THE Allan Labor Government has created a free new online service for Victorian parents and carers to support them through every stage of parenting — from planning a family to early childhood. Minister for Government Services Natalie Hutchins launched the Parents Portal on the Service Victoria platform and app on Tuesday and announced that a digital birth certificate will be piloted later this year. The portal is a one-stop shop for parents and carers seeking information and resources when planning to have a child. It includes resources on maternal and child health services, early childhood education, playgroups, kindergarten, and critical information on emergency services. Ms Hutchins said families needed trusted information to help raise the state's youngest. “From pregnancy to the first day of primary school, this will provide parents with vital information and resources as their families navigate different stages of life," Ms Hutchins said. “We know parents are juggling multiple priorities at once, that’s why we’re making it easier for parents to access the information they need when they need it.” The service is shaped by feedback from Victorian families and carers and includes important information for parents who have a child with a disability and for LGBTQI+ parents. Building on information in the ‘green book’ – a book supplied to parents to track their children’s health and development progress – the portal aims to provide parents with more resources for early childhood and beyond, particularly around key life events and accessing essential healthcare services. The new portal is part of the Labor government’s digital transformation agenda, designed to make it quicker and easier for Victorians to interact with government services. This is the first phase of rollout for the Parents Portal, and it will be expanded over time to incorporate new functions and features to respond to the changing needs of Victorian families. Future features being considered include a personalised navigator to enable new and soon-to-be parents to access personalised content about their child’s current development stage. A new digital birth certificate will be piloted on the Service Victoria app to make it easier for parents to securely store and show proof of their child’s birth when they need to, such as enrolling their child in 3-year-old kinder. More than 130 government services are available online and from the Service Victoria app which can be downloaded at the Apple or Google Play Store. Victorians can also visit the portal at https://service.vic.gov.au/find-services/family-and-child/parent-support
