Submission No 101
INQUIRY INTO FOUNDATIONAL AND DISABILITY SUPPORTS AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEW SOUTH WALES
Organisation: Assistive Technology Suppliers Australia Date Received: 18 September 2026
17th September 2026
Attn: Select Committee on Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales
Legislative Council
NSW Parliament House, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Dear Committee Members,
Re: ATSA Supplementary Submission: Inquiry into Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales
Assistive Technology Suppliers Australia (ATSA) welcomes the opportunity to provide a further submission to the Select Committee on Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales.
ATSA is Australia’s national peak body representing assistive technology suppliers, distributors, manufacturers and technicians. Our members provide assistive technology (AT) that enables people with disability to live safely and independently and participate in their homes, schools and communities.
ATSA provided a detailed submission to this inquiry in April 2025, Improving Early Access to Assistive Technology for Children and Young People with Disability in NSW. That submission highlighted the important role AT plays in children’s development, independence, education, communication, mobility, play, self care and social participation.
Since that submission, the NSW Government has agreed to implement Thriving Kids under the National Agreement on Foundational Supports. ATSA welcomes the investment in earlier and more accessible support for children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs.
ATSA particularly welcomes confirmation that targeted supports under Thriving Kids may include low cost assistive technology. This is an important recognition of the role AT can play in early intervention. However, the effectiveness of this commitment will depend on how low cost and low risk AT are defined, how associated services are funded and delivered, and how responsibility is managed where a child requires AT outside the scope of Thriving Kids.
Defining low cost assistive technology
The Thriving Kids Advisory Group’s Final Report proposes that low cost AT should include simple and affordable tools, devices or adaptations, typically costing under $1,000, that support a child’s development, communication, mobility, sensory regulation or everyday functioning. It describes these products as not requiring complex upgrades, specialised maintenance or high risk supervision and being capable of safe use with basic guidance.
The report also recognises a role for allied health input and discusses approaches including trials, loan pools and equipment libraries.
These are useful foundations. However, further work is required to determine how these principles will operate in practice.
The range of AT potentially relevant to Thriving Kids is broad. The Advisory Group identifies examples including communication supports, visual schedules, sensory tools, adapted utensils, dressing aids and other practical supports. Rather than defining the available AT solely through a monetary threshold, ATSA recommends that the NSW Government work with families and AT users, allied health professionals, AT suppliers and technicians to scope the range of AT that can be safely and effectively provided through Thriving Kids, together with the assessment, trial, fitting, training and ongoing support required for different types of AT.
Also, the proposed $1,000 threshold differs from the NDIS, which currently defines low cost AT as costing less than $1,500 per item. Introducing different definitions of low cost AT across interconnected programs risks creating confusion for families, clinicians and providers.
ATSA recommends that governments clarify:
- whether the threshold applies only to the AT product or also encompasses associated services such as assessment, trials, delivery, fitting, set up and training;
- whether the threshold applies per item, per child or over a specified period;
- whether the threshold will be indexed over time; and
- how cost, complexity and risk will be considered separately when determining what AT can be safely and effectively provided through Thriving Kids.
Funding and supplying AT
How AT is supplied will also be important. A single model will not suit every child or every type of equipment. Depending on the product and the child’s circumstances, appropriate models could include direct purchase, equipment loan pools, short or longer term rental, equipment libraries or other flexible supply arrangements.
This is particularly important for children, whose needs and physical dimensions can change rapidly. Loan and rental models may provide a responsive and cost effective option where equipment is required for a limited period or a child’s needs are changing, while direct purchase may be more appropriate for other products. ATSA’s previous submission similarly recommended a mix of purchase, loan and hire arrangements to respond to children’s changing needs.
Importantly, access should not stop at assessment or advice. Where an AT need is identified, there should be a clear and timely pathway from identification of need through assessment and trial, where required, to supply, set up, training and ongoing support.
Funding and procurement arrangements should preserve meaningful family choice and access to a suitable range of safe, fit-for-purpose products. Central purchasing, preferred product lists and equipment libraries may provide value for standard or reusable items. They should not, however, unnecessarily restrict choice where individual fit is important. Procurement should be open, transparent and contestable, and assess value across the product lifecycle.
Preventing gaps between Thriving Kids and other systems
The proposed scope of low cost AT also raises an important question about children whose AT needs fall outside Thriving Kids.
The Advisory Group proposes that AT costing more than $1,000 would generally be accessed through the NDIS. However, a child may need an item above that threshold without meeting the NDIS access criteria. Without clearly defined responsibilities, a child could therefore require AT above the Thriving Kids threshold but have no clear pathway through which to access it.
Thriving Kids should not be developed as a standalone AT funding pathway. Its AT arrangements should be designed within the broader assistive technology ecosystem and aligned with the NDIS, EnableNSW, health and education systems. Families should experience continuity of support and a “no wrong door” approach, rather than having to determine which system is responsible for meeting their child’s AT needs.
As outlined in ATSA’s attached position statement, Australia needs a National Assistive Technology Alignment Action Plan to reduce duplication, clarify responsibilities and prevent new reforms from adding further fragmentation. Thriving Kids presents an important opportunity to put these principles into practice.
ATSA therefore recommends that the NSW Government work through the Disability Reform Ministerial Council to align Thriving Kids’ AT definitions, thresholds and pathways with other systems and support the development of a National Assistive Technology Alignment Action Plan.
Recommendations
ATSA asks the Committee to recommend that the NSW Government implement its commitment to low cost AT through a co-designed, nationally aligned framework developed with families and AT users, allied health professionals, AT suppliers and technicians.
Specifically, ATSA recommends that the NSW Government:
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Co-design the scope and definition of AT available through Thriving Kids, including clear definitions of low cost and low risk AT and how cost, complexity and risk will be considered.
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Clarify what the AT funding threshold covers, including whether it applies to the product alone or associated assessment, trial, delivery, fitting, set up and training, whether it applies per item or child, and how it will be indexed.
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Develop flexible funding and supply models for AT, including direct purchase, loan, rental and equipment libraries, according to the type of AT and the child’s circumstances. Procurement should preserve meaningful family choice, access to safe and fit-for-purpose products, and value across the full product lifecycle.
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Establish clear end-to-end AT pathways, ensuring children can move efficiently from identification of need through assessment and trial, where required, to supply, set up, training and ongoing support.
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Adopt a “no wrong door” approach across service systems, with clear funding responsibilities and continuity of support between Thriving Kids, the NDIS, EnableNSW, health and education, including for children whose AT needs exceed the Thriving Kids threshold but who are not eligible for the NDIS.
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Pursue national alignment, working through the Disability Reform Ministerial Council to align Thriving Kids’ AT definitions, thresholds and pathways with other systems and support the development of a National Assistive Technology Alignment Action Plan.
ATSA welcomes the NSW Government’s recognition that low cost assistive technology can form part of early intervention through Thriving Kids. Getting the implementation right now will help ensure that children receive the AT they need when they need it, without creating new gaps or complexity between support systems.
ATSA would also welcome the opportunity to work with the NSW Government on the detailed design and implementation of assistive technology arrangements under Thriving Kids.
For further information regarding our submission and recommendations, please don’t hesitate to contact myself, or Policy Officer Karen Larsen-Truong via email -
Yours Sincerely,
Serena Ovens Chief Executive Officer