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Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative
Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
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Date: Friday, October 3rd, 2025
Submission by: Holstep Health
Website: www.holstephealth.org.au
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Holstep Health is one of Victoria’s largest not-for-profit community health organisations, delivering over 120 integrated health and social services across metropolitan Melbourne. Formed in 2024 through the merger of two long-standing providers (Merri Health and Banyule Community Health) with over 100 years of combined history, Holstep Health has the scale, experience, and community trust to inform and implement system reforms that ensure all Victorian children can thrive. Holstep Health is also the lead consortia provider of the Carer Gateway for the state of Victoria, working in partnership with six other health and community organisations. This places Holstep Health in a unique position to have a comprehensive understanding of the many challenges and opportunities faced by families - our country’s unpaid carers.
Our submission to the Thriving Kids Inquiry draws on deep experience and evidence-informed practice in child, family and community wellbeing. We bring both frontline insights and strategic capacity to partner in shaping evidence-informed, equitable and sustainable approaches to children’s health and development. Our commitment to this is articulated in our strategic directions titled Thrive: Strategic Directions 2025-2028. Quite simply, our breadth provides us not only with informed expertise in children and family services, we also see the longitudinal effects of policy decisions on people’s ability to thrive. This submission is completed together with Holstep Health’s community advisory committees.
Holstep Health supports the intent to build a system of foundational supports in mainstream and community settings (rather than individualised NDIS packages), to support children aged O to 8 years who have mild to moderate developmental delay or autism, but who may not qualify for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Early supports reduce the need for later, intensive demand for disability and/or developmental supports, however evidence to date, shows that the outcomes for children are variable (Whitehouse et al., 2020)¹. Our front-line experience absolutely aligns with the evidence synthesis.
¹Whitehouse, A., Varcin, K., Waddington, H., Sulek, R., Bent, C., Ashburner, J., Eapen, V., Goodall, E., Hudry, K., Roberts, J., Silove, N., & Trembath, D. (2020). Interventions for children on the autism spectrum: A synthesis of research evidence. Autism CRC.
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Holstep Health understands the wicked problem facing the Australian Government. A long-standing community expectation has been established for children and families regarding access to, and availability of, disability supports through the NDIS. Individualised supports have supported and empowered children and families for a long time - addressing the risks of a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Unintentionally, this has morphed the NDIS into the current context and has set a community expectation. Caution must therefore be shown in any decision by government from this point onwards to avoid catastrophic impact and ensure a balanced and well communicated decision, that addresses both fiscal and community need. Holstep Health therefore recommends:
(1) An evidence-informed and transparent threshold for “permanent and significant” to qualify for NDIS and therefore Thriving Kids supports,
(2) Mechanisms for seamless transitions through mainstream systems are truly co-designed to avoid a ‘one size fits all approach,
(3) Attention to avoid, if not reduce, system fragmentation such as state-based silos,
(4) Investment in both parent and workforce capability, and lastly
(5) That Government partners with large community health organisations such as Holstep Health, to design the success of Thriving Kids, and learn from the largest community embedded, multi-disciplinary child and family model that exists today.
2. About Holstep Health
Holstep Health creates healthy, connected communities through local health services for people at every age and stage of life. We support people throughout life, with a range of Holstep Health provides lifelong, community-based care that empowers individuals, addresses inequity, and supports every person to thrive.
As one of Victoria’s largest not-for-profit community health organisations, we support individuals, families, and communities with holistic compassionate care specialist treatment, and prevention services to support physical, mental, social, financial, and legal wellbeing.
With over 121 services, including statewide programs like Carer Gateway, Social Security Rights Victoria, and Gambler’s Help, we provide holistic care across all stages of life.
Serving Melbourne’s North-West, North-East, and beyond, our dedicated team of nearly 700 skilled professionals works across 11 sites, 30 outreach locations, and via telehealth, alongside over 100 committed volunteers.
Formed in 2024 through the merger of Banyule Community Health and Merri Health, Holstep Health brings together more than 100 years of combined experience. While our name has changed, our core mission remains steadfast: to provide lifelong, community-based care that helps people thrive - regardless of background or circumstance.
We are building on our legacy with greater scale, broader expertise, and stronger community connections, creating meaningful and measurable impact.
Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and community responsiveness is reflected in our Reconciliation Action Plans, Rainbow Tick Accreditation, and environmental initiatives.
Our values
Our values guide everything we do — from the way we care to the way we connect:
- Compassion - We are guided by kindness, responsiveness, and equity.
- Empowerment - We are grounded in dignity, respect, and meaningful engagement.
- Excellence - We are driven by quality, innovation, and impact.
Our principles of working
Our principles put our values into action and shape our decisions, collaboration, and outcomes.
