Submission No 104

INQUIRY INTO FOUNDATIONAL AND DISABILITY SUPPORTS AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Organisation: Child and Family Supports Alliance (CaFSA) NSW Date Received: 18 September 2026

CaFSA

Child and Family Supports Alliance NSW

Further submission to the Select Committee on

Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales

September 2026

About CaFSA NSW

The Child and Family Supports Alliance NSW (CaFSA NSW) is a collaborative body of organisations and leaders working across the child and family support system in New South Wales. Our membership brings together expertise from early childhood intervention, disability, health, early childhood education and care, supported playgroups, family support, peer and family-led supports, allied health and other community-based services.

Our members work with children and young people with developmental concerns, delays, disabilities and differences, and their families, across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote New South Wales. This cross-sector perspective enables CaFSA NSW to consider reform not only through the lens of individual programs or service systems, but also through the experience of children and families as they move between and across them.

We acknowledge the substantial work undertaken since our earlier submission, including the development of Thriving Kids in New South Wales, and welcome the Government’s support, or support in principle, for many of the Committee’s recommendations.

As implementation progresses, CaFSA NSW considers there is an important opportunity to build on this work by strengthening the connections between Thriving Kids and the broader child and family support system.

CaFSA NSW welcomes the opportunity to provide a further submission following the publication of the Select Committee’s First Report and the NSW Government’s response.

Morgan Fitzpatrick Stacey Touma CaFSA NSW Co-Chair CaFSA NSW Co-Chair

Recommendation 1 – sustainable

community infrastructure

CaFSA NSW supports sustainable funding for neighbourhood and community centres and recognises the important role these organisations play as trusted, locally embedded services.

At the same time, we encourage a broader interpretation of the community infrastructure required to support children and families. Depending on a

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family’s location and circumstances, their trusted point of connection may be an early childhood intervention provider, supported playgroup, family support organisation, early learning service or another community-based organisation.

This is particularly relevant in regional, rural and remote communities, where service infrastructure differs considerably between locations and a neighbourhood or community centre may not necessarily be the most established or appropriate access point.

There is therefore value in considering sustainable investment across the broader network of quality community and specialist organisations that families already know and trust. Continuity of these relationships can support engagement, early identification, navigation and effective referral, while reducing the need for families to establish new relationships each time they move between programs or systems.

It is our view that navigation functions also require appropriate resourcing. Frontline practitioners and community workers are frequently the first people to whom families turn for advice. Equipping these workers with current information, strong referral relationships and access to specialist navigation advice would strengthen the capacity of the existing system to function as a genuine entry point for families.

Recommendation 2 – ongoing co-design,

engagement roadmap and implementation

CaFSA NSW welcomes the Government’s commitment to continuing to prioritise the perspectives and experiences of families throughout the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Thriving Kids. Data collection is essential and must inform evaluation, assessment against common measures such as AECD data, and design evolution.

As the program moves from design into implementation, we consider there would be significant benefit in making the next stages of engagement and code-sign more visible to families and the sector. A published engagement and implementation roadmap will provide greater clarity about the decisions that remain to be made, the opportunities for families and providers to contribute, and how implementation experience will inform ongoing refinement of the model.

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Service providers also have an important role in this process. They are not only delivering services but are often the organisations through which families receive information about reform. Providing the sector with clear timelines and regular implementation information will strengthen its ability to support families through the transition.

Recommendation 3 – whole-of-family

wellbeing

CaFSA NSW strongly supports the principle that the wellbeing of children cannot be considered in isolation from the wellbeing of their families. We acknowledge that some supports identified within Recommendation 3, including particular mental health and respite services, sit outside the scope of Thriving Kids. In our view, this reinforces the importance of a connected service ecosystem.

A range of supports for parents, carers and families already exists across Commonwealth and state-funded programs, health services, carer services and community organisations. While there remain service gaps and capacity constraints, a recurring difficulty for families is that available supports are not always visible or connected.

