Children and Family Support Program
About the Children and Family Support Program
The Children and Family Support (CaFS) Program will support improved outcomes for children and their families and cut red tape for community organisations. It will begin on 1 July 2027 and replace 5 existing programs:
- Children and Parenting Support
- Family Mental Health Support Services
- Communities for Children Facilitating Partners
- Family and Relationship Services
- Specialised Family Violence Services.
The CaFS program aims to achieve 2 key outcomes:
- Parents and caregivers get the support they need. They are able to guide children’s social and emotional growth in families and communities that are safe and strong.
- Children and young people get the social and emotional support they need to reach their full potential.
Funding under the CaFS program will focus on 4 investment priorities:
- Invest early to:
- improve family wellbeing
- break cycles of disadvantage
- reduce the need for later interventions like child protection.
- Prioritise connected, or integrated services that work together to meet family needs.
- Ensure services are informed by, and respond to, community needs.
- Improve outcomes for First Nations children and families. We will support the transition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisation (ACCO) led delivery in locations with high First Nations populations.
We will take a new relational contracting approach where feasible, working more closely with service providers to deliver better outcomes for families and children.
We will generally recommission existing providers to deliver on the priorities of the new program and make it easier for them to apply, cutting red tape and building on information the department already has so services can keep supporting people with limited disruption.
We will use clear, data driven performance measures to understand what’s working, improve services over time, and make sure support is delivering better outcomes for children and families.
National consultation undertaken in 2025 informed the CaFS Program. Read more about the consultation, including a summary of what we heard, on the DSS Engage website: A new approach to programs for families and children(Opens in a new tab/window).
How this change affects service providers
Important note: Applications for the CaFS Program will open from mid-2026.
The CaFS Program will build on the strengths of existing delivery, including the trusted, long-established relationships providers have with their community. It will benefit from their knowledge of the children and families who live there.
Applications for the new program will generally be current providers funded under the 5 programs. Further information will be provided to eligible organisations shortly.
News
National Families Week 2026
Children’s Week 2025
