What We Do
right@home
Empowering Families, Strengthening Futures
right@home is an Australian nurse home visiting program designed to support families by improving early childhood outcomes. Delivered by trained maternal and child health (MCH) nurses and supported by social workers, right@home integrates seamlessly into the universal health service. The program starts during pregnancy and continues until the child turns two, offering 25 home visits to build parents’ capacity to provide safe, responsive care and a nurturing environment that fosters early learning.
Research highlights the importance of such programs, with more than one in five Australian children entering kindergarten developmentally vulnerable. right@home fills a critical gap by providing evidence-based support to help children thrive in their early years and prepare for school. The program has been shown to improve parenting practices, home safety, and children’s readiness for school.
right@home is a collaborative effort led by ARACY, the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH), and the Translational Research and Social Innovation Group (TReSI) at Western Sydney University. This partnership ensures a robust and effective delivery of the program across Australia.
“I think it’s fantastic, this right@home... and it’s specifically about your bub, and family and wellbeing… it was just brilliant”
What are the results?
right@home was shown to have the following effects when children were 2 years old:
- Mothers were more likely to engage in warm parenting practices
- Mothers were less likely to engage in harsh parenting practices
- Children were more likely to have a regular bedtime
- There were fewer safety risks at home
- Mothers were more likely to support their child’s learning
- Children had more opportunity for varied social interaction with adults
- Compared to the usual care, mothers were more satisfied with the service and felt more capable as parents
The results when children were two years old did not change based on number of previous births, level of risk, mother’s mental health, or mother’s belief in her parenting ability.
WHAT WE DO
Looking for more?
Search through our extensive Resource Library including Research papers, Submissions, Reports and much more.
What else we do
Right@home
right@home is a relationship-based nurse home visiting program for Australian families, delivered by trained professionals within the universal health service. It empowers parents to create a safe, nurturing environment that supports early child development.
Early Years Strategy
The Australian Government’s Early Years Strategy, developed with input from ARACY, outlines a vision to support children and families by prioritising child-centered policies and targeted investment in early years services over the next 10 years, recognising the crucial role early development plays in lifelong success.
ARACY Longitudinal Studies
Established in 2006, ARACY’s Longitudinal Studies Collaborative (LSC) fosters collaboration between Australian and New Zealand studies focused on children and youth. The LSC promotes data sharing, supports new and ongoing studies, advocates for longitudinal research, and disseminates findings to a broad audience.
Maximising the Middle
‘Maximising the Middle’ is a unique initiative based in Campbelltown and Penrith that aims to see middle years children and young people (MYC&YP), aged 8-14 years, thrive. It is a collaborative project initiated by Uniting NSW.ACT, ARACY and the Stronger Smarter Institute (SSI).
ARACY's The Nest
What's in The Nest?
With six connected areas, The Nest ensures young Australians have everything they need for the best start in life, helping them reach their highest potential.
Our Nest projects
Using The Nest, has helped ARACY to be at the forefront of disease prevention and the promotion of holistic health for young Australians.
The Nest initiatives
Here you’ll see some examples of how The Nest has been used in organisations outside of ARACY across Australia.
