Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative Submission 212
3rd October 2025
To Whom It May Concern
Re Inquiry: The Thriving Kids initiative
I am making a submission on behalf of our team. We are a speech pathology practice providing services in Bathurst and Orange, Central Western NSW. We have four speech pathologists and an allied health assistant, and provide services to 180 clients ranging from the age of 2 to 76 years. Of our clients, we have 38 under the age of 8 years. Our service provision includes contracts, private clients, those with aged care packages and those with NDIS packages. We work with children with speech and language delays through to children and adults with complex communication and swallowing needs. We have a waiting list of up to 12 months depending upon the needs of the person.
While it is reassuring that those with identified permanent and lifelong disabilities will remain on the NDIS, I would like to raise the following concerns about the cohort identified for the Thriving Kids initiative:
- It remains unclear how the health and education sectors will absorb the need for allied health supports, increasing the already long waiting lists in regional NSW, reducing therapy intensity and undermining the principles of early intervention
- The onus on families to navigate disconnected systems is likely to increase the load on allied health practitioners to assist with care coordination and advocacy rather than therapy
- Mainstream services and educators do not have the resources or specialised knowledge and clinical skills to work with the population identified in the Thriving Kids initiative
- This initiative, in amidst so much change in the NDIS realm, appears to be a cost shift rather than a cost saving and the timelines seem unreasonable when so much is still undecided
- In regional areas the uncertain funding streams and potential job insecurity are likely to impact availability of therapy services.
The proposed design of Thriving Kids reduces guaranteed access to funded, individualised supports, while expecting allied health professionals to fill gaps in under-resourced mainstream systems. This creates workforce strain, ethical dilemmas and financial uncertainty for allied health professionals and creates confusion, fear and anxiety for families. The timelines and lack of clarity appear from our perspective as a political and short sighted marketing exercise about cost cutting rather than progressing a co-designed, efficient system with long term outcomes for the child in mind.
Yours faithfully
redacted
Christine Porter Senior Speech Pathologist/Director MSPA CPSP
cc Senator Andrew Gee, Independent Federal Member for Calare