Noah's Ark Inc.

Noah's Ark Inc. Noah's Ark supports families in Victoria, ACT, New South Wales and surrounding areas. They established toy libraries for children with a disability.

In 1971, we started as the Noah’s Ark Toy Library for Handicapped Children, run by a small group of parents of children with a disability. At the time, families were beginning to refuse to put their children with disabilities into institutional care and institutions stopped admitting young children. Noah’s Ark co-founder Annetine Forell, a parent of a child with a disability, as well as co-founder Mary Glue, saw the need for family support. The service recognised the importance of play in a child’s development and provided a place for families to discuss the challenges of parenting. Today, Noah’s Ark is a not-for-profit community organisation based in Victoria and the ACT, Australia. We offer a range of services and programs that support families who have a child (aged 0-8) with a disability or additional needs. At Noah’s Ark we work closely with children with a disability, their families and the services they participate in. We recognise that parents are experts on their own child and we provide them with information and support that enables them to make informed decisions. We employ more than 220 staff and deliver services to more than 2000 families across Victoria and the ACT. Noah’s Ark works with families, educators and policy-makers.

Noah's Ark Bendigo celebrated Children's Week at the North Central Goldfields Library Parenting Fair this week. Children...
21/10/2025

Noah's Ark Bendigo celebrated Children's Week at the North Central Goldfields Library Parenting Fair this week. Children and their families enjoyed activities and story time with lots of laughter. Along with learning about the work we do with families, children were very excited to take home Noah's Ark pencils and colouring pages.

Join our FREE* 1 hour workshops and learn about the importance of supporting your child's independence and decision-maki...
21/10/2025

Join our FREE* 1 hour workshops and learn about the importance of supporting your child's independence and decision-making skills.

Find out about how you, and other caregivers, can support your child with these skills.

Our last sessions for the year are filling up fast and open to parent of all ages! Visit our website to register: https://noahsarkinc.org.au/training/series/my-childs-choices

*Free places are available for parents and immediate carers of children and young people accessing the NDIS, funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Grants Program.

Children’s Week is a national event held annually around the fourth Wednesday in October, promoting awareness of childre...
19/10/2025

Children’s Week is a national event held annually around the fourth Wednesday in October, promoting awareness of children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Led by the Children’s Week Council of Australia, the week encourages national participation and supports children to be seen, heard, and celebrated in every community.

Visit the website to find out what's happening in your area: https://childrensweek.org.au/

Registration for our popular online Child Agency Toolkit is now open, with new dates starting from February! Plan your ...
14/10/2025

Registration for our popular online Child Agency Toolkit is now open, with new dates starting from February! Plan your PD for 2026 now, with free places available for NDIS providers.*

Child agency is a contemporary practice that is essential for anyone working with children. It promotes the development and wellbeing of children by building their capacity to be involved in making decisions about issues that effect them. This course helps you to deeply understand what is child agency and how to practically apply it in your everyday work.

Learn how to navigate the tension between child agency and family-centred practice in a culturally responsive way.

Visit our website for more info and to register: https://noahsarkinc.org.au/training/series/child-agency-toolkit

*Funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Grants Program.

Last week Noah’s Ark attended the 2025 Early Childhood Australia National Conference, which was held in Perth/Boorloo, W...
10/10/2025

Last week Noah’s Ark attended the 2025 Early Childhood Australia National Conference, which was held in Perth/Boorloo, Western Australia.

CEO John Forster and Operations Manager, Sarah Denholm represented the organisation by presenting a concurrent session titled, 'Bridging policy and practice: Enhancing universal early childhood services for children with developmental delays through multi-tiered systems of support and embedded learning approaches'.

John and Sarah shared how, ultimately, the work we are doing contributes to the broader goal of ensuring that all children, regardless of ability, have access to high-quality, inclusive education and care.

09/10/2025

October 10 is Key Word Sign Awareness Day. Key Word Sign (KWS) is used at the same time as talking by children and adults to support communication.

Noah's Ark therapists Heather, Georgia and Alanna demonstrate some Key Word Signs to help celebrate the benefits of Key Word Sign in Australia.

On 2 September 2025, the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, referred an inquiry into the Thriving K...
06/10/2025

On 2 September 2025, the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, referred an inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability.

Thriving Kids will focus on identifying developmental concerns earlier and establishing a national system of supports for children aged 8 and under with mild to moderate developmental delay and autism, and their families.

