The department's EMCH funding model is based on the number of children aged 3 or under in each council, as well as each council’s socioeconomic status and rurality. But the model does not use past EMCH service delivery data. The department does not have a complete understanding of EMCH demand.

Despite being part of the funding model’s basis, we found that the challenges faced by families that are eligible for EMCH are not confined to socioeconomic disadvantage. It is also unclear whether all rural councils need additional funding for travel.

Covered in this section:

EMCH funding is based on supporting 15 per cent of children aged 3 or under enrolled in the Universal MCH program and providing 20 service hours per family on average. The department does not know whether EMCH service delivery aligns to this. 

No council could show that they only provided EMCH support to eligible families. This is mainly because the system limits MCH professionals' ability to effectively record data and monitor eligibility. 

We made 3 recommendations to address our findings. The relevant agency has accepted the recommendations in full or in principle. 

What we examined

Our audit followed 2 lines of inquiry: 

1. Is the Enhanced Maternal and Child Health program (EMCH) being accessed by families experiencing challenges?

2. Is EMCH meeting its performance and outcome measures?

To answer these questions, we examined:

Download a PDF copy of Appendix E: Policy performance data.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix D: Agencies under the Policy.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix C: Review scope and method.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix B: Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix A: Submissions and comments.

We looked at 6 agencies in detail to see how they process and pay invoices. This section contains case studies which look at the business practices that support agencies to pay their invoices on time.

Covered in this section: