Maternal and child health
The MAV works in partnership with the Victorian Government on policy directions, funding and continuous improvement for maternal and child health services in conjunction with other early childhood services.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between us and the Department of Education and Training (DET) guides the partnership between state and local government for the planning, funding and provision of maternal and child health services.
Our policy adviser works to deliver the outcomes and obligations detailed under the MOU. This includes:
- Representing the sector on a range of early years advisory groups and forums
- Contributing to developing and reviewing policy frameworks and initiatives
- Engaging in ongoing discussion on matters relating to local government and management of maternal and child health services
- Reporting on key strategic projects and outcomes
- Promoting and strengthening the capability and the proactive role of Victorian councils regarding maternal and child health services.
On this page:
- Current projects
- About the Memorandum of Understanding
- MCH Conferences
- Committees and Reference Groups
- Resources
Current projects
Maternal and Child Health is an ongoing priority for the MAV. Our current projects include:
- Review of the Enhanced Maternal and Child Health Guidelines
- Review of the MCH Framework, service and clinical guidelines
- Education State Early Childhood Reform Plan
- Roadmap to Reform Plan
- Family Violence Reform
- MCH - Child Development Information System.
About the Memorandum of Understanding
The MCH Service MOU includes a statement of agreed principles and priority areas to guide the partnership between State and local government as partners in decision-making for the planning, funding, and provision of the Victorian MCH Service.
This collaborative approach strengthens the MCH Service’s capacity to engage with all families in Victoria with children from birth to school age in a timely manner in order to improve their health, development and wellbeing. This approach takes into account families’ strengths and vulnerabilities, and provides ongoing primary health care according to need.
The MOU represents a shared commitment to the delivery and improvement of the MCH Service. The following principles underpin this shared commitment:
- Working in a transparent and mutually accountable way to design, plan and deliver on agreed priorities, respecting each party’s roles and responsibilities
- Holding a shared focus on improving outcomes for children and their families
- Engaging families and children in decision making about the services and supports they need
- Sharing information, data and evidence to support best practice and identify areas for improvement
- Using a systems and place-based approach to deliver well connected, inclusive and high-quality services tailored to local communities.
MCH Conferences
In collaboration with the DET, MAV host Maternal and Child Health Conferences twice a year.
The conferences provide an opportunity for the workforce to come together and learn about a range of subjects and areas that impact on the Maternal and Child Health Service.
Importantly, they provide an opportunity to network across the profession, the tiers of government and academia.
The conferences are open to all MCH nurses, MCH students and allied health professionals working in the maternal and child health sector.
The dates for 2019 are:
- Friday 1 March
- Friday 1 November.
October 2018 Conference
See presentations from the conference held on Friday 26 October 2018:
- Conference Agenda (PDF - 703KB)
- Family violence & women with disabilities - Edwina Breitzke & Kelly Parry, Women with Disabilities Victoria (PDF - 990KB)
- Family violence & child information sharing reforms - Rachel Green (FSV), Lisa Gandolfo & Stacey Gabriel (DET) (PDF - 1.54MB)
- Toddler development instrument - Cathie Nolan & Kim Thomson, Comprehensive Monitoring (PDF - 0.98MB)
- Baby teeth need cleaning too - Gillian Lang, Dental Health Services Victoria (PDF - 2.28MB)
- Meeting the need for Early Parenting Services in a more timely and responsive way - Helen Cunningham, Queen Elizabeth Centre (PDF - 1.52MB)
- DET PD training for autism - Josephine Barbaro, Senior Research Fellow, Latrobe University (PDF - 1.15MB)
- Breastfeeding tongue ties and jaundice management - Gillian Opie, Neonatal paediatrician, Mercy Hospital for Women (PDF - 1.23MB)
Videos
March 2018 Conference
See presentations from the conference held on Friday 23 March 2018:
- Conference Agenda (PDF - 274KB)
- Principal Nurse Update - Marcia Armstrong, Principal MCH Nurse Advisor, Department of Education & Training (PDF - 724KB)
- Working with fragile families: the evolving MCHN role - Emeritus Professor Dorothy Scott AM, University of Melbourne (keynote speaker) (PDF - 1.17MB)
- Father Inclusive Practice - Dr Chris May, University of Newcastle (PDF - 4.4MB)
- Perceptor Paper Results - Lael Ridgway, La Trobe University (PDF - 942KB)
- Family Violence Reform: Risk assessment and information sharing - Sabdha Charlton, Department of Education & Training (PDF - 585KB)
- Trauma Informed Practice - Hannah Matus, Department of Education & Training (PDF - 1.09MB)
- MumSpace and MumMoodBooster - Dr Jessica Oliva, Austin Health, Perinatal Depression e-Consortium (PDF - 1.01MB)
- Playgroup Transition Project - Danny Schwarz, Playgroup Victoria (PDF - 589KB)
- Refugee Health (Innovative Project) - Bernadette Harrison, City of Greater Dandenong (PDF - 747KB)
- Birth Registrations: A Human Rights Issue - Dr Melissa Castan, Monash University (PDF - 3.63MB)
- Inclusive Practice: The First 1000 Days - Professor Kerry Arabena, University of Melbourne, and First 1000 Days Australia (PDF - 3.88MB)
Videos
- View a live recording or webstream version of the March 2018 MCH Conference.
