HIPPY Sites
The first HIPPY project in Australia began in 1998 in the City of Yarra, Victoria to be delivered by the Brotherhood of St Laurence. Twenty families were enrolled, with three home tutors employed to work with families in their homes. This site is now known as HIPPY Fitzroy.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence has since developed partnerships with agencies working in various locations across Australia to deliver HIPPY to additional communities outside of metropolitan Melbourne.
Until 2009 there were 9 sites in operation in Australia, with six sites in Victoria, two sites in Tasmania and one in La Perouse in NSW. However, due to significant national funding provided by the Australian Government through The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, 50 programs were funded from 2008-2012.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence holds the licence to operate HIPPY in Australia and partners with agencies within specified locations to deliver the program to families in those communities.
Please click here to view the Australian HIPPY site timeline
Across Australia HIPPY works with:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
- culturally and linguistically diverse families
- families with Anglo-Celtic and European backgrounds.
These groups cover diverse economic, cultural, educational and social demographics.
Currently our storybooks* are translated into Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese (Simplified), Dinka, Samoan, Somali, Tongan, Urdu, and Vietnamese. They are also available on CD in audio format in English.
Pictured: HIPPY Coordinators and Tutors from all sites at the training forum held in February 2008.