FOIOFFICIAL24/25-2169 DOCUMENT 21 Knowledge Article
For Internal Use Only The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.
EC Interpreting provider reports and recommendations
Guidance in this document is not approved for use unless you view it in PACE.
This article provides guidance for early childhood partners, planner delegates and review officers responsible for planning for children younger than 9. It is for use when considering early intervention supports for early childhood (early childhood intervention) to help:
• understand and interpret information and recommendations in provider reports
• consider reasonable and necessary criteria.
Recent updates
14 April 2025 New article to provide guidance on understanding and interpreting provider reports and recommendations for early childhood intervention for children younger than 9.
Before you start
You have read and understood:
• article EC Early intervention supports for early childhood overview
• article EC Early intervention supports for early childhood guide (EC Guide)
• article EC Understand the key worker role in the delivery of Early Intervention Supports
for Early Childhood
• Our Guideline - Reasonable and necessary supports (external)
• Our Guideline - Creating your plan (external)
Understand provider reports
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For Internal Use Only NDIS providers should give families a report detailing the NDIS support (external) they have provided and the progress their child has made. This information is essential for both families and the NDIA to better understand a child’s developmental delay or disability related support needs.
To understand a child’s support needs, you should review any provider reports alongside information from:
• the family
• other early childhood professionals, health, and education professionals.
This will help you understand the child’s:
• strengths
• progress and outcomes
• level of support already provided and how this relates to progress
• goals
• challenges and
• current and future support needs.
To learn more, go to article EC Early intervention supports for early childhood guide (EC Guide) for children younger than 9.
You should encourage families to ask for reports from early childhood intervention providers who are delivering NDIS supports. Families should receive a report at key points during their NDIS plan. The provider and families can set these key points in their service agreement before starting their NDIS support. A report can help everyone understand the outcomes of early childhood intervention already provided and help inform future goals and NDIS supports.
Providers need to write a report on the progress and outcomes of early childhood intervention. This is good practice and draws on record keeping requirements under the NDIS Code of
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For Internal Use Only Conduct (external). Providers can use the Early childhood Intervention provider report form and report writing guidance (external) for children younger than 9.
If Behaviour Supports have been recommended because regulated restrictive practices are identified or being considered, they must only be used as part of a behaviour support plan. This must be developed by a registered behaviour support practitioner with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Where a child is subject, or could be subject to restrictive practices, these must be authorised in line with that state or territory processes. Refer to Our Guideline – Behaviour support.
Interpreting provider reports and recommendations
When reviewing provider reports, there is some important information to look out for:
• provider qualifications
• summary of support needs
• goals and outcomes
• how any recommended NDIS supports will help the child and family pursue NDIS plan
goals
• the report date, as a child’s functional skills and needs may have changed since the
report was written
• how long the provider has been supporting the child and their family.
A provider report should also include information on some or all of the following:
• the child’s and their family’s progress towards their goals, including any barriers and
things the child and family can build on
• the child’s functional capacity, independence, and participation in daily activities
• the outcomes of the NDIS support the child and family have received
• future goals and recommendations.
Provider qualifications
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For Internal Use Only For information on qualifications of early childhood professionals delivering NDIS supports, go to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (external).
Reports from all early childhood intervention providers can be used to help understand a child’s strengths and areas requiring support. When using provider reports to help inform what NDIS supports we will fund, a delegate should consider the qualifications of the provider.
For example, recommendations from an allied health professional’s detailed assessment and work with the child and family should be part of the considerations when determining NDIS supports.
An allied health assistant or support worker might report on what they have observed that a child can do and is working towards however they wouldn’t be qualified to recommend an amount of early childhood intervention.
It’s important to check how recent the reports are when using the information.
Summary of supports
To understand any early childhood intervention already provided, look in reports for:
• was the support provided a funded NDIS support
• where and how the NDIS support was provided
• frequency and duration of NDIS supports
• a description of how the important people in the child’s life are included in the delivery of
NDIS supports.
Goals and outcomes
When using provider recommendations to help inform funding decisions it is important to consider whether any:
• early childhood intervention or therapy goals relate to the NDIS plan goals
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For Internal Use Only • NDIS support provided has helped a child and their family progress towards goals and
outcomes
• NDIS support provided has helped the child and their family to maximise the child’s
independence
• NDIS support provided has facilitated the child’s participation in everyday activities at
home, in the community and in educational settings.
Provider reports should tell you about the child’s progress towards their goals and any barriers that have impacted progress. When reviewing the report consider:
• the results of any formal assessment, outcome measures or through a description of a
change in function
• the effectiveness of the NDIS supports that have been provided. This can help to
determine recommendations for future NDIS supports
• the child’s informal, community, and mainstream supports and how they have contributed
to progress.
