Social Priorities
The Social Priorities approach to to Community Development at City of Armadale enables the City to respond to community needs as they arise, whilst maintaining a focus on the community's identified priorities that enable residents to live and thrive.
Go straight to:
- open now!
How does Community Development work at the City of Armadale?
What is Community Development?
Community Development involves ways of working which empower people to make changes in their community on issues that affect them. It means bringing people together to work on solutions that will benefit their community (Community Development Toolkit, Kylie Eastley Consultancy). The City’s approach to community development comprises four steps:
Ask residents what they like about their suburb, what they’d like to see and what areas are of concern to identify
Research what projects/services work well in similar communities – known as ‘good practice’ examples
Identify the City’s role in a potential action plan
Explore possible projects/services with the community and local groups/organisations and invite them to be part of resulting action plans
Identifying Social Priorities for the City
Since 2019 the Community Development team has asked residents across the City to tell us what they love about their suburb and what their concerns are. Staff also collate available data for each suburb from sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), and crime statistics from the WA Police, as well as district level data from sources such the Department of Communities and the Department of Health. Local services and organisations working within the community also share their knowledge of what is happening for our residents. Identifying social priorities means hearing from community members about the most important issues people are experiencing in their area of residence. This is underpinned by a place-focused approach, determining the social priorities for each locality as a single, Citywide strategy may not meet the needs of people in different suburbs. The City’s Community Development team can work with the community to build on their strengths and address the main concerns. These engagement activities, under the banner ‘Growing our Community’, were conducted in 2019, 2021, and 2023. In 2026 the City used the results from the survey conducted in 2025 for the Strategic Community Plan review to determine Social Priorities for 2026 - 2029.
2026 - 2029 Social Priorities
The following five priority areas have been identified for three years commencing July 2026:
1. Neighbourhood and Community Connections
Support social cohesion and neighbourliness through connected neighbourhoods, strong community groups, and the celebration of cultural diversity.
Priority suburbs: Hilbert, Haynes, Harrisdale and Piara Waters
2. Access to Essential Supports
Improve access to essential health and welfare services for residents experiencing homelessness, financial difficulty and people struggling due to ageing and illness.
Priority suburbs: Armadale, Brookdale and Kelmscott
3. Home and Community Safety
Work with community groups and the WA Police to prevent and respond to crimes in the home and community, including child safety and Family and Domestic Violence through community education and resourcing.
Priority suburbs: all suburbs
4. Early Childhood Development
Support organisations that work with families and children aged pre-birth to six years to collaborate effectively, provide evidence-informed parenting and child development information, support the transition to school, and deliver place-based activities for families to connect with neighbours and each other.
Priority suburbs: Brookdale, Kelmscott West, Hilbert, Armadale
5. Valuing Young People
Foster the independence and autonomy of young people aged 12 to 20 so they may recognise their own value as individuals and important members of their chosen communities. Activities will be delivered that create safe spaces for young people to be with and make friends, celebrate their contributions and efforts, support good mental health, respectful relationships, and plan for their future.
Priority suburbs: Armadale, Seville Grove, Kelmscott West
Identifying the City's role in the response
Having identified what social issues the Community Development team can address, the Community Development team researches what programs and activities are already being delivered in the City, as well as what has been successful here and in other similar communities. Good practice examples are then considered for how they might work here in the City and what would be needed for them to succeed.
What the City can do as an organisation can be broadly categorised as follows:
Advocacy: To advocate to the state and federal government the need for services, resources and facilities. Please see the Advocacy Priorities Strategy 2022 – 2030 for more information.
Coordination of services: Working with local service networks and specific stakeholder groups including community groups to work collectively to make positive change.
Contracting services: Negotiating with not-for-profit and private service providers to deliver services and programs via a Social Priorities Service Agreement.
Capacity building: Assisting groups with information and links to other organisations and funding sources, delivering that City’s Community Grants program and providing training to staff and volunteers of community services and groups.
Service Agreements - Requests for Quote open now
The City of Armadale contracts community organisations and local businesses to provide services to address the City’s Social Priorities in identified suburbs. Requests for Quotes are now open for the following project categories. For information on how to quote please phone 08 9394 5642 or email csadministration@armadale.wa.gov.au.
Social Priority - Access to Essential Supports, priority suburbs of Armadale, Brookdale & Kelmscott
Category 1 - Health Care: Programs delivering free / bulk-billed health care for community, delivered as an outreach or mobile service to reach at risk community providing:
General Practitioner
Drug and alcohol support
Vaccinations
Mental health
Allied Health referrals
Wound care and management
Category 2 - Food Relief: Programs delivering regular access to food relief such as food hampers, food pantry, warm meals.
Social Priority - Valuing Young People, priority suburbs of Armadale, Seville Grove & Kelmscott West
Category One - Programs aimed at providing safe and creative spaces for young people aged 12 to 20 years, who live or go to school in the City of Armadale, to develop skills and form positive social connections.
Sport or recreation-based activities.
