The background
Across Australia, thousands of families are doing their best to navigate complex, fragmented systems, from early learning to health, housing and family support. Early Childhood Hubs (ECHs) are places that bring these supports together under one roof, helping children and families access what they need, when they need it.
Evidence already shows that hubs are effective, but what’s often missing from the picture is the voices of those who live and work within them every day. Social Ventures Australia (SVA) wanted to change that.
The challenge
Building on SVA’s previous research with Deloitte Access Economics and the Centre for Community Child Health, SVA partnered with TACSI to capture and elevate the lived experiences of families, practitioners and service leaders to better advocate for the continued funding and expansion of ECHs.
Together, we sought to understand:
What makes hubs feel safe, welcoming and effective?
How do hubs support parents’ confidence, children’s development, and community belonging?
What conditions help practitioners deliver wrap-around support that truly changes lives?
Our approach
Together with SVA, TACSI travelled across Australia, visiting five hubs in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Through deep listening, storybuilding and ethnographic fieldwork, we heard from 17 families and 20 staff members about the power of hubs in their everyday lives.
We used a lived experience storytelling methodology, building fictionalised stories grounded in real experiences, ensuring participants’ voices could be shared safely while maintaining authenticity and emotional truth. The research captured how hubs act as navigators and interfaces between complex systems, providing “just-in-time” support that prevents crisis, strengthens parenting and builds belonging.
The insights
From this national engagement, five consistent stepping stones for change emerged that show how hubs create pathways from crisis to community:
Safe and trusting foundations: Emotional safety and non-judgmental environments help families seek help early. “Come when you can, come as you are.” – Family member
Children’s well-being and development: Early screening, inclusive playgroups, and continuity across home, hub, and school can help catch developmental needs early.
“They see what’s really going on underneath.” – Family memberParent confidence and capability: Strengths-based language, programs and peer connection help parents rebuild confidence and independence. “I’m in control of my life now, we are growing together.” – Family member
Wrap-around home support: Integrated casework, food relief, housing help, and flexible program design reduce crisis impacts. “You don’t have to go looking, they already know your story.” – Family member
Ongoing connection and belonging: Long-term relationships, cultural celebrations and volunteer pathways turn hubs into community anchors. “It became their home, now they facilitate it.” – Hub staff
These stepping stones reflect a pattern found across every site: when trust and continuity are present, families move from surviving to thriving and often go on to help others do the same.
The impact
Together, this research has provided powerful stories and patterns of change to advocate for more integrated, sustainably funded, and stigma-free hubs nationwide. The outcomes of this work included:
32 patterns of what works
Through synthesis across the five hubs, TACSI identified 32 distinct patterns that describe what helps Early Childhood Hubs achieve outcomes for families. Each pattern sits under one of the five stepping stones, together showing how relational, practical and cultural conditions interact to create impact.
12 lived experience stories
To bring the findings to life, we developed 12 lived-experience stories. These stories follow real families through key life transitions, from housing crisis to cultural reconnection, and demonstrate how the stepping stones are felt and lived in practice.
Five journey maps in action
All the insights and stories were synthesised into five hub journey maps, each showing how the stepping stones and 32 patterns come to life across very different contexts within each ECH.
Five family and community level outcomes
Consistently, ECHs were described as “one-stop shops” and “second homes” – places where families access support without stigma and feel known, safe, and respected. The outcomes ripple beyond individual families:
Earlier help-seeking
Improved child development outcomes
Parents becoming volunteers, trainees, and sometimes staff
Crisis impacts are reduced
Communities are self-sustaining through peer leadership and belonging.
The future
SVA and TACSI’s work continues to influence the national conversation on early years system design. The findings highlight that when ECHs are resourced for the long term, they become gold-standard community infrastructure, places that transform hardship into hope through trust, connection and opportunity.
“Families go on to create safe and trusting foundations for new families. The cycle continues onwards.”
From SVA Early Childhood Hubs Lived Experience Report, 2025