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

Submitted by ADHD Australia

Executive Summary

ADHD Australia welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this inquiry into foundational and disability supports available to children and young people in New South Wales.

ADHD is not a niche issue. It is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions affecting children and young people, and it can have a significant impact on learning, emotional regulation, participation, independence, relationships and overall wellbeing. Despite this, many children and young people with ADHD continue to fall between health, education and disability systems.

This inquiry is a timely opportunity to look honestly at where children and families are being left to manage alone, and to design supports that respond earlier, closer to home and in ways that make sense in everyday life.

The central message of this submission is simple:

Children and young people with ADHD should not need to fail before support becomes available.

Families describe a system that is fragmented, exhausting and too dependent on a parent’s ability to research options, advocate at meetings, pay privately or keep pushing when doors close. Children frequently experience delayed intervention, inconsistent educational support and limited access to services, despite clear functional impacts on their daily lives.

ADHD Australia supports the development of a comprehensive foundational support system that is:

• Preventative rather than reactive
• Based on functional need rather than program eligibility
• Accessible regardless of postcode
• Inclusive of neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD
• Coordinated across health, education and disability systems
• Supported by a skilled and informed workforce
• Informed by lived experience

This submission outlines the experiences of the ADHD community and provides recommendations to improve outcomes for children and young people across New South Wales.

About ADHD Australia

ADHD Australia is Australia’s leading national charity supporting Australians affected by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) through advocacy, awareness, education, research initiatives and systemic reform. Established in 2014, ADHD Australia is a 100% volunteer organisation working to make Australia a better place for people living with ADHD.

ADHD Australia’s work is informed by a large and growing national community of people with lived experience of ADHD and those who support them. This includes people with ADHD, parents and carers, educators, clinicians, researchers, advocates and resource providers. Community members engage through ADHD Australia’s website, resources, social media channels, advocacy campaigns, consultation activities and the ADHD Assist community platform, which entered early release in July 2026.

Available Australian estimates vary according to the population and method used. The Australian Government’s December 2024 response to the Senate inquiry reported that ADHD occurs in approximately 7 to 8 per cent of Australian children and adolescents and 2 to 6 per cent of adults. The Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for ADHD estimates that more than one million Australians live with ADHD.

The scale and cost of unmet need are substantial. Deloitte Access Economics estimated the social and economic cost of ADHD in Australia at $20.42 billion in 2019, including $12.83 billion in financial costs and $7.59 billion in wellbeing losses. Although this is a 2019 estimate rather than a current-year calculation, it remains an important indication of the scale of ADHD’s impact across individuals, families and systems.

National dispensing data also shows a marked increase in recognised and treated need. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that the population rate for ADHD medication dispensed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme increased from 2 patients per 1,000 population in 2004-05 to 22 patients per 1,000 population in 2023-24. It also reported that 87 per cent of ADHD prescriptions dispensed in 2023-24 were for psychostimulants and that adult female rates had reached or exceeded corresponding adult male rates by 2023-24. AIHW notes that a range of social, environmental and clinical factors may have contributed to these trends and that dispensing data alone cannot explain the reasons for the increase.

The Australian Government response to the Senate inquiry into assessment and support services for people with ADHD was tabled on 12 December 2024. The inquiry identified widespread barriers to consistent, timely and best-practice assessment and support. ADHD Australia’s published analysis noted that, of the inquiry’s 15 recommendations, one was supported, nine were supported in principle and five were noted.

The NSW Government’s Thriving Kids program is directly relevant to this submission. The Department of Communities and Justice describes Thriving Kids as a new program providing early intervention services for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs, and for their families, carers and kin. From October 2026, general supports will begin to become available, including parent peer-support programs and supported playgroups for children aged 5 and under. From January 2027, targeted supports will begin to become available for children who need additional help for a specific period, including goal-focused allied health therapies. Access to targeted supports will be through a central intake process managed by the Department. Additional services will continue to become available across NSW during 2027.

ADHD Australia welcomes the early intervention intent of Thriving Kids, particularly its focus on supports closer to community and outside the specialist disability system. However, the current public description creates an important policy question for children with ADHD.

If ADHD is not explicitly recognised within implementation settings, screening pathways, intake guidance and provider capability, many children with functional needs may continue to miss out unless they also meet criteria linked to developmental delay and/or autism.

This submission therefore recommends that Thriving Kids implementation include clear recognition of ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions where functional impacts affect a child’s learning, participation, regulation and family life.

