Specialist centres 01 June 2026

Milestone moment for Early Parenting Centre in Hastings

Parents and caregivers on the Mornington Peninsula now have better access to specialised support to care for their little ones thanks to a new multi-million-dollar early parenting centre (EPC) in Hastings.

The new EPC is located on the Hastings Community Health site at 185 High Street, Hastings. It includes:

10 residential family units
four spaces to accommodate day stay programs
kitchen and dining areas
playrooms and multi-purpose rooms
outdoor play areas
landscaping.

What’s in a name

The centre has been named the Baabak Hastings Early Parenting Centre. The term Baabak means “caring or nourishing a child, holding a child close”.

It is derived from the Boonwurrung language, the Traditional Owners of the Land upon which the EPC is located.

The new centre was carefully designed to create an environment where families can feel safe, comfortable and at home.

The EPC was delivered in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Centre, with support from Peninsula Health, Brand Architects and builder, SJ Higgins.

Take a look inside.

Milestone moment for Early Parenting Centre in Hastings

Accessible transcript

[Text on screen: Families with little ones under four years old across the Mornington Peninsula rejoice!]

[Images: View of driveway entrance to the centre, with sign reading ‘Welcome to Baabak Hastings Early Parenting Centre; view across the centre’s entry and carparking spaces]

[Text on screen: Your Early Parenting Centre in Hastings is now open on the Hastings Community Health site at 185 High Street]

[Images: reception area and lounge/waiting area]

[Text on screen: The centre features: - 10 overnight family units - four spaces to accommodate day stay programs - kitchen and dining areas - playroom - multi-purpose rooms -outdoor play areas]

[Images: montage of family unit; day stay unit with cot and chair; kitchen and dining area with chairs and child high chairs; playroom with assorted play equipment; lounge seats; outdoor play spaces]

[Text on screen: The centre will be known as the Baabak Hastings Early Parenting Centre]

[Images: outdoor play area; meeting and internal play area]

[Text on screen: Baabak in Boonwurrung language means ‘caring or nourishing a child, holding a child close’]

[Images: A partnership screen displays the text ‘In partnership with’ and the QEC logo]

[Images: A sliding transition screen then displays the Victorian Health Building Authority and Victoria State Government logos and the url vhba.vic.gov.au]

[End of transcript]

Gallery

The exterior of the Hastings Early Parenting Centre

Exterior of the Early Parenting Centre

A play space at the new Hastings Early Parenting Centre

Play space at the Early Parenting Centre

Inside the new Hastings Early Parenting Centre

Inside the Early Parenting Centre

The kitchen and dining area at the new Hastings Early Parenting Centre

Kitchen and dining area at the Early Parenting Centre

An outdoor area at the new Hastings Early Parenting Centre

Outdoor area at the Early Parenting Centre

A bedroom inside the new Hastings Early Parenting Centre

Bedroom at the Early Parenting Centre

01 |

What is an Early Parenting Centre (EPC)?

Early Parenting Centres support parents or carers with children up to four years old. They help build parenting skills and confidence by providing help with:

sleep and settling
parent-child bonding and attachment
child behaviour and development
strengthening parenting capacity
building community connections.

Early Parenting Centres provide a number of services, including:

day-stay – centre-based day programs
overnight stay – families stay at the centre for support delivered over a week
flexible supports – telehealth, home visits and/or outreach.

About the EPC expansion and upgrade program

The EPC built in Hastings is one of eleven new or upgraded facilities being delivered through the Victorian Government's early parenting centres expansion and upgrade program.

The program is delivering:

upgrades to two existing EPCs in Footscray (complete) and Noble Park (complete)
nine new EPCs in growing areas across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Once complete, the network of centres will support more than 8,000 extra Victorian families each year.

Find out more about the early parenting centres expansion and upgrade program.