Art-based activities including dance, music, craft, textiles, art, writing.
Pop culture / gaming-based activities.
Programs aimed at supporting mental health, self-esteem, or positive relationships
Category Two - Early Programs aimed at supporting young people aged 14 to 20 years, who live or go to school in the City of Armadale, with getting their first job and developing important life skills.
Programs that support young people to get their first job, such as resume and cover letter writing, job applications and interviewing, or skill training (barista, hospitality, food handling, RSA, white cards, customer service) and work experience opportunities.
Programs that support young people to develop important life skills.
Social Priority - Early Childhood Development, priority suburbs of Brookdale, Kelmscott West, Hilbert & Armadale
Category 1 - Programs that support the early identification of developmental concerns and provide parents and families with the capacity to support, or gain supports for their child/ren (from conception to 6 years):
Programs to increase parenting capacity
Programs that aim to increase awareness of and support new and expecting parents with their mental health in the perinatal period (conception – 2 years)
Programs aimed at providing safe and inclusive spaces for parents from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds
Programs aimed at providing safe and inclusive spaces for young expecting or new parents aged 14 – 18years
Programs and activities must improve access to needed services for families that experience additional barriers
Category 2 - Programs aimed at supporting children (conception – 6 years) to be school ready before their first year of full-time school:
Programs aimed at children that align with one or more of the AEDC domains
Programs that support parents and families to connect with their child and promote child-parent attachment
Activities that can contribute to upcoming place-based events (please contact the City to discuss)
Previous Social Priorities Service Agreements projects
The following overview summarises the contracted services delivered in 2025 / 2026.
Social Priority of Access to Essential Supports
AMURT Australia (WA), provided breakfast and lunch hampers to support vulnerable families with school-aged children.
360 Health and Community - Street Doctor: Street Doctor is a free healthcare clinic to vulnerable people and people at risk of or experiencing homelessness within the City of Armadale. Currently delivered by a nurse practitioner, services provided through the clinic include:
Immunisation for children and families who may not be up to date;
Support Services (i.e. Mental health, alcohol, drug issues, sexual health and general health); Chronic disease management; and
Preventative health.
Clinics operate every Tuesday from 9:00am until 1:00pm at the Champion Centre - 76 Champion Drive, Seville Grove.
Empower2Free delivered 5 interactive financial literacy workshops, covering vital topics for financial stability.
Social Priority of Children, Young People & Families
The Fathering Project will be delivering a group for fathers and father figures raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The sessions will be delivered fortnightly between November 2025 and July 2026. The program is designed to equip participants with practical tools, build their parenting confidence and foster peer connection. The sessions will be held at Armadale Community Family Centre (ACFC) from 4.30 – 5.30pm. Follow https://www.facebook.com/thefatheringproject/ on Facebook.
Freestyle Now delivered a series of coaching sessions across local skateparks and pump tracks.
Dismantle – Fix a Bike delivered youth engagement sessions at Gwynne Park Skatepark and John Dunn Challenge Bike Park during January 2026.
Centre for Stories - The Spark small group mentoring program teaching young people how to transform personal stories into creative expression.
Singing Mamas is a connection-based wellbeing program that aim to reduce isolation, strengthen community ties, and support early intervention in mental health through music and connection for mothers and female caregivers while remaining open to all women regardless of age, background or life experience. Keep up to date on their Facebook.
Sock and Buskin provided a drama program to young people aged 14 to 17 years.
Armadale Community Family Centre delivered the Aunties Circle for mums and caregivers to connect, learn and create. Kids are welcome, with safe and engaging activities provided. Enjoy a free light morning tea, with tea and coffee provided.
📍 101 Challis Rd, Seville Grove
🕤 9:30 – 11:30 AM
📅 Every Friday during school term
See their Facebook page for more information.
Universal Health Care delivered individualised developmental screenings within Early Learning and Education Centres and/or Playgroups and sessions for parents to discuss the screening and any next steps.
Social Priority of Home and Community Safety
Armadale Neighbourhood Watch deliver activities that promote home and personal safety in the community. These activities include Street Meet and Greet events, attending community events and presenting information to other community groups and residents on various subjects related to home safety and security. See https://www.facebook.com/Neighburhoodwatcharmadale/
Constable Care Foundation - Forum Theatre: A school and community-based program that allows young people aged 9-17 years to identify and explore social issues they are currently experiencing through the development of short film or live theatre performances.
Social Priority of Neighbourhood and Community Connections
Culture Care – Connect Learn Play delivered nine community connect evening sessions for residents of all ages, as well as three school holiday activities for children aged 9 – 15 years based around AI Learning, Tennis and Cooking.
Grow Cook Eat WA delivered Food and Friends workshops at the Piara Waters Public Library and the Armadale Community Family Centre.
DMN Solutions delivered social coding sessions to foster an inclusive, collaborative environment where individuals, regardless of experience, can explore and improve their coding and software development.
The Men’s Table established a Table for residents of Harrisdale and Piara Waters.