November 2017 Conference
See presentations from the conference held on Friday 3 November 2017:
- Conference Agenda (PDF - 267KB)
- “But They Never Told Me I Had Hepatitis!” The Role of the MCHN in Preventing Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B Related Liver Cancer - Gabrielle Bennett, Victorian Viral Hepatitis Educator, St Vincent’s Hospital (PDF - 1.13MB)
- Non-judgmental conversations with parents worried about vaccines side-effects - Dr Jenny Royle, Immunisation Paediatrician, NEST Family Clinic, Elsternwick (PDF - 3.06MB)
- Supporting parents to register a birth - James Lawson, Director and Registrar, Births Deaths and Marriages (PDF - 479KB)
- MCH Smartphone App - Gavin Hince, MCH website/App Project Manager, Department Education & Training (PDF - 606KB)
- Infant Nutrition – What’s new? - Angela Harris, Clinical Dietitian, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne (PDF - 3.32MB)
- Girl is Not a Predictive Category - Nelly Thomas, Comedian and Author (PDF - 2.46MB)
Videos
- View live recording of the November 2017 MCH Conference
- Watch videos from the November 2017 Conference:
April 2017 Conference
See presentations from the conference held on Friday 21 April 2017:
- Conference Agenda (PDF - 409KB)
- Maternal Child and Family Health Nurses Australia (MCaFHNA) Conference 2017 - Bernice Boland, Chair of the Victorian Association of Maternal & Child Health Nurses, VAMCHN Representative to MCaFHNA and Chair of the MCaFHNA Conference 2017 (PDF - 768KB)
- VEYLDF: ‘Wellbeing from birth is both a prerequisite for and an outcome of learning' - Carmel Phillips, Manager, Early Years Unit, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority; Ann McNair, Coordinator, Maternal and Child Health, Hume City Council; Karen Freeman, Maternal and Child Health Nurse, City of Maribyrnong (PDF - 950KB)
- The Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery and The Museum Generation: Museum Victoria and MCH partnership project - Kate Brereton and Alex Price (PDF - 1.43MB)
- The Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery and The Museum Generation: Museum Victoria and MCH partnership project - Kate Brereton and Alex Price (PowerPoint - 33.9MB including embedded video)
- Parenting with feeling: Infant-parent interventions and developmental risk - Prof Louise Newman, Director, Centre for Women’s Mental Health at the Royal Women’s Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry at University of Melbourne (PDF - 4.79MB)
Videos
Committees and Reference Groups
- Aboriginal MCH Initiative Advisory Group
- MCH Expert Reference Group
- Universal Services Working Group
- Victorian MCH Coordinators Group
- Child Development Information System Reference Group
- Child Development Information System User Group.
Resources
MCH qualification flowchart
MCH students
- DET Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nursing Scholarships (PDF - 132KB)
- Expression of Interest for MCH Clinical Placement (PDF - 268KB)
- Expression of Interest for MCH Clinical Placement (Word - 19.6KB)
- Student info pack re MCH applications (PDF - 134KB)
- RMIT University Graduate Diploma in Child & Family Health Nursing FAQs (PDF - 607KB)
- Latrobe University Graduate Diploma in Child, Family and Community Nursing Applicant Supplementary Form (Word - 134KB)
Other resources
- DET – Maternal and Child Health
- Find a maternal and child health service
- Immunisation
- MCH Information Sharing Toolkit (PDF - 657KB)
- MCH Information Sharing Toolkit (Word - 429KB)
- MCH Transition to Practice Guidelines (PDF - 1.05MB)
- Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA)
Engage with us
Kim Howland
MCH Policy Adviser
khowland@mav.asn.au
(03) 9667 5563