William Campbell Foundation
Thriving Kids Initiative
Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
October 2025
Executive Summary
William Campbell Foundation (WCF) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative.
We recognise that the intent of Thriving Kids - to ensure children with developmental delay, autism and other neurodivergences are identified early and supported to thrive - is important and necessary. For too long, children and families have faced fragmented systems, long diagnostic delays, and unaffordable services. As a community service organisation embedded in the communities we serve for over 35 years, we see first-hand the consequences when early developmental concerns go undetected:
- Families pushed into crisis because developmental concerns are overlooked or left unaddressed.
- Children excluded from education, often labelled as “behavioural” rather than bring recognised as neurodivergent and supported appropriately.
- Escalation into child protection and out-of-home care, with lifelong consequences for children and enormous costs to government.
- Increased reliance on the NDIS as the only pathway to supports, without alternative entry points to support for children with emerging needs.
The Thriving Kids Initiative presents a potential opportunity to break this cycle. If implemented well, it can fundamentally change outcomes for children and families. It could also achieve its intended objective to relieve pressure on the NDIS by embedding early supports in community and mainstream systems. But its success will depend on several outstanding but critical factors, including whether government chooses to see community-based organisations as central delivery partners or as peripheral referral points.
Community-based organisations who are already providing services to children and families are essential stakeholders because:
- Early identification saves families. Undiagnosed developmental needs cascade across the family system and can contribute to family breakdown and educational failure. By detecting concerns early and linking families to supports, community organisations prevent escalation.
- Trust equals access. Families already engaged with community organisations are far more likely to accept referrals and participate in developmental supports than those approached by unfamiliar services. For families experiencing trauma, poverty or marginalisation, trust enables access.
- Integration works. The most effective early intervention happens when developmental supports are embedded within family support, education, and community services - not delivered in isolation.
- Regional equity requires partnership. Without delivery through community organisations, Thriving Kids risks replicating existing inequities, particularly for rural and vulnerable families.
Summary of Recommendations
| Recommendation | What Government Should Do |
|---|---|
| 1. Ensure Early and Equitable Access to Developmental Supports | - Fund free assessments in schools and community settings. - Embed universal screening in family support, foster care, and early childhood programs. - Create rapid access pathways for vulnerable families, with reserved diagnostic capacity and mobile diagnostic teams. |
| 2. Integrate Thriving Kids with Family and Community Services | - Formally recognise and fund community organisations as core delivery partners. - Establish Family Navigator roles within community organisations. - Embed Thriving Kids into existing programs (playgroups, family preservation, early childhood). |
| 3. Leverage Specialist Schools and Integrated Service Hubs | - Fund specialist schools to expand identification and support capacity. - Establish integrated service hubs anchored in schools and community organisations with visiting specialists. |
| 4. Address Workforce Shortages and Regional Access | - Develop a national workforce strategy for paediatrics and allied health, with regional incentives. - Train all family-facing community workers in developmental awareness and screening. - Create supervised community-based developmental support roles. - Expand telehealth and outreach models. |
| 5. Guarantee Continuity Between Thriving Kids and the NDIS | - Stage NDIS eligibility changes only after Thriving Kids rollout. - Establish clear transition protocols and escalation pathways. - Provide safety nets for children with higher support needs. |
| 6. Embed Cultural Safety and Equity as Core Principles | - Partner with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in co-design and delivery. - Embed cultural competency and trauma-informed practice across all providers. - Resource bicultural workers, translation, and targeted CALD engagement. |
| 7. Embed Thriving Kids within Existing Community Infrastructure | - Fund expansion of existing community programs (family support, supported playgroups, specialist schools). - Formalise partnerships between community organisations, schools, health, and disability services. - Resource community organisations as anchor partners and invest in their long-term capacity. |
About William Campbell Foundation
William Campbell Foundation is a community-based organisation based in Nowra, NSW, and a provider of integrated social services working at the frontline with vulnerable children and families. Through our family preservation programs, foster care services, specialist school and disability services, we encounter developmental concerns daily, often long before families access health or disability systems. Because we are embedded in family life and trusted by the communities we serve, we are uniquely placed to identify developmental needs early, facilitate timely referral, and support families to stay engaged with services.
Our Philosophy and Approach
WCF’s work is guided by a set of principles that align closely with the aspirations of the Thriving Kids Initiative:
- Trauma-informed practice: We understand that many of the children and families we support have experienced trauma. Our services are designed to be safe, supportive, and restorative.
