Submission No 79

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

Organisation: Dr Santuri Rungan, Ms Olivia Wright et al. Date Received: 27 July 2026

SUBMISSION

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

Strengthening foundational supports through integrated, school-based models of care


Dr Santuri Rungan PhD, BSc, BHB, MBCHB, Dip Paeds, FRACP, MPHTM	Community Paediatrician & Community Paediatrics Research Lead, SLHD; Clinical Lead, Kalgal Burnbona (SBIC); Senior Clinical Advisor for Youth Health and Wellbeing, NSW Health
Ms Olivia Wright MA, BA	Director, School Gateway Project, NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS); Mirrung — Ashcroft Public School hub
Dr Andrew Walkom Consultant Paediatrician, MBBS, FRACP	The Newcastle Paediatric Clinic; Wiripaang, Windale and Windale St Pius X Public/Primary Schools; VMO Paediatrician, John Hunter Children’s Hospital & Newcastle Private Hospital
Dr Corin Miller MBBS, FRACGP	Djing.gii Gudjaagalali Clinic, Eden Marine High School Wellbeing Hub; Rural Generalist and GP with advanced skills in Paediatrics
Dr Anita Moyes PhD, B.Sc. Nursing, M.Nursing, GDipYMH	Researcher, school nursing & Lecturer, children and young people’s mental health, Edith Cowan University; Credentialled Mental Health Nurse; Fellow, ACYPN
Dr Julia Sgarlata MBBS, Dip Paed, MPH, FRACP	School Paediatrician, Orange Health Services
Rebecca Chandler BEd	Head Wellbeing Teacher, Narromine High School

Why we are making this submission now

This submission responds to the Committee’s Interim Report (tabled 20 February 2026) and the NSW Government’s response (20 May 2026). Of the Committee’s 17 recommendations, only two were fully supported; those on funding, digital infrastructure and place-based delivery were noted rather than committed to. We provide new, NSW-specific evidence to strengthen the case for those recommendations, ahead of the Australian Government’s Thriving Kids reforms (to be implemented by January 2028) and NSW’s continuing implementation planning.

1. Overview

Current systems for children and young people are fragmented and reactive, resulting in delayed access to care and poorer outcomes. These gaps disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children in rural and remote communities, and children in communities experiencing concentrated socio-economic disadvantage.

There is a significant opportunity to strengthen foundational supports through integrated, school-based models of care,— aligned with the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms and NSW cross-sector priorities in health, education and child wellbeing.

2. School-Based Integrated Care (SBIC): the evidence

Schools are a uniquely powerful, non-stigmatising platform for early intervention. Children attend from around age four, and schools have direct visibility of early warning signs such as attendance patterns, behaviour and learning difficulties. SBIC programs are place-based, multidisciplinary, co-designed with local communities and governed through community-led structures.

At a glance

Place-based, multidisciplinary care delivered within schools
Integrates paediatric, mental health, social and educational systems
Co-designed with local communities; culturally safe and locally relevant
Already scaled to 50+ schools across NSW — metropolitan, regional and remote

The Rural School-Based Integrated Care (R-SBIC) program in Eden, NSW, demonstrates the scale of unmet need SBIC programs uncover, and the outcomes they achieve:

Indicator — R-SBIC program, Eden NSW	Finding
Wait time for initial review	Median 45 days, vs typical rural waits of 18 months–6 years
Attendance at initial appointment	99%
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students	45% of clinic attendees in Year 1; 32.4% overall
Child protection concerns	41.9% had previous concerns; 13.3% currently in out-of-home care
Access to a regular GP	49.5% had no access outside the school clinic
Access to a paediatrician	Only 2.9% had current access
New diagnoses at the school clinic	ASD 85.7% Social concerns 79.3% ADHD 71.2% Physical health 68.6% Sleep 62.0%

A Victorian evaluation of the comparable Our Place approach (2025 Evaluation Report, released February 2026) found a 19% increase in family participation, driven by a 98% increase in access to wrap-around health and wellbeing supports, alongside gains in school transitions and service-partner delivery.

3. Why this matters

Inequities are most pronounced for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, rural and remote communities, and children in high-disadvantage communities. These are the same groups the R-SBIC data shows disproportionately rely on the school clinic for their only access to care. SBIC programs address this by:

Embedding culturally safe, Aboriginal-led approaches and reducing system-navigation barriers
Improving coordination between health, education and social services, reducing duplication of assessment
Enabling early identification and rapid, culturally safe intervention — reducing wait times from years to a median of 45 days, and helping to prevent escalation to mental health crises, school disengagement and youth justice involvement
Addressing workforce constraints through shared, multidisciplinary teams and flexible delivery, at a time when public paediatric services in some regions are no longer accepting new referrals

Current funding mechanisms, NDIS and fee-for-service Medicare, do not support this model of care. Block or blended funding and place-based commissioning are needed instead.

4. Recommendations

Scale SBIC programs statewide

Fund SBIC as a core foundational support model across NSW, prioritising high-need communities — rural, remote, and Aboriginal communities.

Invest in early intervention 2. Extend allied health into existing SBIC programs in primary schools, using hub-and-spoke models that connect primary and secondary schools to provide care across the lifespan.

Strengthen cross-sector integration 3. Formalise integration across health, education and community services through shared governance, interagency agreements and digital information-sharing.

Commit funding, not just frameworks 4. Convert the Government’s

References

Rungan S, et al. Ngaramadhi Space: An Integrated, Multisector Model of Care for Students Experiencing Problematic Externalising Behaviour. International Journal of Integrated Care, 2023.

Rungan S, et al. Kalgal Burnbona: An Integrated Model of Care Between the Health and Education Sector. International Journal of Integrated Care, 2024.

Rungan S, et al. Bridging the divide: the growing role of school-based integrated care in regional Australia. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 2025.

Miller C, Rungan S, et al. Djing.gii Gudjaagalali (Children Stars) School Clinic; a novel primary care led Rural School-Based Integrated model of care (under review).

Our Place. 2025 Evaluation Report — 2026 Roadmap. February 2026.