Why we're consulting

Earlier this year, we invited the community to provide feedback into the development of a new Municipal Early Years Plan and we now have a draft plan available for further community feedback.

In Wodonga, more than 5,700 children are in their early and primary years (aged 0–9), with around half of them under the age of five. We know that the early years are some of the most important in shaping a child’s future health, wellbeing and development.

Our current Municipal Early Years Plan is now due for an update. With Council’s recently adopted plans highlighting the importance of children and families, this is the right time to create a new vision that reflects what our community needs today - and for the years ahead.

The intention is for the updated plan to guide how Council, services, and community partners work together to support families with young children who live, learn, play or visit Wodonga. We want this plan to reflect real experiences and aspirations, and to help create a community where every child can thrive.

We invite you to review the draft plan and provide your feedback using the survey below. Your voice is essential in building a strong, connected and child‑friendly Wodonga.

Stage 1 - March 12 to April 28, 2026

We ran two concurrent surveys - for parents/caregivers and for service providers - to determine the needs of our community in the early years space.

Background

We’re refreshing our Municipal Early Years Plan (MEYP) to help children aged 0–9 learn, grow and thrive. We want to hear from you about what you hope for our children’s future, and how well local early years services are supporting families.

This plan will focus on the things we can improve together at a local level - like making services easier to find and use, helping providers work together, strengthening inclusion, and creating child‑friendly spaces across our community.

Some issues are bigger and sit with state or national systems. While the MEYP can’t fix those directly, we’ll use your feedback to advocate to state and federal governments for improvements to the broader early childhood system.

How does this link with our Council Plan

This plan aligns with Council’s Community Vision and Council Plan priority to support liveable and connected communities.

How your feedback will be used

The first stage of feedback was the beginning of the development of the Municipal Early Years Plan - before a clear direction had been set.

The draft plan has been influenced by what the community told us during the first stage of consultation - the real-life experiences of our community as well as legislation, participation trends and demographic data.

Your feedback during the second stage of consultation will help validate the direction of the draft plan - or it may identify some further changes.