- Family-centred and holistic: We do not see developmental needs in isolation. We address the family context, the education environment, and the broader social conditions.
- Culturally safe: With a significant proportion of First Nations and culturally diverse families, cultural safety is embedded in all aspects of our practice.
- Integration over fragmentation: Our wraparound service model ensures that children, young people and families can access the broad range of services and supports they need. This reflects how families experience challenges and avoids forcing them to navigate siloed systems.
Scope and Scale of Services
Each year, WCF supports hundreds of children and families through a range of programs and services including:
- Foster Care: Placements for children who cannot remain safely at home. Our families are supported by case managers, psychologists, and allied health professionals.
- Family Preservation and Support: Intensive support programs for families at risk of child removal. These programs strengthen parenting, build family resilience, and create safer home environments.
- Specialist Education: William Campbell College (WCC), an independent school for children disengaged from or excluded by mainstream education.
- Disability and Allied Services: Targeted developmental and therapeutic support for children and adults with additional needs.
WCF employs over 80 professionals and maintains a strong network of foster carers, volunteers, and partner organisations. We work closely with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, local schools, health providers, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.
William Campbell College
William Campbell College (WCC) is one of WCF’s most distinctive services and offers a unique perspective for the Thriving Kids Initiative. The College was established to meet the needs of children who have been unable to succeed in mainstream education due to a combination of trauma, developmental needs, and social disadvantage.
Now in its third year of operation, the school already has a waitlist as there is a significant need for alternative, more supportive educational offerings in our region. The student profile illustrates the depth of systemic challenges:
- 40.7% of WCC students are currently in out-of-home care, with a further 7% having previously been in care.
- 36.6% transferred from public school support classes that could not meet their needs.
- 13.3% were previously homeschooled due to exclusion or disengagement.
- 3% were referred from other independent schools that could not accommodate them.
- 26% identify as First Nations Australians.
These statistics are not simply numbers. They demonstrate the overlap between developmental needs, family vulnerability, and educational exclusion. They reveal how mainstream systems frequently fail to detect or respond to developmental concerns early, leaving children to cycle through multiple schools, disengage, and ultimately require specialist settings like WCC.
WCC provides small class sizes, trauma-informed teaching, therapeutic supports, and close family engagement. The College has become a stabilising force for children who might otherwise have no access to meaningful education. However, its enrolment profile also underscores the urgent need for systemic reform: Thriving Kids must reach these children long before they require referral to specialist schools.
Our Experience with Developmental Delay and Autism
While WCF operates only a modest disability program, developmental delay and autism are prevalent across every aspect of our work - from family preservation to foster care to education.
Types of Developmental Needs Encountered
The children and families we support commonly present with:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Often undiagnosed or diagnosed late, with children mischaracterised as “behavioural.”
- Speech and language delay: A frequent contributor to frustration, disengagement, and educational exclusion.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Frequently co-occurring with trauma and other developmental challenges.
- Trauma-related developmental difficulties: Many children in out-of-home care experience developmental delays linked to neglect, abuse, or disrupted attachment.
- Learning disorders and intellectual disability: Frequently overlooked in early years, only identified once children reach crisis points in education.
Barriers to Access
Families face persistent obstacles in accessing developmental supports:
- Delays in diagnosis: Wait times for paediatricians and allied health in our region routinely extend beyond 12–18 months. For low-income families, these delays are compounded by limited transport and financial barriers.
- High costs: Private assessments, often costing $1,500-$2,500, are unaffordable for families already under stress.
- System complexity: Families managing housing instability, domestic violence, or child protection involvement may find it challenging to also navigate fragmented health and education systems.
Consequences of Unmet Needs
The costs of delayed or inaccessible support are profound:
- Children are often excluded from or disengaged with school.
- Families experience escalating stress, often compounding other risk factors and challenges.
- Developmental concerns compound mental health challenges in adolescence and adulthood.
- Government bears escalating costs in child protection, justice, education, and health.
The case study below demonstrates that timely, accurate diagnosis is not simply a clinical issue - it is a determinant of placement stability, educational engagement, and lifelong wellbeing. Thriving Kids must be designed to ensure children like James are recognised and supported early, before the consequences of delay compound into crisis.
Case Study: Delayed Autism Diagnosis and the Cost of Missed Early Intervention
“James” (pseudonym), an eight-year-old boy in foster care, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Level 2 at age seven. Prior to this diagnosis, his complex behaviours were misinterpreted as deliberate defiance or trauma-related conduct problems. Without appropriate identification or support, James experienced frequent placement breakdowns, escalating behaviours, and exclusion from school - a pattern that could have been prevented through earlier developmental assessment.
