RFW has a critical role to play in connecting country children to the standard of health and wellbeing they’re entitled to, regardless of where they live.
The work we do in advocacy, supported by a strong evidence base, intends to raise the volume and reinforce the rigour of conversations around childhood vulnerability in Australia. Our aim is to positively influence policy and inform the direction of child health and wellbeing, system wide.
as those living in major cities to be developmentally vulnerable
22%
of children living in Australia
are developmentally vulnerable in one or more domain in their first year at school
42%
of indigenous children
are vulnerable in one or more developmental domain
More than
1 in 5
children in rural areas
have mental health problems
32%
of children in rural NSW
are unable to access the health services they need
Allied health workers in rural and remote areas service a population at least
5 times
greater
than their metropolitan counterparts
Advocacy agenda
We believe that all children have the fundamental human right to a high standard of health and wellbeing, regardless of where they live. We recognise the important role we can play in giving country children a voice. Our intention is to raise the level of conversation around childhood vulnerability in Australia, to positively influence policy and to inform system-wide direction in rural and remote child health and wellbeing.
Our advocacy platform includes: a national target to reduce developmental vulnerability in rural and remote Australia from 22% to 1o% by 2025; increasing investment in early identification and intervention; funding and scaling of innovation service models; telecare capacity building and support; and increasing use of telecare models.
Research priorities
Our internal research team works closely with a variety of research partners to build a strong evidence base on children’s developmental health, particularly in rural and remote areas, and demonstrate the impact of targeted interventions in community settings and via telecare.
Our evidence base feeds directly into our program development, and is shared to create systems-change through conference presentations, policy statements, submissions to government, publications, and via our media partners.
Community engagement
We are working alongside our friends in many country communities to tackle the complex challenges they face, so that all children can have the greatest opportunity to reach their full potential.
In order to empower country communities to advocate for change locally, we have formed partnerships with local organisations, media, schools, health services and volunteers. We utilise the passion of our community champions and ambassadors to fundraise locally, and hold town-hall meetings to increase local awareness of childhood developmental vulnerability.
If you would like to learn more about our advocacy platform, or partner
with us, please contact our Head of Advocacy and Government Relations Jenny Stevenson.