There is an opportunity for Thriving Kids providers, supported playgroups, peer services, family-led organisations, early intervention practitioners and other trusted points of contact to play an active role in connecting families with these wider supports. Practitioners should be equipped with the knowledge and referral pathways required to identify broader family needs and assist families to access appropriate carer, mental health, practical, peer and family supports.

This approach would strengthen whole-of-family wellbeing without unnecessarily duplicating programs that already sit elsewhere in the community and service system.

Recommendation 4 – transition pathways

and support beyond age nine

CaFSA NSW recognises that decisions relating to future foundational support cohorts, including children aged nine and over, remain subject to broader national reform and that the final shape of these arrangements is not yet known.

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For this reason, we consider transition arrangements to be an area that will require particularly careful monitoring as Thriving Kids is implemented.

There is likely to be a group of children whose needs extend beyond short- term or episodic early intervention but who may not meet future NDIS access requirements. It will be important to understand the experiences and outcomes of these children as the new arrangements operate in practice.

CaFSA NSW therefore encourages the development of transition arrangements in partnership with children, families and service providers, together with systematic collection of information about children exiting Thriving Kids, the supports they require following exit, whether those supports are available, and whether any groups experience gaps in service.

This is particularly important because the transition around age nine coincides with significant educational and developmental stages. Where children require additional support, continuity should be considered well before they reach the end of a particular program or allocation of services.

A connected ecosystem will again be essential. From the time a family enters Thriving Kids, providers should be helping families build connections with relevant mainstream, community and other funded supports rather than waiting until formal Thriving Kids involvement is concluding.

Recommendation 5 – regional, rural and remote access

CaFSA NSW welcomes the Government’s support in principle for measures to improve access for children and families in regional, rural and remote communities.

The implementation of this recommendation will require flexibility in service design. Local face-to-face services will remain important, but equitable access cannot depend upon every community having the same physical infrastructure or workforce.

A combination of locally delivered services, outreach, mobile services, tepractice, virtual supports and partnerships with existing community organisations will be required. These approaches should be accompanied by longer-term strategies to develop and sustain the regional workforce.

Importantly, access should be considered in terms of the practical experience of families, including wait times, travel requirements, service choice and continuity, rather than simply whether a service is technically available within a particular geographical area.

and “no wrong door” access

CaFSA NSW strongly supports the principle of a statewide, integrated navigation model.

In implementation, we encourage the concept of “no wrong door” to extend beyond access to Thriving Kids itself. A family entering the system through a GP, school, early childhood service, family support organisation, community service, allied health provider or Thriving Kids service should be able to receive assistance to identify and access the broader range of supports relevant to their circumstances.

This requires more than shared referral processes. It requires shared ways of working across health, education, disability, early learning, family and community services, with appropriate mechanisms for communication, collaboration and supported referral.

The role of trusted frontline workers should be recognised within this approach. Families will not necessarily begin their journey through a formal navigation service. They may first discuss a concern with a playgroup facilitator, early childhood educator, GP, family worker or peer facilitator. Building the navigation capability of these existing touchpoints would significantly strengthen the overall system.

In addition, we recommend that local community networking and coordination functions be established which include the entire child and family ecosystem of support providers to enable improved access to supports, locally-responsive solutions, and promote local awareness of services and referral pathways. Networks such as these better enable all services and programs to know the current service landscape, as it evolves and changes, and supports improved navigation. A previously funded example was the Early Childhood Intervention Coordination Project (ECICP) groups that operated prior to the NDIS.

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Recommendations 7 and 8 – Aboriginal children and families and culturally and linguistically diverse communities

CaFSA NSW welcomes the Government’s support in principle for Recommendations 7 and 8 and the emphasis placed on culturally responsive service delivery.

Ongoing implementation should continue to prioritise genuine partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including through commissioning, governance, service design and evaluation.

There is particular value in monitoring not simply whether services are available, but whether children and families from priority communities are accessing them, remaining engaged and experiencing equitable outcomes.

