Action Plan Initiatives
You ask the community what do you want and need? We all know, it’s been done before and then nothing comes of it. I had a different feeling about this and we’re seeing the results now. There’s action!
Eddie roberts – community member
The CCVH Regional Steering Committee, working with the co-design working groups, made decisions about what to allocate funding to across the Action Plan. The budget was split between Action Plan Areas as pictured below.
Please browse through all the different initiatives below for information about what initiatives were delivered through the work of Central Coast Voice for Health and the many partners involved across this project. While many outcomes are indicated below, further information about outcomes is available on the next page.
Action Plan Area
Budget Allocated
It Takes a Village
$68,000
Get Active
$68,000
Healthy Minds
$68,000
Garden Growers
$68,000
Community Connections
$278,000
Budget: $68,000
Expenditure: $68,000
Budget: $68,000
Expenditure: $68,000
Watch this space – more information to come
The Smoother Movers Program was established to support people with limited mobility to stay active, build strength, and remain connected to their community. Seed funding helped launch weekly strength-training classes with Arthritis and Osteoporosis Tasmania in Penguin, creating a program that continues to operate beyond the initial funding period. Participants have reported positive impacts on their physical health, confidence, and social connections, with Arthritis Tasmania receiving strong testimonials about the difference the program has made in people’s lives.
The Smoother Movers Program has delivered lasting benefits for older people and those with limited mobility by providing accessible strength training, social connection, and opportunities to improve confidence and independence. Seed funding enabled the establishment of weekly classes in Penguin, with the program proving so successful that a second class was later established in Ulverstone. Participant feedback highlights improvements in strength, balance, mobility, confidence, and pain management, with many describing the classes as supportive, enjoyable, and important for maintaining independence and connection with others. One participant reported no longer needing medication to get moving in the morning and experiencing fewer falls after joining the program, while others spoke of increased strength, improved movement, and greater understanding of how to manage their health. The ongoing popularity of both programs demonstrates the value of investing in community-based physical activity initiatives that support healthy ageing, wellbeing, and social inclusion.
The success of the initiative led to the establishment of a second Smoother Movers program in Ulverstone, and both programs continue to provide accessible opportunities for older residents and people with mobility challenges to improve their wellbeing while reducing social isolation.
Watch this space – more information to come
The Try Skills Program was developed to help young people aged 12-14 overcome barriers to participating in sport, recreation, arts, and leisure activities within their community. The initial program, delivered in 2023 by an external facilitator, engaged 28 participants and provided valuable insights into the challenges young people face in accessing local opportunities.
Feedback and learnings from the first round have informed improvements to the program design, helping to strengthen its potential impact. Building on this success, Central Coast Council delivered the next phase of the program over 2024-2025, supporting more young people to connect with activities that promote physical activity, skill development, confidence, and social inclusion.
The Pickleball initiative has been a highly successful investment in community health, wellbeing, and social connection. Initially funded to support court hire and equipment, including a pickleball machine for coaching, the project exceeded expectations, growing from two sessions to four sessions each week, including a regular competition evening.
Participation with this Ulverstone Pickleball Group project far surpassed the original target of 60 people, with around 100 community members aged 12 to 83 years taking part. The program has created an inclusive and welcoming environment where people of different ages, abilities, and backgrounds can come together to be physically active, build friendships, and reduce social isolation. A strong and growing membership base is helping to ensure the program’s ongoing sustainability, with members recently purchasing team uniforms as a sign of pride and commitment to the group.
Participants have reported benefits for both their physical fitness and mental wellbeing, demonstrating the lasting impact of what has become a thriving new community sport in the region.
The Bike Maintenance Station initiative improved access to practical cycling infrastructure on the Central Coast by installing free public bike repair and tyre pump stations in Ulverstone and Penguin. Located along popular cycling routes and community recreation areas, the stations provide cyclists with access to tools and equipment for basic bike maintenance and repairs.
The initiative was designed to reduce barriers to cycling, increase confidence in bike ownership and maintenance, and encourage more people to choose active forms of transport and recreation. Central Coast Council took on this initiative and organised the installation of these assets along local community infrastracture.
Community feedback has been positive, with the stations providing a highly visible and accessible resource that supports healthy, active lifestyles and strengthens community access to outdoor recreation opportunities.
Ulverstone Community Garden
Garden Workshops Program
Budget: $278,000
Expenditure: $278,000
Background
The Right Place was implemented on the Central Coast in response to priorities identified by the community through extensive kitchen table conversations and community engagement undertaken as part of the Health and Wellbeing Network process. A key finding from this engagement was that people wanted easier access to information about services and support, and while initially a traditional “bricks and mortar” hub was seen as a potential solution, something a bit different became apparent.
The community wanted trusted local people, businesses and organisations to be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to help people find the right support when they needed it. If local people in everyday situations and community places had the information that they needed to pass on to community members if something came up, more people would have access to the information they needed. Some people are not keen to visit a bricks and mortar site or have certain trusted connections in the community. The Right Place model was therefore designed to build a network of informed community members and organisations, embedding information and referral pathways within the places people already visit and trust.
The employment of the ‘Community Connector’ was the first step in this process and, after a community-led process of selection, Kat Rose was employed in this role. When Kat began in the role her goal was to train sixty (60) local people in the Right Place over the two years. Kat’s work was overseen by Health Consumers Tasmania and the Community Connections Reference Group of local community members and service providers.