ADHD Australia works to improve awareness, promote evidence-informed practice, reduce barriers to support and ensure people with ADHD have equitable opportunities to participate fully in education, employment, family life and community life.

This submission is grounded in what ADHD Australia hears repeatedly from its community. Families want practical help earlier. Schools want clearer guidance. Clinicians want better referral pathways. Young people want support that recognises the real-life impact of ADHD before problems escalate.

Families often describe doing everything asked of them: seeking assessment, meeting with schools, paying privately where they can, joining waiting lists, learning strategies at home and trying to keep children connected to education and community life. Too often, the message they receive is that support is only available once difficulties have become severe. That is too late.

Understanding ADHD in the Context of Foundational Supports

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention regulation, impulse control, executive functioning and self-regulation.

While ADHD presents differently for each individual, it can affect:

• Learning and educational achievement
• Emotional regulation
• Social participation
• Communication
• Organisation and planning
• Daily living skills
• Family functioning
• Community participation

ADHD frequently co-occurs with other neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions, including autism, learning disabilities, speech and language disorders, anxiety, depression and developmental coordination disorder.

The impacts of ADHD extend well beyond academic performance. Difficulties with executive functioning can affect nearly every part of a child’s day-to-day life and can influence long-term educational, social and health outcomes when adequate support is unavailable.

Despite these impacts, ADHD often sits between systems. It is relevant to health, education and disability supports, but it is not always fully recognised or consistently supported within any one system.

What We Heard From The ADHD Community

Diagnosis Is Not Support

Many families report that obtaining a diagnosis provides answers but does not provide practical assistance.

Parents regularly describe receiving a diagnosis only to discover lengthy waiting lists, limited service availability and uncertainty about where to go next.

For many families, obtaining a diagnosis is the beginning of the journey rather than the solution.

Parents Become Unpaid Case Managers

Families frequently find themselves coordinating services across:

• General practice
• Paediatrics
• Psychology
• Occupational therapy

• Schools
• Disability services
• Mental health services

Parents often become the central point of coordination, spending considerable time and energy navigating systems while also supporting their child.

Families should be able to focus on caring for their child. They should not have to become experts in several disconnected service systems simply to find appropriate help.

Schools Often Misunderstand ADHD

Families consistently report significant variation in how schools respond to ADHD.

Some schools demonstrate excellent inclusive practice and a strong understanding of neurodevelopmental differences. Others rely heavily on behavioural or disciplinary approaches that do not adequately address the underlying reasons for a student’s difficulties.

Parents commonly identify inconsistency in educational adjustments, support planning and understanding of executive functioning challenges.

This variability means that the support a student receives can depend too heavily on the knowledge and confidence of an individual teacher, school leader or support professional.

Rural, Regional and Remote Families Experience Additional Barriers

Families living in rural, regional and remote communities often face additional challenges. These can include:

• Limited service availability
• Long waiting periods
• Workforce shortages
• High travel costs
• Reduced access to multidisciplinary support

For many families, location significantly influences the type and quality of support they can access.

A child’s postcode should not determine whether they receive timely and appropriate support.

Children Should Not Need to Reach Crisis Point

Many families report that intervention occurs only after significant problems emerge.

By the time support becomes available, children may already have experienced:

• School disengagement
• Anxiety
• Reduced self-esteem
• Social difficulties
• Family stress

A foundational support system should identify needs early and respond before problems escalate.

Children and families should not have to demonstrate that circumstances have become severe before practical assistance is offered.

Recommendations

Together, these recommendations are intended to create a support system that is easier for families to navigate, more responsive to functional needs and better equipped to intervene early.

Recommendation 1: Recognise ADHD Within Foundational Support Reforms

ADHD Australia recommends that the NSW Government explicitly recognise ADHD as a neurodevelopmental condition that can give rise to disability-related functional impacts within foundational support, early intervention and disability reform frameworks.

Recommendation 2: Provide Support Based on Functional Need

ADHD Australia recommends that foundational supports be made available according to functional need, developmental impact and participation barriers, rather than diagnosis alone or eligibility for specialist disability funding.

Recommendation 3: Establish a Statewide Neurodevelopmental Support Pathway

ADHD Australia recommends that New South Wales establish a statewide neurodevelopmental support pathway for children and young people with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions, providing coordinated access to support based on functional need and participation outcomes.

