Ability First Australia Submission to the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative
Executive Summary
The Thriving Kids Initiative represents a critical opportunity to reshape how Australia supports children experiencing developmental challenges, particularly in the early years.
As a national strategic alliance of leading disability service providers, Ability First Australia (Ability First) and its members are uniquely positioned to contribute to the design, implementation, and evaluation of this initiative.
This submission outlines:
- How Ability First members’ existing capabilities align with the Initiative’s goals;
- The value of including Ability First in co-design and delivery;
- Recommendations for embedding Ability First’s expertise in the next phase of the Initiative.
Ability First members have long held experience and expertise delivering integrated support pathways that enable children with mild to moderate developmental needs to thrive within mainstream and community settings, without requiring intensive specialist intervention.
This is true across the full developmental spectrum: from identifying concerns in the first years of life through programs like Ability WA’s In Home Baby Intervention Service - which diverts 40% of children from NDIS pathways - and Rocky Bay’s Early Start Intervention Program for children with rare diseases; to accessible entry points such as St Giles’ drop-in clinics within Child and Family Learning Centres, Berry Street Yooralla’s Kindergarten Inclusion Support Program and Aruma’s MyTime playgroups in regional NSW; to coordinated multidisciplinary support that follows children’s evolving needs, exemplified by Aruma’s Lismore Transition Program (achieving 80% positive goal outcomes for children from families with complex needs) and Ability WA’s Kindy Readiness Groups.
Ability First members use rigorous outcome measurement approaches to inform programs - from Ability WA’s Goal Attainment Scaling showing children exceeding therapeutic goals, to Northcott’s Supported Playgroups recording improvements across wellbeing measures every six months for 500 families. This provides the evidence base to inform and accelerate Thriving Kids implementation.
With services reaching over 300 locations nationally, our members’ combination of proven infrastructure, diverse service delivery models, established cross-sector partnerships and outcomes measurement, positions us as essential partners in translating the Thriving Kids vision into measurable results for Australian families.
Strategic alignment with Thriving Kids
The Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative highlights the need for:
- Early identification and intervention for developmental concerns
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- Integrated, cross-sectoral service models
- Stronger support for families and communities, and
- Inclusive, culturally safe, and place-based approaches.
Ability First Australia and its members already deliver services that directly address these priorities. For example:
- Early intervention: Ability First members such as Northcott, Scope, Ability WA, Rocky Bay, St Giles provide evidence-based early childhood intervention (ECI) services across metropolitan, regional, and remote areas.
- Family-centred practice: Ability First members embed family engagement and capacity-building into their service models.
- Cross-sector collaboration: Ability First members work closely with education, health, and child protection systems to ensure continuity of care and holistic support.
Ability First members demonstrate how an integrated, cross-sectoral approach is essential to Thriving Kids through leveraging established partnerships across health, education, and community systems.
For example, St Giles operates under a Children’s Therapy Agreement with the Tasmanian Department of Health, delivering over 17,600 hours of allied health services annually to 2,935 children ineligible for NDIS support.
Northcott’s Supported Playgroups offer culturally safe, trauma-informed early intervention through tailored play-based activities and effective wraparound supports to families from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Rocky Bay’s school-based screening programs operate across pre-primary to year 6 in Perth metropolitan schools, providing early identification of developmental delays within existing education touch points.
Ability WA’s partnerships with the WA ECI Collaborative, Playgroup WA, Telethon, and Child Development Services demonstrate capacity to work across system boundaries, ensuring children receive coordinated support regardless of entry point.
Aruma operates in formal partnership with YWCA Australia and Communities for Children funding while maintaining strong relationships with Aboriginal community organizations including Jarjum Centre in Lismore and Burrun Dalai Aboriginal Children’s Services in Tamworth, exemplifying culturally responsive cross-sector collaboration.
Novita’s relationships with South Australia’s Office for Early Childhood, Office for Autism, and Ministers for Education and Health position the organisation for rapid implementation of integrated service models, while their delivery of the state-funded Children and Students with
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Disability block grant program demonstrates proven capacity in government-funded early intervention outside NDIS structures.
