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EC Guide - Supporting children younger than 7 who are deaf or hard of hearing (including under the priority hearing stream)

Guidance in this document is not approved for use unless you view it in PACE.

This article provides guidance for an early childhood partner or planner delegate to:

understand the role of the early childhood partner when a referral has been made by Hearing Australia
understand the NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream (priority hearing stream) and eligibility requirements
understand supports for children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Recent updates

7 April 2026 Linked article name updates

Before you start

You have read and understood:

article EC PEC – NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream
article EC Early childhood intervention supports overview
Deafness and hearing impairment snapshot
Hearing Australia’s Choices eBook (external)
Our Guidelines – Early childhood approach (external)
Our Guidelines – Early connections (external).

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What is the role of the early childhood partner under the NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream (priority hearing stream)?

Early childhood partners provide early connections for children, their families and carers. This includes supporting them to apply to the NDIS under the priority hearing stream if the child is likely to meet the NDIS eligibility requirements and hearing stream criteria. This support can also include connections with mainstream and community services, helpful information for the child and family or carer and connection to peer supports.

If a child with a hearing loss is unlikely to meet the NDIS eligibility requirements (for example, a temporary conductive hearing loss) but there are concerns about the child’s development then the early childhood partner can provide early connections to determine the right supports and services for the child and their family or carer. This may include early supports if they are younger than 6 with developmental concerns.

For more information on our early childhood approach or early connections, go to Our Guidelines – Early childhood approach (external).

What is the priority hearing stream?

The priority hearing stream is a priority pathway established to allow children to move quickly from diagnosis to early intervention.

If a hearing loss is suspected in an infant or a child of any age, they will be referred to a paediatric audiologist for a full diagnostic assessment. If a permanent hearing loss is confirmed, the paediatric audiologist, with consent from the family or carer will arrange a priority referral to Hearing Australia (External).

The NDIA will be satisfied a person meets the early intervention requirements for hearing loss if they:

are aged between 0 and 25
have evidence from a specialist audiological assessment

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have auditory neuropathy or a hearing loss at least 25 decibels in either ear at 2 or more adjacent frequencies, and
the hearing loss is likely to be permanent.

A child is eligible for the priority hearing stream if:

they meet NDIS eligibility requirements
are younger than 7, and
have a new diagnosis of a confirmed, permanent hearing loss.

What is the Hearing Services Program?

The Hearing Services Program (HSP) provides government funded hearing services and devices to eligible people. Young Australians who are under 26 years of age and are a citizen or permanent resident are eligible for the Community Service Obligation (CSO) component of the HSP.

Hearing Australia is the sole provider of the CSO Program. The services and supports they provide to children who are deaf or hard of hearing includes:

fully government subsidised hearing devices (for example hearing aids and remote microphone systems) and ongoing audiological services
upgraded and replacement speech processors for cochlear implantable devices
repairs and maintenance for devices
ongoing services and support.

Hearing Australia have developed Choices (external) for families of children who are newly diagnosed with hearing loss from birth to 12 years of age. This resource provides information to help families confidently make the right choices for their child throughout their hearing journey. This resource aims to make it easier for families to understand and find information

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about the range of hearing technology, communication and supports services that are available to help them.

A child does not need to be a participant with the NDIS to receive hearing devices from Hearing Australia under the HSP.

Applying to the NDIS

The Hearing Australia audiologist will complete Form: NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream – evidence of hearing loss, attach the audiological assessment report and email as a priority to the NDIA. This will often occur at the child’s first appointment with Hearing Australia but may happen later if requested by the family or carer. The evidence of hearing loss form is unique to the priority hearing stream and is completed exclusively by Hearing Australia audiologists.

The Hearing Australia referral email will be used to create a priority enquiry case and routed to the early childhood partner. The early childhood partner will prioritise contact with the family or carer and determine if the child is likely to meet the priority hearing stream criteria. If likely to meet the criteria the early childhood partner will support completion of the access request by:

completing the information gathering steps in PACE
gathering a holistic picture of the child’s developmental support needs in addition to their hearing loss.

Confirming identity

Parents or carers of a newborn applying to the NDIS through the priority hearing stream can provide a Proof of Birth Declaration if they do not yet have a birth certificate. This is found on the last page of the Newborn Child Declaration form which is included in the Parent Pack provided after birth and must be signed by a doctor or midwife.

If a proof of birth declaration is used as evidence of identity for an applicant in the priority Hearing Stream, a full birth certificate must be requested by the MyNDIS contact 6 months after access is met.

The early childhood partner will need to create an Alert and a Task to ensure the follow up occurs. For information on this, go to article Make an access decision.

