- Introduction
- Australia’s disability support ecosystem is a multi-layered and highly interconnected system involving federal, state, and local government agencies, non-government organisations, private providers and community-based initiatives. It encompasses a broad spectrum of programs and funding mechanisms designed to meet diverse needs—from early childhood intervention and education supports to health, housing, and employment services. This complexity stems from overlapping responsibilities across jurisdictions, fragmented service delivery models and the coexistence of mainstream and specialist systems.
- In a response to the complexity of the system, ‘people with disability, community organisations, advocates and governments worked hard to make disability reform a reality.’ In 2008, a cooperative approach by Australian governments to improve disability support, the National Disability Agreement, was signed. In 2011, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed the National Disability Strategy.
- In 2011 the Productivity Commission undertook an inquiry into a National Disability Long-term Care and Support Scheme. The Productivity Commission found:
The current disability support system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient, and gives people with a disability little choice and no certainty of access to appropriate supports. The stresses on the system are growing, with rising costs for all governments.
There should be a new national scheme — the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) — that provides insurance cover for all Australians in the event of significant disability. Funding of the scheme should be a core function of government (just like Medicare).
1.4On 1 July 2013, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) came into effect, and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) was established to administer the scheme.
1.5On 18 October 2022, then Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the Hon Bill Shorten MP, established an Independent Review of the NDIS to examine the design, operations and sustainability of the scheme, including markets and workforce.
1.6This review followed multiple inquiries and reviews into the NDIS that have made a range of recommendations for change, including:
- Productivity Commission Review of NDIS Costs (2017)
- Tune Review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act (2019)
- 16 reports from the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS.
- The final report of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Review, published in December 2023, called for:
…a new system of supports for children outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The Review called for improved accessible and inclusive mainstream supports, investment in more development- and disability-specific supports, and a new NDIS early intervention pathway for children.
The Review found that developmental differences and delays are not always identified early in a child’s life, when early intervention can make a big difference. Once identified, many children and families struggle to get the support they need, when they need it most.
1.8The Review made 26 recommendations and 139 supporting actions, including:
- Invest in foundational supports to bring fairness, balance and sustainability to the ecosystem supporting people with disability.
- National Cabinet should agree to jointly invest in a capacity building program for families and caregivers of children with development concerns and disability.
- National Cabinet should agree to jointly invest in early supports for children with emerging development concerns and disability.
- Increase the scale and pace of change in mainstream and community inclusion and accessibility and improve the connection between mainstream services and the NDIS.
- All Australian governments should take steps to protect the right to inclusive education for children with disability and developmental concerns in early childhood education and care and schools.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency and the Department of Education, with state and territory education and disability agencies, should develop a plan to better connect the NDIS and school education systems and improve educational outcomes for children with disability.
- All Australian governments should agree as a matter of priority to expand universally available child development checks, to ensure the early identification of children with developmental concerns and disability and enable early intervention.
- Create a continuum of support for children under the age of 9 and their families.
- National Cabinet should agree to jointly invest in a continuum of mainstream, foundational and specialist supports to address the needs of all children with disability and developmental concerns.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency should reform the pathway for all children under the age of 9 to enter the NDIS under early intervention requirements.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency should introduce a more consistent and robust approach to assessing developmental delay.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency should change the basis for setting a budget to a whole-of-person level, and introduce a new needs assessment process to more consistently determine the level of need for each child and set budgets on this basis.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency, in partnership with the Department of Social Services and the National Disability Supports Quality and Safeguards Commission, should require early intervention capacity building supports for children be based on best practice principles and evidence.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency should develop and implement an approach for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of early intervention for children.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency should implement reforms to support the continuum and pathway for children using an iterative, inclusive approach to design and testing, and ensure participants experience a smooth transition to the new arrangements.
- At his National Press Club address on 20 August 2025, the Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, stated that the Government proposed to ‘return the scheme to its original purpose’ by ‘supporting people with significant and permanent care and support needs’ and ensuring the scheme becomes financially sustainable.
- The Minister elaborated:
Only around 1 in 50 people have significant and permanent disability – hence the need for a bespoke Scheme like the NDIS.
But 10 in 50 young children experience developmental delay or autism – mostly at mild to moderate levels.
That’s a broad-based, mainstream issue that should be supported by broad-based, mainstream services.
1.11In his address, the Minister added that the ‘NDIS model just doesn’t suit their needs’ and that ‘many of those children are then being over-serviced.’
1.12The Minister announced that the Government would establish a Thriving Kids initiative, adding:
Children with mild to moderate developmental delay or autism need a robust system of supports to help them thrive.
A Program for Thriving Kids.
1.13Thriving Kids’ aim is to focus on the early identification of ‘developmental concerns’ and the establishment of ‘a national system of supports for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and disability and low to moderate support needs and their families’.
1.14The initiative aims to ease pressure on the NDIS by offering earlier, more accessible interventions through mainstream services like GPs, early childhood education, playgroups and community health centres. The Minister stated:
Diverting this group of kids over time from the NDIS is an important element of making the scheme sustainable and returning it to its original intent.
1.15According to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, ‘more than 739,000 participants receive support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) with approximately 23% being children under the age of nine.’
1.16The Australian Government has committed to contributing $2 billion over 5 years towards the initiative, with the final program design to be settled between the Australian Government and state and territory governments.
1.17The Thriving Kids Fact Sheet provided by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing states:
Design is being informed by the findings of the Independent Review into the NDIS, national consultation on Foundational Supports held at the end of 2024 and continuing community consultation across multiple jurisdictions.