These partnerships, early intervention and family centered approaches allow for practical service integration and delivery at scale.
Case study: Early identification through accessible entry points
St Giles Child, Family and Learning Centre Drop-In Clinics
St Giles operates allied health drop-in clinics integrated within Tasmania’s Child, Family and Learning Centres, providing families immediate access to speech pathology, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy without requiring NDIS eligibility or formal referrals.
This low-barrier model enables early identification of developmental concerns in community settings families already attend, with clinicians providing interim strategies and linking families to appropriate follow-up supports.
This directly addresses the Thriving Kids goal of identifying children earlier through trusted mainstream touchpoints, preventing delays that occur when families must navigate complex referral pathways.
Case study: Family-centered inclusion through building Educator capacity
Berry Street Yooralla Kindergarten Inclusion Support Program
Berry Street Yooralla’s Kindergarten Inclusion Support Program demonstrates large-scale, family-centered inclusion support embedded within mainstream early childhood education settings.
Delivered on behalf of the Victorian Department of Education, the program works with 295 kindergarten services to support over 600 children with disability, developmental delay, and complex medical needs to participate fully in their local kindergarten programs.
Rather than removing children from mainstream settings or providing parallel therapy services, the program builds the capacity of early childhood educators to plan and implement responsive programs that address individual children’s abilities and needs.
Support includes professional development training for educators and provision of Additional Assistant support - ensuring kindergartens have both the knowledge and practical resources to create genuinely inclusive environments.
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Case study: Addressing First Nations equity
Carpentaria Remote Service Delivery
Carpentaria provides allied health services to First Nations children under eight years in very remote Northern Territory communities, supporting children who will likely meet Thriving Kids eligibility criteria.
Operating in contexts where mainstream services are typically absent, Carpentaria has developed expertise in culturally responsive, place-based service delivery that addresses the significant equity gaps for First Nations children in remote regions.
This capability is critical to ensuring the Thriving Kids Initiative reaches children in locations where developmental concerns often go unidentified until school entry.
Case study: Education sector partnerships
Northcott Preschool Disability Support Program (PDSP)
Northcott’s Preschool Disability Support Program, previously funded by the NSW Department of Education, demonstrates effective cross-sector collaboration between disability services and early childhood education. The program supported children with disabilities attending NSW community preschools through a capacity-building model that equipped early childhood educators with practical inclusion strategies rather than creating parallel support systems.
Operating at scale, PDSP staff provided mentoring to educators in over 40 community preschools annually, directly linking disability support practices to the National Quality Framework Early Years Learning Framework. The program responded to over 400 monthly phone enquiries from preschools, developed an efficient online portal for funding applications, and created accessible resources for educators. Workshop evaluations showed 89% of attendees reported the program built their professional capacity and provided useful, practical information for inclusive practice.
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Capability and contribution of Ability First Members
Ability First members bring deep expertise in supporting children with disability and developmental delay, including:
- Workforce and service reach
- Over 5,000 allied health professionals, educators, and support workers across all states and territories.
- Service delivery in over 300 locations, including rural and remote communities.
- Innovation and evidence-based practice
- Scope has pioneered communication access programs and inclusive education supports.
- Northcott delivers integrated therapy, education, and family support services under the NDIS and state-funded programs.
- CPL has developed transition-to-school programs that improve readiness and inclusion for children with complex needs.
- Data and outcomes
- Many Ability First members use outcome measurement tools such as the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) to track child and family progress.
- Aggregated data from Ability First members can inform the Initiative’s evaluation framework and continuous improvement.
Ability First members combine established evidence-based programs with innovative service models to address gaps in the early childhood system.
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Case study: Regional allied health service delivery at scale
Novita South Australia: Statewide integrated therapy services
Novita demonstrates the workforce capacity and geographic reach essential for delivering Thriving Kids supports across metropolitan and regional settings. With 260 FTE allied health professionals operating from 9 metropolitan and 5 regional locations, Novita delivers therapy services to 1,300 children under age 9 across South Australia. Critically, 33% of services are delivered within more than 500 education settings and 33% in family homes, embedding supports where children and families already engage rather than requiring navigation to clinical sites.