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For more information about evidence for children younger than 7 eligible for the priority hearing stream, go to article Understand age and residence evidence.

Requesting a priority eligibility decision

PACE should automatically add Priority Reason and Priority Description information to an Access Request case for a child younger than 7 with a disability of hearing loss.

For a child likely to be eligible for the priority hearing stream the early childhood partner should confirm the following details are entered in the Access Request case:

At Prioritisation Reason, select 0-6 years with hearing loss
At Priority Description, select Hearing Australia or EC Partner Priority
At Prioritisation Comment must complete this template:
Assessment: Urgent decision requirements <not met/met>. Priority eligibility decision looked at following request from on . Review based on available evidence and information from Our Guidelines – Applying to the NDIS (external).

Learn more in article Request priority eligibility decision.

Priority hearing stream timeframes

If a child younger than 7 is newly diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss, an eligibility decision will be made within 2 business days once a completed Access Request case is received.

The MyNDIS contact will receive a bell notification when a request for information (RFI) or an access decision is made.

The priority marker from the Access Request case will automatically transfer to the Plan Approval case. The initial plan will be approved within 10 business days of the child being eligible for the Scheme.

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Plans developed under the priority hearing stream have a recommended plan duration of 12 months.

As the priority hearing stream is for children with a new diagnosis of a confirmed, permanent hearing loss, a child is not eligible for the priority hearing stream if they have an existing diagnosis of a confirmed hearing loss. The early childhood partner can support the family or carer to apply to the NDIS, through the early childhood approach. A priority access referral and planning decision is not required.

Capacity building supports

Evidence shows that communication outcomes are significantly improved when the hearing loss is identified early, and intervention starts soon after. The earlier there is language (spoken and/or signed) in a child’s environment, the sooner their communication, language and literacy can develop.

The impact of mild and unilateral hearing loss varies amongst individuals, as does the benefit of early intervention including amplification. Given there are no clear recommendations of best management approaches, it is recommended that the outcomes of hearing related functional assessments (documented in provider reports) are also taken into consideration when determining whether hearing is identified as a high or medium to low area of need.

Newly diagnosed permanent hearing loss

For children with a newly diagnosed hearing loss, use information provided in the Form: NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream – evidence of hearing loss from Hearing Australia to complete the Personal and Environmental Circumstances (PEC) case. Refer to article: EC PEC – NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream.

For initial plans developed under priority hearing stream, the funding level for capacity building supports is primarily based on the child’s average hearing loss, typically the four-frequency average hearing loss (4FAHL), in their poorer ear.

This level of capacity building supports is expected to support the child’s:

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language and communication development
social development
emotional development.

Refer to the below table to see the recommended levels of capacity building supports for the initial 12 month plan.

Table one: Recommended levels of capacity building support included in the initial 12 month plan

Level	CB Supports	Description
Level 1	`redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations`	Unilateral hearing loss (Mild/Moderate) in affected ear
Level 2	`redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations`	Unilateral hearing loss (Severe/Profound/ANSD) in affected ear Mild hearing loss in both ears
Level 3	`redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations`	Hearing loss in both ears, with a Moderate hearing loss in the poorer ear
Level 4	`redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations of`	Hearing loss in both ears, with a Severe/Profound/ANSD hearing loss in the poorer ear

Note: the funding levels in this table only apply to the initial 12 month plan for a participant younger than 7, eligible for the priority hearing stream.

For a child with a bilateral hearing loss, where the evidence indicates they are at significant risk of auditory and language deprivation, planner delegates can consider increasing the funding level to the next level (capped at level 4). For example, where the diagnosis of a child’s hearing loss was delayed by more than six months.

Early Childhood intervention supports can be used flexibly to access the most appropriate support for the child. This may include audiological services who are allied health professionals.

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For a plan reassessment, or for children not eligible for the priority hearing stream, refer to article EC Early childhood intervention supports overview.

Additional support needs

If a child eligible for the priority hearing stream has additional support needs (high or medium-low) the early childhood partner will include supporting evidence from the child’s treating professional. You could add this information in the internal notes section within the activity log tab.

A delegate will need to review the draft budget against all of the child’s support needs and the reasonable and necessary criteria to determine whether an adjustment needs to be made in addition to the capacity building funding originally allocated under the priority hearing stream. Refer to article EC Early childhood intervention supports guide (EC Guide).

Core budget supports

Consumable – Low cost assistive technology

The early childhood partner will identify the low-cost assistive technology needs from conversations with the family or carer and evidence provided.

Hearing devices for children are provided by Hearing Australia, funded under the Hearing Services Program (HSP). Speech processors (including their replacement parts), remote microphones or wireless communication devices are all funded under the HSP.

