This program has been a ‘lifeline’ for new parents. It’s now been quietly axed

2 weeks ago 20

New parents seeking advice about their baby’s sleep from local maternal and child health centres face a fresh struggle after the Victorian government quietly pulled millions of dollars from a popular program.

The government informed Victoria’s councils in late May that it would cease funding group education, one of two components of free, municipal-run sleep and settling programs, which has been a crucial first point of contact for exhausted parents grappling with sleep challenges.

Anna Gilmore, pictured at home with her two children, is concerned about the stripped state funding for sleep programs.

Funding was silently axed as part of the state budget for the 2025-26 financial year, with councils being notified just six weeks before the change that took effect on July 1, forcing many to suddenly cancel sleep group classes at their maternal and child health services.

Councils are warning that overall sleep support services will be significantly impacted; without group sessions, which provide early preventive help, demand for more intensive one-on-one services and stay-in programs will increase, leading to blowouts on waitlists.

The Municipal Association of Victoria estimates the state spent almost $5 million on the group classes program last financial year, allocating funds to councils according to their population. The state government has declined to confirm the precise figure.

Mother of two Anna Gilmore, from Altona in Melbourne’s south-west, first attended a sleep session with her husband when their son was three months old. She found it so helpful that they attended several more over two years, facilitated by Hobsons Bay Council.

“It helped us with the sleep, but it also helped my partner and I to align on what we were doing,” she said.

Gilmore believes receiving fundamental evidence-based advice helped divert her from bigger challenges down the track that could have put her in costly sleep schools.

Gilmore now has a three-month-old daughter and said she was disappointed to learn that the sessions had been cut.

“At least we got it once. It’s hard that people won’t have access to that kind of program on their first-time journey.”

Paul Klisaris, mayor of Monash Council in the city’s south-east, wrote to Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn in June calling for more than $100,000 in funding to be reinstated so they were not forced to shrink the service and staffing.

Councils are pointing out that they acted on a directive from the Department of Health in October that strongly encouraged them to recruit extra staff due to the “ongoing nature of this funding”.

Monash Council last week resolved to cover the financial gap to temporarily maintain the service but warned that if the government did not reinvest, several sleep programs – such as group classes, day stay sessions and visits to playgroups – may cease or drop in frequency, and waitlists would blow out.

“If funding is not reinstated, then we will have to review how we deliver the program,” Klisaris said.

A new $7 million centre, the Dorrington Child and Family Hub, was jointly paid for by the council and the Victorian government and opened in Mount Waverley in January with dedicated spaces for group sessions and day-stay sleep rooms.

“We can’t understand why they would commit that level of funding and then remove support of a program central to the new hub’s support for families,” Klisaris said.

Hobsons Bay Council has halted sleep group education as of this month after losing close to $75,000 in state funding. A spokesman said this meant families would have less early preventative support and more pressure would be heaped on other services.

Mayor Daria Kellander also wrote to Blandthorn in June, accusing the state government of flouting a three-month notice period required under the service agreement.

Victorian Minister for Children, Lizzie Blandthorn.

Kellander said she used the program when she had sleep troubles with her daughter.

“This is a cruel blow to vulnerable new mums already stretched to their limits. These services are not a luxury – they are a lifeline,” Kellander said.

Oakleigh South-based Joy Liu, a first-time mother to eight-month-old Flora, said she was opposed to the lost funding.

She attended three group sessions in Mandarin, via Monash Council, which boosted her confidence to deal with sleep and helped her feel less alone. The classes ran online, allowing her husband and in-laws to also tune in.

“We all had the same information from a professional we could believe and trust.”

Municipal Association of Victoria president Jennifer Anderson said the short notice given to councils by the state government was an affront to the partnership approach that should be exercised in delivering maternal and child health services.

She said that councils had bolstered their staffing and facilities after it had been indicated the funding would be ongoing.

“Prevention and early intervention services … provided to families as they begin their journey with their new babies is a great way to invest in the success of the whole family unit into the future,” Anderson said.

Shadow health minister Georgie Crozier said the Labor government’s priorities were “all wrong” and slammed the lack of transparency in the May budget about funding cuts.

“They’re prioritising the Suburban Rail Loop while services such as a sleep and settling program, that provides support to young and vulnerable mothers, are being cut.”

A Victorian government spokesman said group education was ceasing and parents would be connected with alternative support options, including free phone advice, in-home help or more intensive single or multi-day stays at early parenting centres.

He said that since 2019, almost $200 million had been invested to expand to 13 early parenting centres across Victoria.

“Sleep and settling can be some of the toughest aspects of parenting and that’s why we continue to offer comprehensive support through our free statewide maternal and child health services,” he said.

“We’re also making sure families that need extra support have options to turn to.”

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