Supporting our young people, children and families.
We are developing a new 4-year strategy to support children, young people and families in Merri-bek. We want every child to have a strong start, feel safe, succeed in education and have opportunities to participate and thrive in our community.
Before we draft this strategy, we want to hear from our diverse community about their biggest challenges and where there might be gaps in our services.
We want to hear about community experiences in these areas:
Get Involved
We are looking forward to hearing your experiences and ideas about how Council can better support the needs of children, young people and families in Merri-bek.
There are a few ways you can join the conversation:
- Children aged between 2 and 12 can contribute to our Kid's Corner. Parents and carers can download the activity and submit a child's response using the form.
- If you are comfortable sharing online you can post on the discussion board below and contribute text or images.
- Come and chat with us in person at one of the pop-up sessions.
Scroll down for more details and to participate.
Online discussion
- Find the rust-coloured "LOG IN/JOIN" button at the top of the page and click it to start registering.
- Select "LOG IN" if you already have a profile on Conversations Merri-bek OR select "SIGN UP" to create a new profile.
- To create your profile you will need to add: Screen name, email address, password, full name and postcode. Check the boxes that apply and click "CREATE ACCOUNT".
- You can now continue with your submission
Merri-bek is a diverse community and we want our community engagement to reflect that. The information we collect when you register helps us understand who we are hearing from.
This information helps us to meet our legislative obligations and improve our processes. It also helps maintain the integrity and fairness of the consultation.
Your personal details will not be used for any other purpose.
We have 3 key questions to ask our community.
You can answer one or more of these questions on the discussion board below. Use the categories to let us know which question you are answering.
Kids' corner
Pop-up sessions
If you would like to share your experience and ideas in person, we would love to see you at one of our pop-up sessions!
Thursday 18 September 2025
Time TBC
Glenroy Community Hub
Saturday 20 September 2025
8am-1pm
Coburg Farmers Market
Saturday 27 September 2025
10am-2pm
Fawkner Leisure Centre
Saturday 4 October 2025
10:30-2:30
Brunswick Baths
What happens next
The feedback you give us between now and 8 October 2025 will be used to help us develop a draft Children, Young People and Families Strategy. This draft strategy will be made available on this website and via our customer service centres and libraries for feedback in February 2026. The final strategy will go to Council to be endorsed in April 2026.
About our services
Council provides support to families, parents and carers, and young people at all stages of life.
For a full list of our programs and services, visit one of the pages on the Merri-bek City Council website.