- Community centred
- Person led
- Culturally safe
- Quality focused
- Health equity focused
- Environmentally focused.
3. Advisory Committee Consultations
Evidence-based information and resources for parents
Parents are often the first to notice developmental differences in their child, yet many lack clear, accessible, and trusted resources to help them interpret their observations. Feedback highlighted:
- Difficultly sourcing accessible resources and information with experiences of ‘dismissing’ parents with a justification of “duplication of supports” despite families never receiving support elsewhere.
- Importance of early engagement through early screening providers, GPs, playgroups, and early learning centres as trusted community contact points - a current lack of collaboration and education between GPs and maternal child nurses was noted.
- Importance of health practitioners and therapists having a deep understanding of the vast ranges of neurodivergences that can present differently within different children.
Lived experience perspective: One parent, Catherine, shared that early support was only effective when it helped the family understand and advocate for their child’s needs, not when it attempted to “fix” their child. Standardised resources and prescriptive parenting advice usually given were described as unhelpful and even harmful to development and growth. Families require neuro-affirming, flexible and tailored supports that respect children’s neurodivergence and aid the family’s understanding in navigating and advocating for their child’s needs and supports.
Effectiveness of current (and previous) programs and initiatives
While a number of effective programs exist, feedback identified significant fragmentation:
- State-based silos create inconsistencies in access and quality of services.
- Successful models include integrated allied health support in early childhood education settings, but these are not widely available resulting in long waitlists due to lack of resources.
- Many families have difficulty accessing services if living regionally/rurally resulting in service access being determined by geography rather than need.
- Programs are often overly reliant on NDIS registered practitioners, with members noting this can often be more expensive yet not receiving any benefit to these additional costs.
Lived experience perspective: Parents raised strong concerns that Thriving Kids risks taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach. For example, one parent of two Autistic children noted that traditional therapeutic approaches worsened their child’s condition (Pathological Demand Avoidance profile), and mainstream services such as schools and kindergartens proved unsuitable.
They emphasised “you cannot ‘early intervention’ Autism away… The changes needed cannot be made by the children or imposed on them through therapy. The education system needs to change and recognise that neurodivergent children require different approaches and environments in order to be able to learn effectively and safely.” Programs should focus on changing environments and systems to be inclusive, rather than expecting children to adapt to the unsuitable mainstream settings.
Equity and intersectional issues, in particular, First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse children
- Access challenges for regional/rural participants resulting in families feeling service access are determined by geography rather than need - one parent noted they’ve been forced to now live semi-rurally as a result, leading to family breakdown.
- Difficulty navigating fragmented service systems without self-advocation, with systems “favouring the middle-class” as stated by one parent.
- First Nations children require culturally safe and community-led approaches that build trust and recognise strengths within families and communities.
- CALD families often face language barriers, stigma, and difficulty navigating complex systems and a “one-size-fits-all” model risks entrenching inequity. Services must be responsive to cultural contexts and supported by community connectors who act as trusted intermediaries.
Lived experience perspective: “CALD and First Nations families should have access to culturally safe supports, led by members of their community. Taking away choice and control for families with disabilities is a step backwards and would result in families like ours being left with no support, as inappropriate support is worse than none.”
Gaps in workforce support and training required to deliver Thriving Kids.
- A need for further training mainstream practitioners (educators, nurses, primary health professionals) to better recognise and respond to early signs of developmental delay
Lived experience perspective: One parent noted her daughter was undiagnosed until age 9 and prior to then was regularly dismissed resulting in trauma, family breakdown and family violence.
Domestic and international policy experience and best practice.
- There is wide-held consensus that way forward must be supported by contemporary evidence. Where this is not available, investment into research must be a commitment as a component of the initiative.
Mechanisms for seamless transitions through mainstream systems
- Seamless navigation: easy programme access for participants, ensuring continuity of support across critical transition points.
- Integration: strengthen collaboration and education between primary care providers, schools, and community services.
- Programs should not only be ‘co-designed’ but wherever possible participant/family led.
- Concerns were raised about ensuring consistency in quality across services, avoiding silos, and balancing funding across programs.
Lived experience perspective: Profound consequences of one child’s Autistic burnout resulting from “trying to fit into a mainstream environment that was unable to support her needs” was noted. Parents cannot emphasise enough the deleterious impacts of forcing children into unsuitable settings, and that systemic change in schools and early learning is essential to achieve genuine inclusion.
For any enquiries relating to this submission please contact:
Tassia Michaleas
CEO, Holstep Health
or
Heleni Bagiartakis
Executive Director Client Services, Holstep Health
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e \ Holstep Health wy Community care. For life.
www-.holstephealth.org.au