Missed Early Identification
From an early age, James displayed clear signs of developmental difference: communication delays, repetitive play, rigid routines, and significant distress in noisy environments. When he entered out-of-home care at age four, carers observed behaviours such as faecal smearing and difficulties settling in new environments. Yet these were consistently framed through a trauma-only lens. Referrals for developmental assessment were delayed, despite the persistence of red flags.
By ages six and seven, his behaviours had become increasingly disruptive: aggression, elopement, property damage, and high anxiety in unfamiliar settings. These behaviours were often misinterpreted as oppositional rather than communicative or sensory-driven. As a result, James cycled through multiple foster placements, each breaking down when carers felt unable to manage without specialist support.
Diagnosis and Intervention
Only after sustained advocacy from a caseworker and school staff did James receive a multidisciplinary assessment at age seven. He was diagnosed with ASD Level 2, with significant difficulties in communication, adaptability, and regulation. This diagnosis unlocked targeted supports, including occupational therapy for sensory needs, behaviour support planning that reframed “challenging” behaviours as communication, speech therapy, trauma-informed and autism-informed foster care, and school adjustments such as visual schedules and quiet spaces.
Impact of Delay
The consequences of delayed diagnosis were profound:
- Missed early intervention: Crucial speech, occupational, and behavioural supports were not accessed in early childhood.
- Placement instability: Multiple disrupted foster placements caused instability and trauma.
- Escalation of behaviours: Aggression and faecal smearing intensified without appropriate understanding or strategies.
- Educational exclusion: James was repeatedly suspended from school.
- Emotional harm: He internalised feelings of rejection, failure, and instability.
Positive Outcomes Post-Diagnosis
Within 12 months of diagnosis, targeted supports produced measurable improvements: faecal smearing reduced significantly, meltdowns decreased, James formed a trusting relationship with a long-term carer, and he began engaging in small group learning at school.
Lessons for Thriving Kids
James’ story illustrates how children in vulnerable circumstances pay the highest price when developmental differences are missed or misunderstood. The delay in diagnosis compounded instability across his placements, education, and emotional wellbeing. Earlier identification and integrated intervention could have changed his trajectory.
Recommendations
The Thriving Kids Initiative has been announced with the promise of improving early identification and support for children with developmental delay, autism, and other neurodivergences. At this stage, government has released very little detail. While WCF welcomes the intent, we cannot endorse the Initiative until its design, funding, and governance arrangements are clear.
Our recommendations outline the conditions for success that must be built into Thriving Kids if it is to achieve its objectives, and the risks if these are ignored. Together, they form a blueprint for implementation.
Theme 1: Access and Integration Conditions
Recommendation 1: Ensure Early and Equitable Access to Developmental Supports
Why it Matters
Families in the Illawarra Shoalhaven routinely wait 12-18 months for public paediatric assessment. Private assessments ($1,500-$2,500) are unaffordable for low-income families. During these delays, children are mislabelled as “behavioural,” excluded from school, and placed under escalating family stress. At William Campbell College, more than one-third of students have transferred from support classes unable to meet their needs - many with undiagnosed developmental conditions.
Design Features Required
- Fund free, timely assessments in schools and community settings.
- Embed universal screening into everyday touchpoints such as family preservation, foster care, and specialist schools.
- Reserve diagnostic capacity and establish mobile diagnostic teams for vulnerable families.
- Ensure screening leads directly to intervention, not just referral letters.
WCF’s Position
Children should not have to reach crisis before being diagnosed. Thriving Kids must guarantee free, equitable access to early supports, or it will reproduce the very inequities it seeks to solve.
Recommendation 2: Integrate Thriving Kids with Family and Community Services
Why it Matters
Developmental delay and autism intersect with poverty, trauma, housing stress, and child protection. Families already engaged with trusted services are far more likely to participate. If Thriving Kids operates as a silo, it will fail to reach those most in need.
Design Features Required
- Formally recognise and fund community organisations as delivery partners.
- Create Family Navigator roles embedded in community organisations.
- Build Thriving Kids into existing programs such as family preservation and supported playgroups.
- Establish referral partnerships to avoid duplication and “starting over.”
WCF’s Position
Integration is non-negotiable. Families connected with WCF must be able to access Thriving Kids seamlessly, or the Initiative will replicate the fragmentation that has characterised past reforms.
