factors compared to 3,021 children in 2021.

We plan to deliver all ‘Key Age and Stage consultations’ for children from birth to three-and-a-half years of age.

However, with just 17.38 qualified MCH nurses, we can only offer one-on-one consultations to eight weeks.

Council is seeking support to provide incentives for MCH nurses to work in the outer growth areas, where demand is the greatest.

City of Melton’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is proportionally higher than Greater Melbourne and growing, creating higher demand for services.

A range of complex and inter-related health, wellbeing, social, education and employment needs are present amongst the local First Nations population.

An Aboriginal Community Services Hub would help provide integrated responses to these needs. Having a space where various service providers can work collaboratively has been shown to create better outcomes for the community.

Council supports First Nations self-determination and is seeking Victorian Government support for a feasibility study for an Aboriginal Community Services Hub.

Babaneek Booboop

Driven by principles of self-determination and Aboriginal leadership, the Babaneek Booboop Early Years Project supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

The project’s theory of change includes focusing on enhancing the cultural safety and responsiveness of service providers, along with the recruitment of skilled Aboriginal pathway workers to:

• Provide cultural safety and assist in service navigation between families and service providers
• Link pregnant women to antenatal care, maternity and breastfeeding support services
• Support children & families in attending Maternal and Child Health Key Ages and Stages consultations
• Link families to support services
• Assist parents/carers with enrolments and support for children to engage in playgroups, kindergarten and school
• Provide referral to a Koorie Engagement Support Officer
• Link children and families with local Aboriginal organisations and cultural events/activities.

The evaluation of the Babaneek Booboop project found positive outcomes of the programs. The data demonstrated a consistent increase in the number of families engaged with the services from 68.83 per cent in 2017 to 71.65 per cent in 2020/2021.

We ask for certainty of ongoing recurrent funding for this program that assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to access vital education and health services.

Melton City Council provides activities and support services for young people aged 12 to 25 who live, work, study or play in the City of Melton.

We are seeking sustainable longer-term funding for programs that include:

• Early intervention for homelessness and crime prevention
• Building the capacity of young people to prepare for and secure education, training and employment
• Providing support, accessibility, and service options in mental health & community well-being
• Targeted support for young people, aimed at ensuring they can access services when and where they need them
• Drop in programs in art, sports and social events.

People move to the City of Melton because the housing is considered affordable compared to other municipalities.

However, this 'affordability' does not factor in limited access to public transport, lower number of local jobs and cost of living pressures.

Households in the City of Melton are more likely to experience rental stress with 30.6 per cent of renters impacted, compared to the Victorian average of 27.2 per cent. The 2020 Health and Wellbeing Profile for the City of Melton stated 12.3 per cent of households experience mortgage stress, compared to the Victorian average of 10.2 per cent.

The City of Melton also has a lower-than-average provision of social housing (1.2 per cent of housing stock), compared to metropolitan Melbourne (2.6 per cent).

There is an urgent need for investment in social housing as we've seen a 70 per cent increase in homelessness between the 2016 and 2021 census.

Whilst Melton City Council owns and manages 15 properties as affordable housing, we welcome the Victorian Government's Housing Statement and the Australian Government's housing reform agenda to add social and affordable housing for the most vulnerable in the community.

We want to work in partnership with all levels of government to deliver new affordable and social housing in the City of Melton.

Our community wants to become more active and we know we need to increase physical activity as our city features poorly on health and wellbeing indicators. As a result, we need more active recreation.

Our community values outdoor spaces, parks and gardens close to home. Increased density of housing, however, has resulted in less outdoor space per resident. We are looking for more investment in creating and upgrading local outdoor spaces so that active lifestyles are embedded in our community. This includes investment in local parks, sporting facilities, green spaces and walking paths.

We are seeking additional investment from the Victorian Government's Local Sports Infrastructure Fund to build urgently needed facilities to cater for our rapidly growing population.

The Plumpton Aquatic and Leisure Centre (PALC) in Fraser Rise will be a six-star Green Star, district-level facility with a focus on wellbeing, accessibility and inclusion. It will be a destination for physical activity, participation, community connectivity and fun.

The City of Melton has only one council-owned aquatics facility, the Melton Waves Leisure Centre, for a population of more than 205,000 people spread across more than 527 square kilometres.

Melton Waves is an aging facility, so an additional aquatic centre within the municipality is necessary for the liveability of our residents.

The City of Melton has the highest rate of need across all determinants of health. The PALC will include a designated allied health wing of 2,000m2 to address the significant gap in access to local allied health services such as occupational therapy, nutrition, psychology, psychiatry, exercise physiology, physiotherapy, sports medicine and NDIS services.

The PALC will also feature Australia’s first water sensory area – including water features, interactive wall elements and a heated pool with a beach-style entry for people of all ages and abilities.

It is projected that the facility will attract 687,156 visits in the first year.

Council has invested $250,000 in the 2023/24 budget to finalise the master plan and commence schematic design and detailed design. We are ready to partner with the Australian and Victorian Governments to deliver the centre.

The Cobblebank Community Services Hub (the Hub) will provide space lacking in the City of Melton to accommodate a range of community and allied health services which meet the needs of our growing community and the broader region.

The hub will be based in the heart of the Cobblebank Metropolitan Activity Centre. It will be close to the Cobblebank Train Station and bus interchange, outdoor parks, Cobblebank Stadium, the future Melton Hospital and TAFE, along with a significant retail and entertainment precinct.

This purpose-built facility will fill critical community and allied health service gaps such as prevention of family violence, mental health, disability, employment, alcohol and drug support, refugee support and culturally specific services for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and culturally diverse communities.

Melton City Council has long recognised the need for localised delivery to increase accessibility to health and human services. Delivering the health and human services needed within the City for the next 20 years won’t happen without careful planning, policy and facilitation in partnership with key stakeholders.

The Hub will deliver an innovative solution to the ongoing accommodation issues being experienced by service providers, thereby:

• Improving the capacity to respond to the needs of the community by locating services close to the greatest need
• Delivering a facility that will attract key services to the area
• Supporting improved health and wellbeing outcomes
• Providing significant opportunities for training and local employment both during and after construction.

The Victorian Government has committed $4 Million through the Growing Suburbs Fund. We are seeking additional investments from the Australian and Victorian Governments to help deliver this facility.