The pathway should provide timely access to:

• Early intervention supports
• Parent education and coaching
• Behavioural support

• Occupational therapy
• Educational assistance
• Family navigation services
• Community participation programs
• Peer and family support initiatives

Recommendation 4: Embed ADHD Within Thriving Kids and Early Intervention Systems

ADHD Australia recommends that ADHD be explicitly recognised and embedded within Thriving Kids implementation and other early intervention systems across New South Wales.

This should include:

• Recognition of ADHD within implementation guidelines and program design
• Inclusion of ADHD in developmental screening and referral processes
• ADHD-specific guidance within central intake and assessment pathways
• Workforce capability requirements relating to ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions
• Family-facing information that clearly identifies available support options
• Monitoring and evaluation to determine whether children with ADHD are accessing supports equitably

Recommendation 5: Improve Educational Inclusion

ADHD Australia recommends that the NSW Department of Education strengthen educational inclusion for students with ADHD, consistent with its Inclusive education for students with disability policy and schools’ obligations to provide reasonable adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education 2005.

This should include:

• Mandatory ADHD and neurodiversity training for teachers and school leaders
• Consistent implementation of evidence-based educational adjustments
• Improved understanding of executive functioning and self-regulation needs
• Review of exclusionary disciplinary practices affecting students with neurodevelopmental disabilities

Recommendation 6: Establish Family Navigation and Advocacy Services

ADHD Australia recommends that New South Wales establish independent neurodevelopmental family navigation and advocacy services.

These services should provide:

• Information about available supports
• Assistance navigating health, education, disability, community and Thriving Kids service systems
• Care coordination
• Advocacy support
• Transition planning assistance

Recommendation 7: Improve Access for Rural, Regional and Remote Communities

ADHD Australia recommends that New South Wales expand access to multidisciplinary neurodevelopmental supports in rural, regional and remote communities through:

• Telehealth services
• Outreach programs
• Regional specialist hubs
• Workforce attraction and retention initiatives

Recommendation 8: Build ADHD Capability Across Frontline Services

ADHD Australia recommends that the NSW Government invest in ADHD capability development across health, education, community, early childhood and disability services.

This should include:

• Evidence-based professional development
• Practical guidance on recognising and responding to ADHD-related functional impacts
• Training on executive functioning, self-regulation and participation-based supports
• Neurodiversity-affirming practice resources
• Cross-sector learning initiatives

Families often tell us that the support their child receives depends largely on whether the professional they meet understands ADHD. Building workforce capability would help ensure earlier identification, more consistent support and better coordinated responses across service systems.

Recommendation 9: Develop Dedicated Transition Supports

ADHD Australia recommends that New South Wales establish targeted transition programs for neurodivergent young people moving through adolescence and into adulthood.

Programs should address:

• Executive functioning skills
• Self-advocacy

• Secondary school transition
• Employment readiness
• Vocational education participation
• Independent living skills
• Community participation and inclusion

Final Recommendation

ADHD Australia recommends that all future foundational support reforms adopt a preventative, person-centred and neurodiversity-affirming approach that provides support according to functional need, intervenes early, strengthens families, builds workforce capability and promotes genuine inclusion in education, community life and future employment.

Conclusion

The message at the heart of this submission is clear:

Children and young people with ADHD should not have to fail before support becomes available.

That principle should guide every aspect of foundational support reform.

The issues before this inquiry are not abstract policy problems. They are the daily experience of children who are trying to learn, parents who are trying to hold systems together, and schools and services that often want to help but do not have the right structures, training or resources around them.

We regularly hear from families who have done everything expected of them, sought assessment, worked with schools, joined waiting lists and changed their lives to support their child, only to be told they do not qualify for help.

Foundational supports provide an opportunity to change that experience.

New South Wales has an opportunity to create a genuinely preventative and inclusive foundational support system that recognises neurodevelopmental conditions, responds early to need and supports children to participate fully in education, family life and community life.

ADHD Australia believes effective reform should focus on what children need to succeed, rather than whether they qualify for a particular funding program.

A coordinated, accessible and evidence-informed system would make a practical difference for children and young people with ADHD. It would also reduce pressure on families, schools, health services and specialist disability systems.

ADHD Australia respectfully urges the Committee to ensure ADHD is explicitly recognised within future foundational support arrangements arising from this inquiry.

Submitted by ADHD Australia

September 2026

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

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Submission No 135

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

Organisation: Legal Aid NSW Date Received: 25 September 2026