FOI 25/26-3703 Document 5

EC Early childhood intervention

supports overview

SGP KP Publishing

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FOI 25/26-3703 SGP KP Publishing – EC Early childhood intervention supports overview

1 Recent updates …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Before you start …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Early childhood intervention supports …………………………………………………………………… 3.1 Understanding developmental areas for children younger than 9……………………………….. 3.2 Developmental areas for children younger than 9 ……………………………………………………. 3.2.1 Physical development ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3.2.2 Self-care ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3.2.3 Cognitive development …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3.2.4 Receptive and expressive language ………………………………………………………………………………… 3.2.5 Emotional development ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3.2.6 Social development ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3.2.7 Hearing and vision ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3.3 Informal, community and mainstream support …………………………………………………………. 3.4 Reasonable and necessary …………………………………………………………………………………… 3.5 Examples of when a developmental area might need a medium to low or high level of NDIS support for early childhood intervention ………………………………………………………………….. 4 Safeguarding for children ……………………………………………………………………………………. 4.1 Conversations about risk and recording information ……………………………………………….. 4.2 How to consider check-ins and funding when you have identified risks ……………………..

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FOI 25/26-3703 SGP KP Publishing – EC Early childhood intervention supports overview

When we say, early childhood intervention supports, we mean Early Intervention Supports for Early Childhood which is an NDIS support we fund in NDIS plans for children younger than 9.

This article provides guidance for early childhood partners, planner delegates, planner (non- partnered area) and review officers about:

early childhood intervention supports
developmental areas
identifying support needs across developmental areas
reasonable and necessary and early childhood intervention supports
safeguarding for children.

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1 Recent updates

7 April 2026

Additional guidance to understand the child’s strengths and support needs
Guidance updated with examples of barriers that may prevent the child from participating in an activity
Added guidance about, and link to the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention
Guidance on safeguarding for children added
Article name change – previously EC Early Intervention supports for early childhood overview
PEC case question age range changed to younger than 9

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2 Before you start

For additional information on the Personal and Environmental Circumstances (PEC) case and capacity building early intervention supports for early childhood refer to:

article EC Early childhood intervention supports guide (EC Guide)
article EC Interpreting provider reports and recommendations
article EC PEC – Capacity building – Health and wellbeing (Disability-related health supports)
article EC PEC – Capacity building – Regulated restrictive practices
article EC PEC – Capacity building – How to complete early childhood intervention supports questions
article EC PEC – Carers – Support coordination
article EC PEC – Carers – Sustaining informal supports
article EC PEC – Core – Equipment and consumables
article EC PEC – Daily support (mainstream participation)
article EC PEC – General overview
article EC PEC – NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream
article Complete personal and environmental circumstances case
article Record information for Capacity Building
Our Guideline – Creating your plan (external)
Our Guideline – Reasonable and necessary supports (external)
Our Guideline – Mainstream and community supports (external)
Our Guideline – Early childhood approach (external)

For further information on the role of a key worker refer to:

article EC Understand the key worker role in the delivery of early childhood intervention supports
Early childhood tip sheet - Key worker model case study (PDF 119KB).

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3 Early childhood intervention supports

Early childhood intervention supports is an NDIS support (external) we include in NDIS plans for children younger than 9. NDIS supports are the services, items and equipment that can be funded by the NDIS. These NDIS supports help the child to develop new skills and help the important people in a child’s life to support their child with developmental delay or disability to maximise their independence and participation in daily life.

Early childhood intervention supports build on learning opportunities as part of a child’s everyday activities in their:

home and where the family spend time together
community, like playgrounds, shops, and friends’ homes
mainstream settings, like childcare, preschool and school.

The early childhood intervention supports included in an NDIS plan is for the additional, professional support that is required to support a child’s development and functioning in daily life. They are for support related to a child’s developmental delay or disability. They don’t replace, but are in addition to the support informal, community and mainstream networks provide.

NDIS support for early childhood intervention is all about building the capability of important people in a child’s life to support the child’s skill development at home and in the community. It may also include direct support to the child, depending on their individual needs.

Early childhood intervention supports should align with the principles of the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (external).

Supports may include:

specialised support and strategies provided by early childhood intervention professionals
key worker support for the child and family, provided by one of the early childhood intervention professionals.

