Child health needs assessment: Regional New South Wales

This health needs assessment examines child health across the South Eastern New South Wales and Western New South Wales primary health networks in Australia, highlighting the distinct challenges faced by children in rural, regional and semi-remote communities. The assessment identifies 5 key priority areas: early childhood developmental vulnerability; mental health and emotional wellbeing; nutrition and healthy weight; substance use; and maternal and perinatal outcomes. These priorities are influenced by geographic isolation, workforce shortages, socio-economic disadvantage and elevated risk among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, contributing to delayed diagnosis, limited access to early intervention and long-term health inequities. Existing interventions, including integrated early childhood hubs, culturally adapted programmes such as the Abecedarian Approach, mobile outreach services, school-based mental health initiatives, telehealth counselling, nutrition education and antenatal programmes, demonstrate potential to improve early identification, timely access and care coordination, yet gaps remain in workforce capacity, accessibility, cultural safety and programme evaluation. Strategic recommendations emphasise the integration of health, education and social services, expansion of telehealth, workforce development and data-informed monitoring to enhance service delivery. Aligning primary health network-wide strategies with local community needs is critical to supporting resilience, reducing inequities and promoting long-term physical, cognitive, emotional and social wellbeing for children across South Eastern and Western New South Wales.