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VLGP modulesVicHealth Local Government Partnership

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Let’s change the game for our young people

Big change starts with local actions. So, we’re counting on our councils to help us amplify the voices of our children and young people – our future leaders. Together, we can create better, healthier and stronger communities fit for their future. Learn more about background of the VicHealth Local Government Partnership (VLGP) on this overview webpage.

What is VLGP? 

What are the health promotion modules?

The health promotion modules are toolkits – they provide practical guidance, how-to-guides for taking action and links to additional resources, templates, and case studies. This is all to inform the planning and implementation of health policy and practice change for your council.

The modules are designed to provide options for you to choose the recommended activities that best suit your council, community size and starting point – ensuring that you can make an impact within your community. 

The modules consolidate the practice knowledge, experiences and research developed over VicHealth’s many years working in close collaboration with local governments and other expert partners. 

Within the modules, are impact streams which represent the areas where councils are ideally placed to make changes that will have a sustained impact on the health of their local community. 

These modules have been designed to include options that suit councils and communities of varying sizes and capacities – from councils activating a particular impact stream for the first time through to councils ready to take up ambitious systems-level change.

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Foundation module

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The Foundation module provides the basic building blocks to help develop staff capabilities and skills in children and young people led engagement and planning. 

It focuses on supporting engagement of children and young people's voices in council planning.

  • Leading the Way – Engaging Young Voices for Change

    This module enables councils to build capacity and capability in engaging with and empowering children and young people to share their experiences to create a healthier future. The module provides practical ways to engage and co-design with children and young people in council activities. 

    Impact Stream: 

    Better solutions shaped by children and young people.

    Download module

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Core modules

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The Core modules provide implementation guidance for councils in 3 priority areas, to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people. 

These modules focus on creating better access to healthy food and drink options, increasing active opportunities and building more connected and supportive communities. 

  • Building Active Communities

    This module incorporates a range of activities, processes, and changes that councils can make to increase children and young people’s physical activity in the community. This includes activities on designing neighbourhoods that promote physical activity and running programs that increase participation by children and young people who face greater barriers. 

    Impact Streams: 

    • Increasing active travel opportunities to and from school (previously known as Walk to School)
    • Including walking and bike riding in council strategies  
    • Creating opportunities for all Victorians to be active  
    • Including gender equity in council sport and recreation policy 
    • Empowering and enabling women to get active through local promotion of This Girl Can – Victoria 

    Download module

  • Creating Connected and Supportive Communities

    This module enables councils to deliver benefits to and reduce barriers for several groups and communities who usually face barriers to participation as well as designing programs and policies that promote mental wellbeing. 

    Impact Streams: 

    • Co-designing with young people for better community wellbeing 
    • Building proud and inclusive communities 
    • Addressing social determinants of mental wellbeing 

    Download module

  • Building Better Food Systems for Healthier Communities

    This module will strengthen the capacity of councils to create local and healthy food systems and give children and young people opportunities to actively engage in the issues and solutions. 

    Impact Streams: 

    • Creating thriving local food systems 
    • Embedding healthy food and drink options in council owned and operated places 
    • Using healthy rewards and sponsorships in community activities 
    • Enabling healthy partnerships 

    Download module

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Stretch modules

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The Stretch modules are best suited for councils ready to expand into broader health and wellbeing topics and create holistic and engaging community environments.   

These modules focus on creating stronger preventative measures and reducing harm in relation to alcohol and tobacco products, while also focusing on promoting creativity and the arts at a local level. 

  • Strengthening Tobacco Control at a Local Level

    This module will strengthen the capacity of local councils to increase smokefree environments in their communities and see improvements across a broad range of health outcomes.  

    Impact Stream: 

    Adopting tobacco control actions to protect children and young people 

    Download module

  • Promoting Everyday Creativity at a Local Level

    This module will support councils to increase opportunities to engage children and young people in creative activities that also promote their health and wellbeing.

    Impact Streams:

    • Increasing equity in creative strategies
    • Embracing opportunities for children to inform creative programs
    • Improving opportunities for young people to lead creative programs 

    Download module

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Supplement modules

  • Supporting a healthy first 2,000 days for all Victorian children

    The VicHealth local government health promotion modules are having a First 2,000 Days update! Councils can create healthy communities for children in their first years of life with a suite of ‘first 2,000 days’ focused implementation actions and guidance. The new and updated actions will provide ideas, recommended resources and information to amplify the needs and priorities of young children and their families through council policy, facilities and services. 

    As part of this update, we have included ‘families’ as a third group in some of the impact stream and minimum deliverables. This is in recognition of the need to include parents and other caregivers as part of these actions.   

    The 35 new and 3 updated actions across the core and stretch modules will be available in December 2022.

    Download supplement

  • Supporting healthy and climate resilient communities

    Introduction and context – our climate, our health

    • The intersection of climate change and health promotion 
    • Children and young people
    • The role and responsibilities of local governments
    • Opportunities for local government to act

    Climate change considerations for councils undertaking the VLGP core modules

    • Building Active Communities
    • Building Better Food Systems for Healthier Communities
    • Connected and Supportive Communities

    Local Government Case Studies 

    • Case Study 1: Integrating climate change into municipal public health and wellbeing planning in the Greater Dandenong City Council and Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
    • Case Study 2: ’UV-smart Cool Playgrounds’ in Cumberland City Council: Piloting climate resilient playspaces to support health and wellbeing during hot weather
    • Case Study 3: Building capacity and collaborative action for climate resilience in the City of Darebin
    • Case Study 4: Enhancing liveability and active transport to school through a street tree planting program in Maroondah
    • Case Study 5: Warrnambool City Councils’ Climate Action Grants: Supporting school-based action on climate change and health

      Download supplement
  • Influencing Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH)

    Foundational actions 

    • Research and data, and building internal awareness 
    • Community awareness, promotion and capacity building

    Early areas for action 

    • Investment and divestment 
    • Procurement 
    • Council-owned or managed property 
    • Healthy partnerships, sponsorships and grants

    Longer term action 

    • Local laws and enforcement 
    • Planning 
    • State and federal advocacy 
    • Alternative economic models

      Download supplement
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VLGP funding opportunities

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You'll find these on our funding page (when they're available):

Artwork by Dexx (Gunditjmara/Boon Wurrung) ‘Mobs Coming Together’ 2022
VicHealth acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to all Elders past, present and future.
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Artwork Credit: Dexx (Gunditjmara/Boon Wurrung) ‘Mobs Coming Together’ 2022, acrylic on canvas. Learn more about this artwork.