Recommendations 9 and 10 – commissioning and place-based approaches

The principles identified in Recommendations 9 and 10 remain important to the sustainability and effectiveness of the emerging system.

Commissioning arrangements need to recognise the full cost of safe and effective service delivery. This includes not only direct contact with children and families but also workforce supervision, community engagement, collaboration with other services, navigation, safeguarding, quality improvement, administration, compliance and evaluation.

Multi-year funding arrangements can support workforce retention, organisational stability and service continuity, particularly in communities where workforce recruitment is already difficult.

At the same time, statewide consistency should allow sufficient flexibility to respond to different local contexts. The service infrastructure, workforce, demographics and needs of communities vary considerably across New South Wales. Place-based approaches provide an opportunity to combine statewide expectations with local knowledge and established relationship.

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Recommendation 11 – prevention and early intervention

CaFSA NSW welcomes the Government’s support for Recommendation 11 and the emphasis on evidence-based early intervention, monitoring and evaluation. Evidence-based practices include the implementation of the National Best Practice Framework in Early Childhood Intervention across all aspects of Thriving Kids. A commitment from the Department of Health, Disability and Aging to implementation of the Framework provides Thriving Kids with an opportunity to be part of evaluating its impact on outcomes for children.

We encourage evaluation arrangements to consider the impact of the program at both a service and system level. In addition to service utilisation, useful measures would include whether children are receiving support earlier, whether families experience increased confidence and capacity, whether participation and developmental outcomes improve, whether connections between services become easier, and whether escalation into higher-cost or crisis systems is reduced.

Evaluation should also examine equity across geography and population groups and provide sufficient flexibility to adapt the model as evidence emerges.

Recommendation 12 – system mapping and

communication

CaFSA NSW welcomes the commitment to provide clearer information about eligibility, intake and service availability.

A central information platform can provide an important source of truth, but its effectiveness will depend on how information reaches families. Many families will not necessarily know the terminology associated with foundational supports or proactively seek out a government information portal.

A broader communication and dissemination strategy will therefore be important. Information should be available through the services and professionals families already interact with, including GPs, child and family health services, early childhood education and care, schools, allied health providers, supported playgroups, family support services, disability organisations and family and peer networks.

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he objective should be for consistent information to be available through multiple trusted touchpoints, while maintaining a clear central source of authoritative information.

Recommendation 13 – supports in

educational settings

CaFSA NSW recognises the Government’s position that Thriving Kids does not include provision of education funding mechanisms, or revision to existing education funding schemes. At the same time, the practical interface between developmental supports, early learning and schools remains highly relevant to the success of the broader reform.

Our members continue to observe considerable variation in the arrangements governing access by allied health and early intervention practitioners to educational settings. These differences can relate to whether practitioners may attend, when they may attend, the number of practitioners permitted, safeguarding requirements and local administrative arrangements.

The Government’s commitment to establish protocols for services delivered alongside schools and early learning settings is therefore welcome. CaFSA NSW considers that these protocols will be most effective if developed collaboratively across DCJ, the Department of Education, service providers, educators, families and relevant professional groups.

In addition, CaFSA NSW advocates for the ongoing recognition and consideration of the interface of the broader early childhood ecosystem that must include coordination of services funded under Foundational Supports (Thriving Kids) and the Disability Inclusion Sector Capacity Building Program in NSW, alongside the federally funded Inclusion Support Program.

There is also an opportunity for policy settings to support and incentivise collaboration. The role of allied health and early intervention in educational settings is to assist educators to translate developmental and therapeutic strategies into everyday environments, build capability and support children’s participation in learning. To achieve this, allied health teams must be able to access these environments and work alongside education colleagues. Clear expectations, consistent arrangements and monitoring of implementation would provide greater certainty for families, educators and providers alike.