Implementation
Implementation of the model focused on building a diverse community network across the Central Coast. Training and engagement activities reached neighbourhood houses, libraries, Aboriginal services, Child and Family Centres, churches, community organisations, businesses, sporting groups and local service providers. The Community Connector undertook extensive outreach through community events, service networks, expos, direct business engagement and local relationship building. An initial target of 60 members was established; however this was exceeded, with approximately 89 member organisations and individuals engaged. In many cases, entire workplaces participated in training, resulting in a much broader reach than membership numbers alone suggest. For example, one local electrical business trained all staff members, significantly extending the network of people able to provide information and referrals in everyday community settings.
Organisations, businesses and community groups engage with The Right Place in different ways depending on their role, capacity and level of confidence in supporting community members. For some participants, the greatest value of the program is being equipped with accurate local information and clear referral pathways so they can assist people when needs arise through their everyday interactions. Others are comfortable taking a more visible role by displaying The Right Place sticker and actively promoting themselves as a point of connection to information and support.
Not all organisations choose this approach. Some have expressed concerns that displaying a sticker may lead community members experiencing significant distress or crisis to seek them out directly, and they do not feel they have the capacity, workforce or expertise to respond in those situations. The Right Place recognises that participation exists on a spectrum and that there is value in both visible and less visible forms of involvement. Regardless of whether an organisation publicly identifies as a Right Place member, building knowledge of local services, strengthening referral pathways and increasing confidence to connect people with appropriate support all contribute to a stronger and more connected community support network.
The Right Place Training
Evaluation feedback indicates that participants had a highly positive experience of The Right Place training. Participants consistently rated the facilitation, content quality, relevance and practicality of the training highly, with most reporting increased confidence and capability to support consumers to access services.
The training was seen as well-balanced, engaging and directly applicable to workplace practice. Suggestions for improvement were minimal, with participants expressing interest primarily in further training opportunities such as Mental Health First Aid, Suicide Prevention and Healthy Conversation Skills.
Some challenges emerged during the Central Coast rollout of The Right Place that affected both the pace of implementation and the long-term sustainability of the initiative. While the model resonated strongly with community needs, significant time was required to adapt and localise resources that had been developed elsewhere. Existing materials were not always easy to customise and there were challenges associated with document accessibility, formatting and converting resources into practical tools that reflected the breadth of services available on the Central Coast. During the implementation period, Health Consumers Tasmania also undertook a statewide review and redevelopment of The Right Place framework and materials. While this work has since created a stronger foundation for future communities, the concurrent review process created periods of uncertainty and stop-start implementation as local rollout activities intersected with broader project development and evaluation activities.
The rollout also occurred during a period of organisational change within Health Consumers Tasmania, including staff transitions and evolving project priorities. As key areas of work reached completion and funding for some initiatives in the HWN concluded, there was a natural reduction in project activity and opportunities for staff collaboration across the organisation. This contributed to a diminished sense of connection and community within project teams compared to earlier stages of the work, when multiple staff were actively involved in network development, implementation and evaluation activities. The experience highlighted the importance of ongoing investment, coordination and relationship-building in sustaining community-led initiatives such as The Right Place, particularly where the success of the model relies on maintaining connections, visibility and support networks over time.
Outcomes
The project achieved important outcomes in improving community access to information and referral pathways. Rather than creating new services, The Right Place strengthened the ability of existing community members and organisations to connect people with the support that already existed. Interview participants described examples of community members supporting a person experiencing suicidal distress, community volunteers assisting young people affected by family violence to access counselling, and local businesses connecting people experiencing hardship with appropriate practical supports. The network has enabled people to seek assistance through trusted local contacts and provided trained members with a clear referral pathway when they encountered someone needing help. This created a distributed support network across the region, increasing opportunities for people to access support before issues escalated.
Evaluation findings also informed the delivery of additional community capacity-building activities. Feedback indicated that participants valued practical, confidence-building approaches that helped them respond appropriately when someone disclosed a problem or sought support. In response, complementary training opportunities were provided, including Mental Health First Aid and Accidental Counsellor training. While Mental Health First Aid was recognised as valuable, participation was constrained by the two-day time commitment. Accidental Counsellor training generated particularly strong feedback due to its shorter, highly practical format and its relevance to people in community-facing roles. Participants reported increased confidence in having supportive conversations, listening effectively and connecting people with appropriate services. Training was delivered to a wide range of community members, including service providers, volunteers, businesses and hairdressers, further strengthening the community’s capacity to identify and respond to people needing support.
Overall, the Central Coast experience demonstrates that The Right Place model is most effective as a community capacity-building and network-strengthening initiative. Its success relies not on the visibility of a single service or location, but on the strength of local relationships, the confidence of trained community members, and the presence of an active connector role that supports, nurtures and sustains the network over time. While challenges existed in the roll out and ongoing funding remains a challenge, the project established lasting referral pathways, increased community capability, and strengthened connections between people, organisations and services across the region.
The Future:
Health Consumers Tasmania remains optimistic about the future of The Right Place and the opportunity to build on the foundations established through the Central Coast implementation. The model has been recognised as an important approach to strengthening service navigation, community capacity and local connections, and HCT welcomes the inclusion of actions relating to The Right Place and community-led approaches within the first Health Revolution – 20 Year Preventive Health Strategy Action Plan. Building on the lessons learned and resources developed through earlier implementations, HCT is hopeful that future investment will support the continued rollout and strengthening of The Right Place across Tasmania. At the same time, HCT continues to seek local partners and opportunities on the Central Coast to maintain and further develop the network established through the project. Sustaining The Right Place requires local ownership, ongoing relationship-building and support for community connectors and organisations that are well placed to keep referral pathways, information sharing and community connections active into the future.
Watch this space, more information to come!
Budget: $68,000
Expenditure: $68,000