Future goals and recommendations
Provider reports should include future goals and recommendations for supports. Look for information about:
• the child’s current functional capacity
• the child’s level of participation in daily activities and their community
• future early childhood intervention goals and how they relate to the NDIS plan goals
• recommended supports the child and their family are likely to benefit from and why.
Recommendations may include a combination of community (for example playgroups),
mainstream (for example preschool) and NDIS supports
• expected outcomes of any recommended NDIS supports.
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For Internal Use Only It’s expected that early childhood intervention providers develop goals with the family. They should focus on:
• maximising the child’s independence, for example, in daily activities and routines
• increasing the child’s participation, for example, in the community or within their
educational setting.
Goals that are specific and measurable allow a child and their family’s progress to be evaluated over time.
It is reasonable to expect that for most children, the level of NDIS for early childhood intervention will reduce over time. Early childhood intervention is intended to support an increase in capacity and independence as children develop. They should work alongside informal, mainstream and community supports.
Apply reasonable and necessary criteria
It is important to consider provider recommendations and family requests for NDIS supports. However, to fund the requested level of support the delegate must be satisfied that the level meets all the reasonable and necessary criteria. This includes when intensive early childhood intervention is being considered.
Refer to article EC Early intervention supports for early childhood guide (EC Guide).
It is important to consider the recommendations from all early childhood intervention providers, not just those recommending an intensive level of supports.
The NDIA makes funding decisions about NDIS supports for early childhood intervention based on the child’s individual support needs and considers this against the reasonable and necessary criteria. It is important to remember that the NDIS does not include funding in plans based on program models but instead, based on a child and families individual needs. In some cases, the level of funding approved in a plan may not fully align with the intensity or cost of specific programs, provider recommendations or family requests.
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For Internal Use Only
Once an NDIS plan is approved, a family can start using it to get NDIS support from provider(s) to work towards the plan goals. Families must only use funding in their child’s plan on NDIS supports in line with any funding component amounts and funding periods in the plan. NDIS supports are the services, items, and equipment that can be funded by the NDIS.
Refer to article Discuss funded supports.
The NDIA encourages families to choose early childhood intervention providers who use the principles of best practice in early childhood intervention. You can read more in National Guidelines for best practice in early childhood intervention (external).
You should also provide the family with the resource Quality support for children in the NDIS (external).
Examples of reasonable and necessary considerations
Table 1 provides some common examples of reasonable and necessary considerations relating to provider recommendations and parent requests for NDIS supports related to early childhood intervention.
Table 1: Examples of reasonable and necessary considerations
Section Examples
Value for money (NDIS There are multiple providers, and their recommendations Act 2013 s 34(1)(c)) overlap. NDIS (Support for s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies Participants) Rules 2013 Part 5 rule 3.1
The provider includes in their recommendations a cost for their Value for money (NDIS service that does not represent value for money. Act 2013 s 34(1)(c)) For example, hourly rates in provider reports are above prices in NDIS (Support for the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (external), or Participants) Rules 2013 costs for provider travel which don’t align with the information in Part 5 rule 3.1 this resource.
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For Internal Use Only
The amount of support recommended is higher than what is needed to achieve the required outcomes. [[s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies](/foi-library/releases/bc455e3f7247-foi-24-25-0515-documents/document-015__47e-d-certain-operations-of-agencies/)](/foi-library/releases/bc455e3f7247-foi-24-25-0515-documents/document-015__47e-d-certain-operations-of-agencies/)
Value for money (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(1)(c)) NDIS (Support for Participants) Rules 2013 Part 5 rule 3.1
The provider includes additional hours in their quotes or recommendations. Value for money (NDIS s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies Act 2013 s 34(1)(c)) NDIS (Support for Participants) Rules 2013 Part 5 rule 3.1
Effective and beneficial, Delivery of service or recommendations made by a professional having regard to current who is not qualified to make the recommendation. good practice (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(1)(d)) s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies NDIS (Support for Participants) Rules 2013 Part 5 rule 3.2
The provider includes a support that is not an NDIS support, as Effective and beneficial, part of their recommendations for early childhood intervention. It having regard to current is important to only fund NDIS supports. This will help encourage good practice (NDIS Act families to use funding in their plan for evidence-based support 2013 s 34(1)(d)) and also support NDIS sustainability. The support is most When checking if a NDIS support is reasonable and necessary appropriately funded by for a participant it is important to consider their individual needs. the NDIS (NDIS Act 2013 A delegate needs to be satisfied that the support will be, or is s 34(1)(f)) likely to be, effective and beneficial for the participant, when we NDIS (Support for consider current good practice. Participants) Rules 2013 For more information go to Reasonable and necessary supports Part 5 rule 3.2 (external)
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For Internal Use Only s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies
The NDIA strongly encourages families to use interventions that have been rigorously evaluated and shown to improve child and family outcomes. These interventions rely on robust research and proven strategies to ensure the effectiveness of funded supports.
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