QEC

Take your early parenting practice further in 2026.
The Early Parenting University Short Course is now open for enrolments, delivered by QEC in partnership with Monash University.

Designed for professionals supporting families with children aged 0-4 years, this course strengthens workforce capability in a rapidly growing and increasingly complex area of practice.

It combines evidence-based knowledge with practical, workplace-ready strategies you can apply immediately to support families built their confidence.
You’ll explore:
✔ Infant cues, behaviour, and regulation
✔ Sleep and settling
✔ Early childhood development and play
✔ Family wellbeing and child safety
✔ Strengths-based approaches that build parenting confidence

Delivered through flexible learning options, the course supports professionals to translate evidence into practice and strengthen outcomes for families.

Learn more:
Unit 1 |https://lnkd.in/gJWGMGi7
Unit 2 | https://lnkd.in/gCrRJRxj

A special milestone from our Baabak, Hastings site 🎉
Our Day Stay program has officially commenced at Hastings QEC, and we loved welcoming our very first family to the centre!

Baby James had a wonderful day, including an impressive 90-minute sleep after lunch, while his mum shared how welcomed and supported she felt, and how much more confident she was leaving the program.

This marks the beginning of our work supporting families in the Hastings community and surrounding areas, and we’re excited to see that support grow.

Last year, we partnered with Bunurong Land Council to explore how we could more meaningfully reflect and respect Boonwurrung Country across our sites. Rather than selecting names ourselves, we followed the appropriate cultural process and were guided by community.

We’re honoured to share the names selected for our sites:
🩵 Mundi – Noble Park MOON-dee: ‘hug; embrace; hold tight’
💛 Baabak – Hastings BAAH-buck: ‘nourish or care for a child; hold a child close’

Both names reflect the heart of our work with families, connection, care and support.
We are grateful to the Bunurong Land Council and Elders for their guidance, and for entrusting us with these names. We are committed to carrying them forward with respect.

To learn more about the process follow the link https://www.qec.org.au/news/mundi-and-baabak

Today, we are proud to officially announce the opening of our brand-new centre, QEC Baabak Hastings Early Parenting Centre! 👏

We were honoured to welcome Lizzie Blandthorn, Minister for Children, alongside Paul Mercurio MP (Hastings) and Paul Edbrooke MP (Frankston), who joined us to officially open the centre today.

This is an exciting step forward in expanding our support for families across more communities, and we look forward to supporting parents and carers throughout Hastings and the surrounding suburbs 🩵

We’re so thankful to families who share their experiences with us 💖

Supporting parents through the challenging moments and helping families feel confident is at the heart of what we do.

Do you have a parenting goal you’re working towards?
Visit www.qec.org.au to learn more about our programs and how to self-refer.

Today is IDAHOBIT Day.

Discrimination still affects many LGBTQIA+ people, including families with young children. That is why inclusion needs to be built into programs, not added on. We recently completed our first six-week Rainbow Playsteps program, delivered in partnership with Rainbow Families Australia.

The program supports parents and caregivers of children under four who are part of the LGBTIQA+ community, offering an inclusive space to explore early parenting topics such as communication, behaviour, child development, routines, play and attachment within a supportive peer environment.

All families who participated in Rainbow PlaySteps reported an increased sense of connection to their community. This is an important finding, as fostering community connection is a core purpose of the program. On IDAHOBIT Day, we reflect on how this kind of work helps create safer, more inclusive spaces for families, not just today, but throughout the year.

This National Children’s Week, we’re celebrating the creativity of children through art!🎨💫

Here’s a look at some of the wonderful artwork created by children at QEC this week for the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare art competition. We loved seeing your wonderful creations 💛