3.1 Understanding developmental areas for children younger

than 9

To understand a child’s need for NDIS support for early childhood intervention it is important to firstly think about their strengths and how any delays in developmental areas impact their participation and independence in daily activities and in the community.

Information to understand the child’s strengths and support needs can come from multiple sources. For example:

The child, using their preferred communication mode.
Families during information gathering or from a family statement.

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Early childhood education and care settings, for example childcare, preschool or school. Families can request a letter from their early childhood education and care service or school outlining their child’s strengths, areas for development, challenges the educators are experiencing in supporting their child in a group setting; and progress they have noted in the education or care setting.
Providers and other professionals involved with the child, for example, a paediatrician.

Early childhood partners, and planner delegates will need to understand:

what the child can do (strengths)
the areas in which a child’s functioning is significantly delayed compared to similar age peers
the family’s perspective, as families know their child best and offer important information about what’s going well for their child and any concerns they have
what the child and their family want to work towards, including goals and areas where an early childhood professional may work directly with a child to build skills and help families learn how to build skills in every day settings
if there are barriers to participation in everyday activities at home, in the community, an early childhood education and care setting or school. Barriers are things that make it harder for a child to take part in everyday activities. These can include physical, financial, environmental, attitudinal or logistical challenges.

Some barriers are not related to NDIS responsibilities. For example:

Families who cannot afford childcare.
Lack of public transport for a family to take the child to an activity.
Other families indicating that the child with a disability is not welcome at a playgroup.
Family work schedules prevent attendance at extra-curricular activities.

Other barriers may be supported through NDIS funding if they are related to a child’s developmental delay or disability. For example, modifying a shower in the child’s home that is not accessible (physical barrier) by funding an assessment for home modifications (Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living) and the subsequent home modifications (Capital).

The NDIS only funds supports that are related to the child’s developmental delay or disability. The early childhood partner, Agency staff or providers can help a family find community and mainstream services that might help with supports that are not NDIS funded supports.

Relevant information will be recorded in PACE in the Personal and Environmental Circumstances (PEC) case, such as the Daily Support and Capacity Building steps, or the Check-In case. It may also be included in any available provider and other professional reports we have on record and for some first plans, this includes the Evidence of developmental delay form (EODD).

3.2 Developmental areas for children younger than 9

When identifying NDIS supports to include in a plan, the child’s strengths and any need for early childhood intervention across the following developmental areas should be considered.

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3.2.1 Physical development

How a child moves around, such as crawling, walking, running, and maintaining balance; and how they use their hands to pick up things.

3.2.2 Self-care

How a child looks after themselves or their own needs, such as, how they bathe, dress themselves, eat, drink, use the toilet and sleep.

3.2.3 Cognitive development

How a child understands and remembers information. How they learn, practice, and use new skills. It also includes how they show curiosity and interest in the world around them, solve problems, move between activities and places, play with toys, and develop their safety awareness.

3.2.4 Receptive and expressive language

How a child understands and uses words, gestures, signs, and facial expressions for communication. How a child communicates with other people to express their wants, needs, preferences and ideas.

3.2.5 Emotional development

How a child recognises, understands, expresses, and regulates their feelings and their sensory needs. How they build their confidence, self-identity and wellbeing. Whether there are any behaviours that are challenging or behaviours of concern, and how these are managed.

How a child builds relationships with family and with others. How they develop their interests, interact, and connect with others through play and childhood activities, and make friendships with peers.

3.2.7 Hearing and vision

Additional supports may be required for children who have met the disability or early intervention requirements for an impairment for which there are significant hearing or vision related needs. It’s important to recognise that the functional impacts of these impairments are often reflected in other developmental areas. While hearing and vision aren’t developmental areas, support in these areas, where required, is important for engaging with the child and maximising their inclusion in daily activities.

Only select hearing or vision as an area of need when funding in addition to what’s been allocated to support developmental areas is clearly required. This will avoid funding for the same area of need twice and maximise value for money when determining what’s needed to meet each child’s individual needs.

Hearing - Children who are deaf or hard of hearing. These children may need additional support. This assistance early in a child’s life is crucial for effective communication, reducing potential language delays, and ensuring the child can interact with their family and peers. For new plans and plan reassessments for participants younger than 7 newly diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss please refer to article EC Guide – Supporting children younger than 7 who are deaf or hard of hearing

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(including under the priority hearing stream) and article EC PEC – NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream.

