Child and Family Services

Danila Dilba offers a range of services to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and their families, including:

  • Australian Nurse Family Partnership
  • Midwifery Services
  • MacKillop Family Services
  • Danggal Dalby

Australian Nurse Family Partnership (AFPP) program

The Australian Family Partnership Program (AFPP) offers continuity of care and social support to first time mums from 16 weeks pregnant, supporting you into the first two years of your parenting journey.

The AFPP program is delivered by a team of four nurse home visitors, four family partnership workers and a nurse supervisor. In addition to regular home visits, the team supports you to get ready for the birth of your baby by helping you to access baby items, navigating external social and housing services, and accompanying you to antenatal and obstetric appointments.

As an AFPP client, you are also invited to join in on regular group catch-ups. These casual gatherings help new mums to connect with young families to help you build a strong support network in your local community.

A group of Danila Dilba AFPP staff celebrate the graduation of a 2-year-old child from the program. The child is accompanied by her mum.
A 2-year-old girl holds flowers and wears her graduation cap at an AFPP graduation event.

Am I eligible?

Anyone having an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander baby can access our AFPP Program.

Connect with our AFPP team

Call us on (08) 8942 5400 – or drop us an email at anfpp@ddhs.org.au

Midwifery Services

Our midwives work across multiple DDHS clinics, providing care to all pregnant DDHS clients, including:

  • Regular antenatal check ups
  • Midwifery led pregnancy care
  • Childbirth education Postnatal care for up to six weeks for mums who receive their antenatal care from a DDHS midwife

Our midwives also work closely with Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) Maternity Services:

  • RDH obstetricians run an obstetric (doctor) clinic with the DDHS midwives every month
  • DDHS midwives work with RDH antenatal clinic to support pregnant DDHS clients to attend their clinics for specialist clinics
  • DDHS midwives visit RDH maternity every week
DDHS midwife Kate holds up a onesie with the branding 'I'm a Danila Dilba bub' on it.
DDHS midwife performs a check on a pregnant client lying on table. Their other child is snuggled on the table beside them.

Am I eligible?

To receive services from our midwifery team, you need to be a DDHS client and be referred by your DDHS GP.

DDHS midwives do not provide emergency or intrapartum care – all women are required to attend RDH if you become worried about your baby.

All babies are also delivered at the RDH.

Danggal Dalby

Danggal Dalby means ‘Strong Kids’ in Larrakia language.

Our Danggal Dalby team includes a paediatrician, nurse coordinator, project officer, family support worker and team leader.

Together, they work with local children and their families to connect you with multidisciplinary paediatric services in the Greater Darwin region if your child has an identified neurodevelopmental vulnerability.

Our paediatricians also provide support to you and your child as you navigate the system to gain a formal diagnosis.

Services we work closely with include:

  • NT Hearing – NT Hearing also runs a hearing clinic out of the DDHS Knuckey St Clinic on the last Thursday of every month.
  • Children’s Development Team (CDT) – CDT provide diagnostic clinics to improve access for families requiring a multidisciplinary team diagnostic assessment.
  • NDIS – For children aged +9 years who have been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disability.
  • Early Children Australia NT – Supporting children 0-9 with access to early intervention therapy.
Danila DIlba Danggal Dalby staff attend a Health Promotion event as part of NAIDOC Week in 2024.

A child’s first 100 days – Connecting with Danila Dilba services

The below image shows you the many touch points a child will have with Danila Dilba Health Service during their first 1000 days of life, including annual health checks and interactions with our Danggal Dalby and paediatric services.