Sometimes we see requests for a second FM device because Hearing Australia have a policy of only funding one ear even if the child has hearing loss in both ears. This is not the responsibility of the NDIS.

However we can fund accessories such as:

specialised alarm systems like a flashing doorbell and other alerting systems.
waterproof accessories such as the Aqua + which is the compatible option for the Nucleus 7 speech processor.

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To learn more about the technology that is provided at no cost to children, go to Hearing Australia’s website (external).

Through Hearing Australia, families or carers can enter into a Hearing Services Program Maintenance Agreement which will cover the costs of device batteries and maintenance for their child’s hearing device for 12 months. This includes repairs and spare parts for their hearing device and/or speech processor. Under the maintenance agreement, the participant’s family or carer makes a small co-payment towards the annual maintenance fee.

Learn more about including this support in article: [EC PEC – NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream](/foi-library/releases/832501206512-foi-24-25-2169-disclosure-log-documents/document-018__ec-pec-ndis-pathway-hearing-stream/).

Communication approaches

The choice of communication approach is the family or carer’s decision. There is widespread recognition that no single option is ideal for all children with hearing loss at all stages of their development. Some families may feel pressure when making choices about communication. It is important that families understand that they do not have to make a choice for life. They may wish to change their approach as they learn more about their child’s needs and preferences. The right choice is the one that works best for the child and their family or carer and will adequately support a child’s language development and minimise the risk of language deprivation.

To learn more about communication approaches go to Hearing Australia’s Choices eBook (external). This resource can be shared with families if they do not already have it.

Based on the information that you have gathered with the family or carer you may include information in the PEC based on the families preferred communication approach.

Read more about daily supports in article: EC PEC – NDIS Pathway Hearing Stream.

When allocating funding for a first plan under the priority hearing stream pathway, planner delegates should use the recommended levels of support shown in Table One of this article. This funding is typically added to the improved daily living support category however there may be instances where the family or carer have chosen Auslan as their preferred communication

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method. In these cases, the relevant funding level shown in the table can be split across the improved daily living and core consumables support categories, rather than adding additional funding for Auslan supports.

This will allow the family or carer flexibility to access the supports they require.

Auslan related supports should be considered on an individual basis and funded where the support meets the NDIS funding criteria. When determining reasonable and necessary supports, the NDIA will need to ensure the capacity of families is increased, so they can support their child’s language development.

A participant’s age and level of hearing loss are also factors to consider when determining the level of support an individual may need in their everyday life. Other factors to consider include:

the child’s family, carer and social networks
the child’s access to early intervention supports
access to mainstream services, for example, education
provider reports which include the child’s progress towards goals, outcomes achieved and provider recommendation
other disabilities, geographic location and cultural backgrounds also influence the type and severity of barriers which a child who is deaf or hard of hearing may experience.

The level of support that a participant might require will vary depending on the child’s language development, literacy skills and the family or carer’s preferred method of communication.

Auslan language development supports

This support type is best delivered in children’s natural, everyday settings, such as home and childcare. Auslan language development supports aim to build the capacity of the child, family, carer and other important people in the child’s life to ensure that they can meaningfully and effectively communicate.

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Auslan language development support may include, but is not limited to teaching Auslan, provision of strategies to support communication and interaction between the child and informal supports, education around Deaf culture, recommendations and the development of resources.

Learning Auslan is not a short-term activity, it requires long-term support to ensure the child and their family or carer fully immerse in learning Auslan to maximise language acquisition and can effectively communicate with one another. Families should be encouraged to use quality Auslan trainers who are fluent and extensively experienced with teaching Auslan to children and families. It is important that families have opportunities to practice Auslan skills with other fluent Auslan users.

Auslan training

Auslan training is typically delivered at settings in the child’s community, like their local sports club or church. This may include but is not limited to Deaf Awareness Training (DAT), provision of targeted strategies to promote inclusion and communication and education of specific Auslan signs. The availability and appropriateness of mainstream options for general Auslan training through, for example, the education system or the community should be explored prior to allocating funding through NDIS funded supports.

Auslan interpreting

This is an important consideration to ensure Deaf children can access services. It is recommended that funding for interpreting services be included where it is considered appropriate and meets the NDIS funding criteria. It is important to give children access to incidental learnings to improve their social and community participation as well as supporting their social and emotional development.

National Auslan Booking Service (NABS) isn’t a free service for NDIS participants. If reasonable and necessary, interpreting services should be funded in the participant’s plan. The minimum charge is 2 hours for each booking. Participants have choice and control over who provides their preferred communication support.

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