Vision - Children who are blind or have low vision. These children may need additional support from their families to understand their vision needs. This support may involve adapting the environment or play materials to help the child learn skills for independence and safety.

When making decisions about other NDIS supports and appropriate level of support included in the plan refer to relevant articles. For example Understand disability-related health supports – capacity building supports or article Add or update capacity building assistive technology (AT) supports in a plan approval case.

3.3 Informal, community and mainstream support

When determining a level of early childhood intervention supports to include in a plan, it’s important to make sure we’re only including funding for the additional, professional support required to support a child’s development and functioning in daily life. We should recognise that support can also be provided by informal, community and mainstream supports which do not require NDIS funding.

Informal support includes assistance provided by family and friends. These supports are often the first layer of assistance, offering daily care, emotional support, and basic learning experiences.
Community supports are local resources such as playgroups, community health services, and recreational activities that facilitate a child’s social interaction and community engagement.
Mainstream supports are supports provided through mainstream services including educational institutions and healthcare services, which play a crucial role in a child’s overall development and well-being.

3.4 Reasonable and necessary

The delegate will review information about the child’s informal, community, and mainstream supports, their strengths and areas where development is delayed. Then, NDIS supports can be considered which will complement and enhance existing supports rather than replace them. This approach supports the child’s independence and community involvement, ensuring they receive the most suitable support for their individual needs. It also helps to build the capability of families and other people who support the child in everyday activities.

If NDIS support for early childhood intervention is required for a developmental area, the early childhood partner will choose in the PEC case whether they believe that the level required is high or medium to low. For first plans this will help inform the Typical Support Package (TSP) and the delegate will make a final decision.

Refer to article: EC PEC – Capacity building – How to complete early childhood intervention supports questions and Complete personal and environmental circumstances case.

When identifying a level of NDIS support for early childhood intervention, we must think about the child’s existing support systems. We must also think about the amount of NDIS support required over the course of the plan to support the child’s development and functioning in daily life.

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For school age children, careful consideration must be given to the responsibility of the education system when determining whether a developmental area needs high or medium to low level of early childhood intervention NDIS support. Children spend a large part of the week at school where support is provided to learn and develop, sometimes with additional support funded by the education system. For example, learning to follow routines and get along with peers.

Also, many children who are school age will have been an NDIS participant for a number of years. For school age children, delegates should look at whether developmental areas that previously required a high level of early childhood intervention, could now be considered as requiring a medium to low level of early childhood intervention due to the impact of early childhood intervention and the additional learning opportunities the school environment offers.

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4 Safeguarding for children

When you become aware of risk or harm or potential harm involving an NDIS participant who is a child, NDIA staff and partners are expected to identify and follow internal and external processes as a priority.

Further information on responding to a child or young person who you have witnessed being harmed or they disclose abuse or neglect, can be found in the Practice Guide - Participant Critical Incident (DOCX 902KB).

Note: Call emergency services when a child or young person is in immediate danger.

It is important to review and have a good understanding of article Guide – Safeguarding the participant’s interests – Context and background.

To support participants and their families to reduce their risks of harm and understand their rights refer to Participant safeguarding policy (external).

To understand what to do when identifying risk, go to the article Identify risks and vulnerabilities.

4.1 Conversations about risk and recording information

To create an emotionally safe environment, refer to article Guide – Conversation style guide, including Guide - Conversation style guide appendix A which provides information on conversation techniques and also Guide - Conversation style guide appendix B to support phone or web-based conversations.

It is important when finding out about harm to a child to carefully consider questions you ask. Sometimes that might mean avoiding specific questioning and only gather enough information to be able to follow Participant Critical Incident reporting processes. This is also important when a parent or carer relays any challenges related to supporting a child. Further questions can be asked to understand how they can be supported.

Recording information in the system about any concerns or factors can provide further detail for NDIA staff and partners to assess the potential for harm at a future date. This information is important for assessing risk and implementing safeguards for children.

4.2 How to consider check-ins and funding when you have

 identified risks

For more information on safeguarding during the check-in process refer to article Record risks and vulnerabilities during a check-in or during the planning process go to Guide - Safeguarding the participant’s interests.

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