Best Start

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Whittlesea

Best

The Whittlesea Best Start demonstration project is a partnership between the City of Whittlesea and the Whittlesea Children's Services Network.

The Whittlesea City of is both the Fund Holder and the Facilitating Partner for the project.

LGA Profile

Population

  • The 2004 total population of Whittlesea Local Government Area (LGA) was 126,297.
  • The Department of Sustainability and Environment projects the 2020 population of Whittlesea LGA will reach 168,947.
  • There are 16,313 children aged 0 to 8, comprising 12.9% of Whittlesea’s total population. This compares with 11.3% for Victoria as a whole.
  • There are approximately 763 people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in Whittlesea, making up approximately 0.6% of the area’s population.

Socio-Economic

  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2001 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSED) for Whittlesea was 962.4. A lower score indicates a higher level of disadvantage. This compares with the State IRSED of 1016.
  • Whittlesea was ranked 7 out of the 78 LGAs in Victoria on the IRSED. A rank of 1 was assigned to the most disadvantaged LGA.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, the unemployment rate in Whittlesea was 6.7%, compared to 5.5% for Victoria as a whole.

Language/Cultural Background

  • 33.6% of Whittlesea’s population were born overseas, compared to 23.3% of Victoria as a whole.
  • Of those born overseas, 17.5% speak only English and 58.8% speak English “well” or “very well”.
  • 22.3% of those born overseas speak English “not well” or “not at all”, this compares to 13.6% of all Victorians born overseas.

Families

  • There are approximately 14,252 families with children aged 15 and under in Whittlesea.
  • 83.3% of the 14,252 families are couple families, compared with 80.6% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.
  • 16.7% of the 14,252 families are one-parent families, compared with 19.4% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.

Immunisation

  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 93.3% of children in the 12 to 15 month age cohort in Whittlesea were fully immunised. This compares to 92.0% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 93.4% of children in the 24 to 27 month age cohort in Whittlesea were fully immunised. This compares to 92.5% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.

Child Health

  • From July 2003 to June 2005 there were 205.7 Hospital Separations per 1000 of all children aged 0 to 8 in Whittlesea.
  • This compares with a rate of 229.5 Hospital Separations per 1000 children aged 0 to 8 across Victoria for the same period.

Teen Pregnancy

  • There were 16.8 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 in Whittlesea during 2003 and 2004.
  • This compares to 19.0 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 across Victoria for the same period.

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Contact Information

Whittlesea Early Years - Family SErvices
Whittlesea City Council
Locked Bag 1
Bundoora, MDC 3083

Phone: (03) 9217 2170