Minister Butler will establish the Thriving Kids Advisory Group, co-chaired by Professor Frank Oberklaid. This will provide expert advice to the Minister around the program design and implementation arrangements over the coming months.
1.18The NDIS is only one component of a wider ecosystem that includes foundational supports, mainstream health and education services, and targeted programs such as the National Early Childhood Program (NECP) and the Early Childhood Targeted Action Plan (TAP) under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031. These initiatives aim to ensure that children with disability or developmental concerns—and the families who care for them—receive timely, coordinated, and culturally responsive support.
About the Inquiry
Conduct of the inquiry
1.19On 2 September, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability adopted an inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative referred by Minister Butler.
1.20On 4 September 2025, the Committee issued a media release announcing the inquiry and called for submissions.
1.21The Committee invited submissions from a range of individuals and organisations with an interest in the current support systems available through the NDIS. This included federal and state government departments and agencies, industry groups and peak bodies, academics, health practitioners, medical organisations and the general public.
1.22The Committee received 404 submissions, and an additional 19 supplementary submissions. The full list of submissions is at Appendix A.
1.23Given that many submissions contained personal health-related information, the Committee asked individuals who lodged submissions to confirm that they would be comfortable with their submission being published on the Committee webpage.
1.24The Committee also published a 14-question survey on its website for individuals and organisations to complete. The survey assessed experiences aboutsupport services available to help children with disability including developmental delay and autism.
1.25The Committee received 1,194 survey responses by the deadline of 10October2025.
1.26The Committee held seven days of public hearings:
- 3 October 2025 – Canberra, ACT
- 10 October 2025 – Canberra, ACT
- 20 October 2025 – Sydney, NSW
- 21 October 2025 – Melbourne, VIC
- 7 November 2025 – Canberra, ACT
- 17 November 2025 – Canberra, ACT
- 28 November 2025 – Canberra, ACT
- A list of witnesses who provided evidence during these public hearings is at Appendix C. Transcripts of all public hearings are available on the Committee’s website.
- The Committee consulted widely throughout the inquiry and received submissions from individuals and organisations from every state and territory across Australia, including from many people living in regional, rural and remote areas.
- In recognition of the high level of community interest in this inquiry, the Committee continued to consider contributions received after the submission deadline of 3 October 2025 on a case-by-case basis.
- The Committee appreciated the strong public engagement in this inquiry, including from many individuals who have not previously participated in House of Representatives parliamentary committee inquiries.
- The Committee greatly valued receiving informative submissions from individuals, family members, patient advocacy groups and peak bodies from small and large groups who spoke of changes needed to make the Thriving kids initiative more equitable and efficient.
Accessibility
1.32The Committee was conscious of the importance of hearing first-hand from a diverse range of stakeholders, particularly people with lived experience of caring for children with developmental delay and disability with low to moderate support needs.
1.33The Committee approached the inquiry with a focus on ensuring the accessible participation of stakeholders engaging in the inquiry and implemented a range of measures to support this. These measures included:
- posting media releases about the inquiry, public hearings and the invitation to submit to the inquiry on multiple sites including the inquiry webpage, X (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram
- handling inquiries and correspondence in a range of formats to assist some organisations/individuals who prefer receiving information in writing rather than via telephone
- developing a survey for individuals who are not familiar with the parliamentary inquiry process to provide input into the inquiry in a more accessible way
- accepting submissions to the inquiry in any format including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other languages, AUSLAN, and audio-visual evidence
- accommodating late submissions received to the inquiry
- contacting witnesses to ask about their accessibility needs for public hearings and offering for witnesses to appear virtually
- accommodating physical disability needs and individuals with sensitivities by being mindful of venue inclusions such as accessible bathrooms, disability parking, breakout rooms, a quiet space and natural light, clearly identified accessible signage, to name a few
- organising AUSLAN interpretation for public hearing witnesses when requested
- including a final, open invitation to people to appear to give evidence.
Report structure
1.34This report is structured into 4 chapters, including this introduction.
1.35Chapter 2 provides an overview of the NDIS, early childhood education and care, and supports available under the Australian education system including background, roles and challenges for each.
1.36Chapter 3 examines evidence related to equity and inclusion received throughout the inquiry.
1.37Chapter 4 considers the Thriving Kids initiative, and comparisons to existing programs and perspectives that should be taken into account when developing the initiative.
Acknowledgements
1.38The Committee would like to thank everyone who completed the survey, provided written submissions, or gave evidence at public hearings.
1.39This inquiry was sensitive, complex and technical. It required the Committee to have a comprehensive understanding both of the sector and of the experience of participants and service providers in it, as well as an understanding of what is proposed under the Thriving Kids initiative, before the Committee could consider making any recommendations aimed at addressing identified gaps.
1.40This inquiry represents an opportunity to inform the Thriving Kids initiative, with a view to ensuring that it is fit for purpose and informed by a comprehensive understanding of the sector and the short- and long-term needs of stakeholders.
1.41However, two issues have continually been raised in evidence that have impacted on the capacity of inquiry participants and the Committee to provide informed advice regarding potential benefits, opportunities, risks and gaps on the initiative:
- at the commencement of the inquiry and at the time of reporting, there is limited information available about what is being considered in the design of the program.
- the lack of adequately clear information and granular data about the sector as it currently operates, and about support for participants navigating it who are at varying levels of vulnerability.
- Noting those challenges, the Committee is grateful to all who participated in the inquiry, particularly those who shared lived experience engaging with the challenges and complexities of the sector and who provided recommendations to ensure that future participants in much needed initiatives like Thriving Kids have a better experience.