Early Learning Years

What happens to children in their early years matters a great deal. Improving children’s development through the critical early period can have transformative social and economic impacts.  

Local Governments can play an essential role in this as they are the closest sphere of government to where children grow, learn, live and play. Local Governments across Western Australia can consider including children in their early years in the development of Strategic Community Plans. Early Years Networks are key community assets able to provide expertise advice and assistance predicated on local community knowledge and therefore well placed to collaborate with Local Governments in this work.

A resource called Local Government and Early Years Networks: Working in Partnership Resource helping Local Governments and Early Years Networks to work in partnership is available here

This resource provides links to tools and information including:
  • how many young children live in your community
  • how to successfully engage in decision making and to ensure Local Government is informed about local issues
  • how to access Australian Early Development Census information about your community, and
  • other resources that will help your community better support children in the early years.

Child Safety Officer Proposal 

In December 2020, the Department of Local Government Sport and Cultural Industries and the Department of Communities released the “Discussion paper on the implementation of child safety officers in local governments” to guide the consultation on recommendation 6.12 of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In order to provide feedback on the discussion paper, WALGA hosted a series of online discussions to gather feedback from Local Governments and encouraged Local Governments to make individual submissions. To view WALGA's submission click here.