Experts warn the Thriving Kids model could create new gaps in support without clear clinical pathways, workforce readiness and strong coordination.
Thriving Kids will need strong coordination, a workforce plan and more detail on how it will affect children in the middle complexity cohort, experts warn, to ensure kids don’t fall through the gaps.
In the days since the Advisory Group report was released, the industry consensus is that while the model is a meaningful step towards reshaping early supports, there are unresolved risks that need to be addressed before rollout.
Chief among them is a concern that early identification of developmental delay is being shifted toward a non-clinical workforce, potentially sidelining regulated health professionals at a critical point in a child’s pathway.
Clinical expertise must remain central
Australian Association of Psychologists’ chief psychologist Amanda Curran said qualified, regulated health professionals in assessment and care pathways need to be sufficiently embedded.
“Psychologists play a critical role in early identification, assessment, and evidence-based intervention for developmental delay, autism, ADHD, and emerging mental health concerns,” she said.
“Their expertise is essential not only for accurate assessment, but for guiding families through what can be an overwhelming and emotionally demanding process.”
Humanity Health Group CEO Fred Cicchini agreed.
“It’s psychologists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists who are typically at the front line of very early intervention with kids.
“You can see that in the design, where the initial two phases of the three phases are about parent education and community and play. Both of those things are very good, but they’re not diagnostic by nature,” he told Health Services Daily.
While Thriving Kids removes the requirement for a formal diagnosis to access support, Mr Cicchini warned that this could dilute access to targeted intervention, particularly for autistic children.
“The earlier that that diagnosis is received, the more targeted and more powerful the early intervention is for the child and the family. So, by removing diagnosis, you’re relying on the funding of indirect programmes at the expense of targeted diagnosis in the hope that it would help.
“The idea of giving people access to resources is phenomenal. They shouldn’t be the expense of the right sort of diagnostic support,” he said.
Pressure shifts onto families
Ms Curran also raised concerns that the model places additional responsibility on parents.
“A model that limits access to allied health support to short, time-bound interventions risks adding pressure to families rather than relieving it,” she said.
Mr Ciccini echoed this, warning the approach may inadvertently favour families with greater time, confidence or resources.
“If you think about families that are task-rich and time-poor. Everybody loves their kids, but it will also mean that those that have higher means are probably more likely to engage in the program versus those that need higher support in the family system to begin with,” he said,
For families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, the barriers are even higher, according to Lara Kissin, acting CEO of the National Ethnic Disability Alliance.
“A family from a culturally and linguistically diverse background with a child with disability isn’t just navigating disability systems, they’re doing so across language barriers, cultural differences in how disability is understood, and often with limited prior knowledge of available supports.
“When information isn’t available in community languages, when co-design doesn’t actively engage diverse communities, when workforce training doesn’t include cultural competency, these families fall through the gaps,” she said.
Co-design and system coordination are critical
Aspect CEOJacqui Borland said the organisation supports the model’s intent to identify developmental differences earlier and simplify pathways, but warned that delivery details matter.
She said for Thriving Kids to succeed, it needs to be developed in partnership with autistic people,families and experienced service providers.
“While Aspect supports the intent and principles underpinning the Thriving Kids model, we look forward to further detail on how these principles will be operationalised in practice, including program design, delivery mechanisms and accountability arrangements.
“The model’s intention to sit alongside the NDIS, with children with more complex support needs continuing to access individualised funding, will require strong coordination between systems and clear pathways so children do not fall through the gaps,” she said.
Related
Mr Cicchini said this risk is particularly acute for children who sit between clear eligibility thresholds.
“It doesn’t address the idea that there is a cohort of kids that will benefit from it (Thriving Kids), and there’s a cohort of kids that need to stay on the NDIS.
“But nobody addresses the gap for those that might sit in the middle that are undetermined at this point in time,” he said.
Workforce readiness remains unresolved
Workforce capacity is another unresolved issue, with experts questioning whether existing systems can absorb additional responsibility.
“I really worry about the workforce capacity gaps in systems like schools. And it’s one thing to say that we’ll do more education for educators and more education for GPs, but does the scheme have sufficient educators and GPs in the existing systems?” Mr Cicchini asked.
He also questioned how the model would avoid replicating existing waitlists.
“I can’t see anywhere where they’ve spoken about staffing, not just in the systems that they’re talking about, but how to address a chronic understaffing issue in supporting structures like allied health and community support.
“We’ve all seen the waiting list that exist in the NDIS. At the moment, there is no solution to just pulling people off the NDIS to reduce that waiting list, only to have them on another program with a waiting list,” he said,
Disability representative organisations including Australian Autism Alliance, Australian Federation of Disability Organisations and Children and Young People with Disability Australia have urged the government to ensure workforce readiness before any large-scale rollout.
They’re asking for targeted investment, training, role clarity and workforce support mechanisms, particularly in regional, remote and culturally diverse communities where service shortages already exist.
They’re also asking for further clarity to make sure any reforms are co-designed with people with disability, children and families, strengthen coordination across systems, and deliver real, lasting improvements in access to disability supports across the lifespan and across Australia.
Jenny Karavolos, co-chair of the Australian Autism Alliance, said timelines must delivered by readiness not political deadlines.
“A phased rollout with staged pilots, workforce preparation and independent evaluation is essential to protect children, build trust, and ensure these reforms are safe and sustainable.”
Megan Spindler-Smith, acting CEO, People with Disability Australia said the stakes extend well beyond Thriving Kids.
“It is about whether all governments are prepared to build a disability support system that works for our whole community. If Foundational Supports are rushed, badly implemented or poorly sequenced with changes to the NDIS, people with disability risk being left without the support they need and the pressure will shift to hospitals, schools and aged care,” she said.
“Getting it right will change lives.”