Disadvantage Modelling & Site Planning

The Challenge: Ensuring Support Reaches Those in Need

The Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home-based early learning and parenting program delivered to disadvantaged sectors. The Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL) operates the program across 100 communities, reaching around 4,000 families from urban, regional, rural, and remote areas. They needed to verify that sites were correctly positioned to reach eligible families given that catchments were based on potentially outdated 2011 and 2016 census data.

• Assess and Update Boundaries: Catchment areas needed review to ensure they capture current community demographics and meet enrolment targets.
• First Nations Accessibility: A critical need to ensure First Nations focused sites were accessible and positioned to be delivered by Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations (ACCOs) with cultural authority.
• Growth Planning: BSL required a data-driven strategy to identify new locations for expansion and ensure the program remains complimentary to other community services.

Our FDE Approach: Advanced Disadvantage Modelling

PAG partnered with Inside Policy to deliver a comprehensive site analysis. We moved beyond simple census lookups to create a robust, multi-dimensional view of community need.

• Custom Indigenous Index: Recognising that standard SEIFA scores can be skewed by non-Indigenous populations, we constructed a specific disadvantage index using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) based on Biddle (2009), providing a truer picture of need in First Nations communities.
• Multi-Factor Analysis: We combined four key measures: SEIFA (2021), our Custom Indigenous Index, Cultural and Language Diversity (CALD), and Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data.
• Granular Mapping: Measures were constructed at SA2, SA3, and LGA levels to provide a complete catchment overview, supported by qualitative work to ensure cultural authority in delivery.