Novita’s mobile, multidisciplinary workforce operates using lead practitioner and key worker models, with expertise across 8 allied health disciplines addressing both physical and neurodevelopmental disabilities. This transdisciplinary approach, combined with trauma-informed and culturally aware practice frameworks, enables responsive service delivery tailored to diverse community needs.
Case study: Evidence based practice for early intervention
Rocky Bay Early Start Intervention Program
Rocky Bay’s Early Start Intervention Program addresses a critical gap in early identification and intervention for children under five displaying developmental delays and risk factors associated with rare diseases. Operating for four years, this 12-month intensive program integrates occupational therapy, speech pathology, physiotherapy, dietetics, and pediatric support to target developmental milestones during early childhood.
The program exemplifies evidence-based innovation through its rigorous approach to outcome measurement, utilizing Goal Attainment Scaling alongside developmental checklists and standardized assessments to track progress. Supervised by a PhD candidate in collaboration with allied health professionals, the program maintains research standards while delivering practical therapeutic interventions.
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Case study: Parent capacity building
Ability WA Early mealtime service
The Early Mealtime Service supports 150 children annually experiencing significant feeding challenges, using evidence-based assessment protocols and goal attainment scaling to measure outcomes. Post-treatment data demonstrates statistically significant improvements in child goal attainment, with children not only meeting but exceeding therapeutic goals.
Critically, the feeding impact scale shows notable reductions in family and parent stress levels, indicating enhanced caregiver capacity and confidence.
This program exemplifies the Thriving Kids principle of equipping parents to support their children’s development, with quantifiable evidence of reduced family stress and improved wellbeing alongside child outcomes.
Case Study: Workforce models for mainstream settings
St Giles Community health service model
St Giles’ Community Health Service delivers short-term, solution-focused allied health interventions across speech pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, and psychology with an average of 4.47 hours per client.
Using 9 staff, the service responded to 2,935 children over 12 months, demonstrating an efficient, responsive workforce model focused on early intervention and prevention.
The program’s emphasis on upskilling families and linking them with community supports, combined with minimal barriers to entry and no cost to families, provides evidence of how appropriately resourced allied health teams can prevent escalation to intensive support needs while maintaining quality outcomes.
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Case study: Measured outcomes for complex families
Aruma Lismore Transition Program
Aruma’s Lismore Transition Program demonstrates measurable impact for children aged 4-5 years from families with complex needs, preparing children with developmental delays or behavioral challenges for successful school entry. Delivered in partnership with YWCA Australia and local Aboriginal community organisations including Jarjum Centre, the program integrates early childhood education with allied health support through a multidisciplinary team including Aboriginal teaching assistants.
Program evaluation using the Department of Social Services Data Exchange (DEX) framework for the 2024 cohort reveals strong outcome achievement across multiple domains. Of 16 participants assessed for goal attainment, 80% achieved overall positive outcomes with 20% neutral outcomes and zero negative outcomes, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness in building school readiness skills. Participant satisfaction data shows 100% positive ratings with no neutral or negative responses, indicating high family engagement and perceived value.
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Recommendations
Recommendations for Ability First member involvement
To leverage the experience and expertise of members, Ability First makes the following recommendations:
- Co-design participation: Include Ability First representatives in advisory groups and design workshops to ensure disability-inclusive perspectives.
- Pilot site partnerships: Engage Ability First members as delivery partners in pilot sites, particularly in underserved regions.
- Workforce development: Leverage Ability First members training infrastructure to support upskilling of the early childhood workforce.
- Data and evaluation: Partner with Ability First members to contribute de-identified service data and co-develop outcome measures.
- Policy advocacy: Recognise Ability First and members as a key stakeholder in shaping national policy on early childhood development and inclusion.
Conclusion
Ability First Australia and its members are ready to support Thriving Kids through service delivery, innovation, and strategic insight. We urge the Inquiry to formally include Ability First in the next phase of the Initiative’s design and implementation.
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