Recommendation 3: Leverage Specialist Schools and Integrated Service Hubs
Why it Matters
Mainstream schools frequently lack the resources to support children with developmental needs, leading to suspension and exclusion. By the time many students arrive at William Campbell College, years of opportunity have been lost. Specialist schools and community-based hubs can stabilise children and families while connecting them to supports.
Design Features Required
- Resource specialist schools to expand developmental screening and intervention.
- Establish integrated service hubs anchored in community organisations and schools, with visiting specialists.
- Introduce shared assessment and case management systems.
- Enable telehealth and outreach from hubs into surrounding communities.
WCF’s Position
Specialist schools like William Campbell College already act as critical infrastructure when mainstream systems fail. Thriving Kids must formally recognise and fund these institutions as anchors in the system.
Theme 2: System Interface Conditions
Recommendation 4: Address Workforce Shortages and Regional Access
Why it Matters
Workforce shortages in paediatrics and allied health are the single greatest threat to Thriving Kids. Families in regional areas face the longest waits and fewest options. Unless workforce issues are tackled directly, the Initiative will remain aspirational rather than practical.
Design Features Required
- Develop a national workforce strategy with regional incentives, scholarships, and supervision.
- Expand placements in community and regional settings.
- Train all family-facing community workers in developmental awareness and screening.
- Create new roles for community-based developmental support workers under specialist supervision.
- Scale telehealth and outreach to connect regional communities with specialists.
WCF’s Position
Thriving Kids will stand or fall on workforce. Without a dual focus on specialist supply and community capacity, families will continue to wait years and inequities will deepen.
Recommendation 5: Guarantee Continuity Between Thriving Kids and the NDIS
Why it Matters
The NDIS Review proposed shifting children with lower-intensity needs into foundational supports. If this occurs before Thriving Kids is fully operational, many families risk losing access altogether. For vulnerable families, even short service gaps can have irreversible consequences.
Design Features Required
- Stage changes to NDIS eligibility only after Thriving Kids is fully rolled out.
- Establish clear transition protocols and escalation pathways for complex cases.
- Guarantee no service gaps during transitions.
- Communicate clearly with families about available supports.
WCF’s Position
Sequencing is everything. Thriving Kids must complement, not prematurely substitute, the NDIS. Families cannot afford to be left without supports, even temporarily.
Theme 3: Equity and Sustainability Conditions
Recommendation 6: Embed Cultural Safety and Equity as Core Principles
Why it Matters
Children from Aboriginal, CALD, and low-income families are disproportionately affected by late or missed identification. At William Campbell College, 26% of students identify as First Nations Australians - many excluded from mainstream schooling without support. Unless equity is built in, Thriving Kids will entrench, rather than reduce, disparities.
Design Features Required
- Partner with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in co-design and delivery.
- Embed cultural safety and trauma-informed practice standards.
- Fund bicultural workers and interpreters for CALD families.
- Design flexible, family-centred pathways, not one-size-fits-all processes.
- Monitor and report equity outcomes.
WCF’s Position
Equity is not optional. Thriving Kids must be deliberately designed to reach Aboriginal, CALD, regional, and low-income families, or it will fail those who need it most.
Recommendation 7: Embed Thriving Kids within Existing Community Infrastructure
Why it Matters
Australia has a history of creating parallel programs that bypass community organisations, duplicate effort, and confuse families. Thriving Kids will succeed only if it builds on trusted infrastructure that families already use.
Design Features Required
- Expand existing community programs to include developmental supports.
- Formalise partnerships between community organisations, schools, and health providers.
- Resource community organisations as anchor partners.
- Invest in long-term capacity building (technology, workforce, governance).
- Pilot integrated delivery in regions such as Illawarra Shoalhaven.
WCF’s Position
New parallel systems are not the answer. Thriving Kids must strengthen, not sideline, existing community infrastructure if it is to deliver sustainable impact.
Conclusion
The Thriving Kids Initiative offers a timely opportunity to reshape how Australia supports children with developmental delay, autism, and other neurodivergences. William Campbell Foundation urges government to design the Initiative around equity, integration with trusted community services, and continuity with the NDIS. With the right investment, Thriving Kids can deliver sustainable, practical solutions that reduce long-term costs while helping children and families thrive.
Our seven recommendations form a coherent roadmap. Each is necessary; none are optional. Thriving Kids must:
- Guarantee access and equity.
- Integrate with trusted community settings.
- Build workforce and ensure regional reach.
- Align carefully with the NDIS.
- Embed cultural safety and sustain community infrastructure.
Key contact:
Sonia Liddicoat Chief Executive Officer Ceo@wcfoundation.org.au