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Recommendation 14 – workforce

CaFSA NSW strongly supports the development of a cross-sector workforce strategy and welcomes the indication that sector and workforce transition activities will accompany implementation.

Workforce capacity will be a critical determinant of whether the new system achieves its intended outcomes. Commissioning additional services will not, in itself, address existing workforce shortages. Approaches that include funded student placements, supervision and professional development in both discipline specific and the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention will support an interest in engaging with Thriving Kids programs, support staff retention and improve workforce competencies all of which will make services cost effective and improve child and family outcomes.

The strategy should recognise the range of professional and practice capabilities required within early intervention and foundational supports, including allied health, early intervention teachers, behaviour support practitioners, trained parent peer workers, key worker functions, family capacity building and navigation expertise.

Particular attention will also be required in regional, rural and remote communities, where workforce challenges are longstanding and may require different recruitment, training, supervision and service delivery approaches.

Recommendation 15 – parent and carer

capacity building

CaFSA NSW strongly supports the recognition of parents and carers as critical partners in children’s development.

In implementing this recommendation, we encourage a broad interpretation of accessibility. Local, community-based delivery will be highly valuable for many families, but physical proximity does not necessarily equate to accessibility.

Some parents and carers face significant barriers to participating in in-person programs. This can include solo carers, families in regional areas, parents or carers who are themselves neurodivergent or have disability, families caring for multiple children, work commitments, families experiencing domestic violence or homelessness, and families whose children have difficulty attending school or leaving home.

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For these families, virtual delivery can provide an important pathway to participation. High-quality virtual parent and carer capacity building should therefore sit alongside place-based and face-to-face services as part of a flexible service system. In addition, flexible delivery times including after hours and on weekends can be helpful. Services must also be trauma-informed and culturally responsive.

The intention is not to replace local delivery, but to ensure that the model does not inadvertently exclude families for whom participation in local in-person services is difficult or impossible.

Recommendation 16 – families and lived experience

CaFSA NSW welcomes the Government’s support in principle for embedding families, carers and people with lived experience in implementation.

As the reform progresses, further detail about how this will occur would assist both families and the sector. There is an important distinction between consultation and the ongoing involvement of people with lived experience in governance, evaluation, commissioning advice and service quality improvement.

Family-led and disability-led organisations can also provide an important mechanism for bringing collective lived experience into system design and implementation. Their role should be considered alongside individual participation by children, young people, parents and carers.

CaFSA NSW would welcome further opportunities for these organisations to contribute to the continued development, implementation and evaluation of the model.

Recommendation 17 – digital infrastructure

CaFSA NSW recognises the Government’s intention to prioritise investment in direct service delivery and to align NSW systems with national information and service-finding initiatives.

Over time, however, effective system coordination will require appropriate infrastructure to support referral, information sharing, service navigation and monitoring.

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The objective should not necessarily be to create an additional standalone platform. Rather, NSW should work with the Australian Government and relevant agencies to ensure that systems are interoperable and that digital infrastructure reduces, rather than adds to, administrative burden.

Families should not repeatedly provide the same information to disconnected services, and providers should be able to understand whether referrals have been received and whether families have successfully connected with support.

Priorities for the next stage of reform

Drawing on the collective expertise of our members, CaFSA NSW encourages the Committee to maintain a strong focus on ten interconnected priorities as implementation progresses:

establishing a whole-of-system framework around Thriving Kids;
publishing an implementation, communication and co-design roadmap;
developing and monitoring transition pathways, particularly around age nine;
strengthening genuine “no wrong door” navigation;
sustaining the diverse community infrastructure families already trust;
resolving practical interfaces between developmental supports and education;
implementing a comprehensive cross-sector workforce strategy;
ensuring flexible modes of service delivery, including virtual access;
embedding lived experience and family leadership within ongoing governance; and
evaluating the impact of reform across the broader service ecosystem, rather than considering individual programs in isolation.

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This submission has been endorsed by the following CaFSA NSW Members:

Also endorsed by our partners:

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