Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre

Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre

The Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre is a wellness service that aims to provide specialised support to families with children from birth to four years of age, to enhance their relationships and achieve their parenting goals.

Prounounced (way-pung-aa), Wayipunga is a Dja Dja Wurrung word meaning to help/support.

Opening in late February 2025, the Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre is a free service that provides specialised support for sleep and settling, feeding, parent-child relationships and parent-child health and wellbeing.

It is a purpose-built facility located in Havlin Street, Kennington, Bendigo.

The centre will provide a range of services including day stays, overnight stays and Telehealth support.

The team will include experienced nurses and midwives and Maternal and Child Health nurses.

About the Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre

The Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre will provide specialist support for families with children aged 0-4 years of age.

It delivers flexible, targeted services which assist parents with the following:

• Sleep and settling
• Child behaviour
• Parent and child health and wellbeing

We will deliver services that aim to enhance parent-child relationships and support parents with strategies for achieving their parenting goals.

Our Early Parenting Centre can assist with a range of issues that are common for new parents including the following:

• Sleep and settling
• Feeding difficulties
• Parent / child relationship
• Infant and child behavioural issues
• Parental exhaustion
• Adjustment to parenthood

What programs does the Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre offer?

Our team helps deliver several programs to meet the needs of individual cases.

Eligibility Criteria

Parents with children aged 0-4 who need more specialised or targeted support can access the Wayipunga Bendigo Early Parenting Centre including those who need assistance with the following:

• Strengthening of parenting capacity and skills
• Enhancement of parent-child relationship
• Increasement of parental confidence in responding to their infant/toddlers needs

How do I get an appointment?

Parents can self-refer to the Early Parenting Centre or can be referred by a GP or health care professional. For parents wishing to self-refer, please fill out the self-refferal form. For GPs or healthcare professionals, please fill out the medical refferal form.

Self Referral

Medical Referral

After we have received your referral, you will be contacted within 2-3 business days and given an appointment to have an assessment phone call. Alternatively, parents can talk to their maternal child health nurse or GP for assistance with a referral to the Early Parenting Centre.