A brief survey is available to gather community feedback on the experiences of families and carers in accessing support services for children with additional needs. The survey will be open until this Friday, 10 October 2025.

The survey can be accessed here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=FUwh9pk60Ue4YslkjpJzFjfJstR4xGhApv__eGfhSIpUOFdRQkNRVDFRVjNTUkFVVUFGV1JQMU80TC4u

We've listened to your feedback and now parents of children of all ages can attend any of our FREE workshops.*My Child's...
30/09/2025

We've listened to your feedback and now parents of children of all ages can attend any of our FREE workshops.*

My Child's Choices explores why supporting our children to be involved in discussions and decision-making is important, both now and for their future.

Take one hour at a time that suits you, and be supported for future success!

Our last sessions for the year are coming up in October and November. Visit our website for more information and to register: https://noahsarkinc.org.au/training/series/my-childs-choices

*Free places are available for parents and immediate carers of children and young people accessing the NDIS, funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Grants Program.

Register now for Getting Started with Key Word Sign - online!Learn how to support your child’s communication in everyday...
25/09/2025

Register now for Getting Started with Key Word Sign - online!

Learn how to support your child’s communication in everyday routines in this interactive and fun workshop.

Key Word Sign is the use of signs and natural gestures to support the communication and language development of children and young people (and adults) with communication challenges and complex communication needs.

The workshop will be run online over two half days from 9.30am - 1pm (AEDT) on 13 & 20 October.

Attendees receive a copy of the ‘Getting Started with Key Word Sign’ book.

You can even use your child's NDIS funding to cover the costs of this workshop. Please let us know if this is something you'd like to do by emailing us: hello@noahsarkinc.org.au

All are welcome to attend. For more info and to register, visit our website: https://noahsarkinc.org.au/course/getting-started-with-key-word-sign-workshop-online

Families can join our FREE workshop in Geelong this October for Children's Week!My Child’s Choices – Child Agency Parent...
19/09/2025

Families can join our FREE workshop in Geelong this October for Children's Week!

My Child’s Choices – Child Agency Parent Workshop is a wonderful opportunity for parents to connect with other parents, share ideas, and also learn about how they can support their child's developing agency and decision-making skills.

Places are limited. Visit our website for more information and to register interest: https://noahsarkinc.org.au/course/my-childs-choices-geelong

This workshop is open to all families in Geelong and the surrounding region who have a child aged 0-12, and is supported by a City of Greater Geelong Community Grant.

This workshop explores why supporting our children to be involved in discussions and decision-making is important, both now and for their future.

Getting Started with Key Word Sign online workshops are now open to all health professionals, teachers, parents and care...
18/09/2025

Getting Started with Key Word Sign online workshops are now open to all health professionals, teachers, parents and caregivers.

• Supportive learning environment - learn signs and how to support interactions!
• Limited places. Run by Noah's Ark Certified Presenter and Speech Pathologist.
• Running over two sessions from 13 October.

Find more information and register on our website: https://noahsarkinc.org.au/course/getting-started-with-key-word-sign-workshop-online

Address

261-271 Wattletree Road
Malvern East, VIC
3144

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+611800819140

Website

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Our Story

In 1971, we started as the Noah’s Ark Toy Library for Handicapped Children, run by a small group of parents of children with a disability. At the time, families were beginning to refuse to put their children with disabilities into institutional care and institutions stopped admitting young children. Noah’s Ark co-founder Annetine Forell, a parent of a child with a disability, as well as co-founder Mary Glue, saw the need for family support. They established toy libraries for children with a disability. The service recognised the importance of play in a child’s development and provided a place for families to discuss the challenges of parenting. Today, Noah’s Ark is a not-for-profit community organisation based in Victoria and the ACT, Australia. We offer a range of services and programs that support families who have a child with a disability or additional needs.

Noah’s Ark provides the best therapy and education for your child with a disability or additional needs. We recognise the very important role that families play in their children’s health and development.

Noah’s Ark currently provides services to children 0 – 8 years of age and will continue to work with clients who have an existing relationship with us until 12 years of age. Children new to Noah’s Ark from the age of 8 and over will be considered based on a prior relationship with Noah’s Ark or a sibling of a current client. At Noah’s Ark we work closely with children with a disability, their families and the services they participate in. We recognise that parents are experts on their own child and we provide them with information and support that enables them to make informed decisions. We employ more than 220 staff and deliver services to more than 2000 families across Victoria and the ACT. Noah’s Ark works with families, educators and policy-makers.