NDIA Accountability Project

Submission 316 — Australian Child and Family Services Alliance — Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative

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ACaFSA

Submission to the House of Representatives

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Contents

1. Introduction

The Australian Child and Family Support Alliance (ACaFSA) is a national coalition of over 45 organisations, researchers, and peak bodies committed to improving outcomes for children and families. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative. This submission draws on our September 2025 Thriving Kids Insights Paper, which utilises our collective expertise and experience to outline a roadmap for delivering Foundational Supports—

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universal and targeted services that fill the gap for children with developmental concerns who are not eligible for the NDIS.

2. Response to Terms of Reference

2.1 Evidence-Based Resources for Parents

Parents need timely, clear, and culturally safe information to support their child’s development. Thriving Kids must:

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  • Align supports and early childhood intervention to the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (the Best Practice Framework)1 including a focus on delivery of supports in everyday settings (homes, schools, community) and a focus on parental/caregiver capacity building.
  • Fund community-based supports, including advice lines, peer mentoring, and coaching.
  • Embed resources in universal settings to help children and families find their way around the service system —for example maternal child health, early learning, and schools—where families already seek help.
  • Ensure cultural safety and accessibility, particularly for First Nations and CALD families.

Recommendation: Develop a national suite of parent-facing resources co-designed with families, embedded in mainstream services, and aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework 2 and Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children.3

2.2 Effectiveness of Current Programs

Current systems are fragmented and diagnosis-driven. Australian Early Development Census (AEDC)4 data shows increasing developmental vulnerability, especially in remote areas. Thriving Kids must:

Fund access to early developmental screening across a broader range of settings, and functional assessments with no gap fees and reduced wait times.

Shift from a medical model to a social model of disability which focuses on strengths and building family confidence and skills in alignment with the Best Practice Framework.

Embed supports in everyday environments, where children live, learn, play and thrive, such as homes, early learning settings, schools’ playgroups or other activities where children and families need support.

Recommendation: Establish a national funding model for early assessments and transdisciplinary teams led by Key Workers, available to all children regardless of diagnosis or visa status. Align with the Best Practice Framework.

2.3 Community and Mainstream Engagement

Thriving Kids must be embedded in communities and mainstream services. This includes:

  • Implementing place-based strategies tailored to local needs.

1 Please see: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/national-best-practice-framework-for-early-childhood-intervention 2 Please see https://www.dss.gov.au/system/files/resources/early-years-strategy-2024-2034.pdf 3 Please see https://www.snaicc.org.au/our-work/child-and-family-wellbeing/safe-supported/ 4 Please see https://www.aedc.gov.au/resources/detail/aedc-key-findings-2024

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  • Establishing Early Childhood Hubs in areas of high need. 5
  • Providing training and support for mainstream and volunteer-run services.
  • Creating a central contact and navigation point, such as a national call centre, to provide real-time information, advice and triage where staff are appropriately trained.

Recommendation: Fund a national navigation and triage service and invest in training for mainstream services to support inclusion and developmental diversity. Align with Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021– 2031.6

2.4 Equity and Intersectionality

Systemic inequities, especially for First Nations, CALD, and rural communities are well known. Thriving Kids must include measures and initiatives to address this including:

  • Implementing place-based strategies tailored to local needs.
  • Funding outreach and travel to ensure services reach families regardless of geography.
  • Supporting culturally safe service models co-designed with communities.

Recommendation: Fund community-led models of support, including First Nations-led Early Childhood Hubs, and embed equity-focused outcome measures in program evaluation. Align with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.7

2.5 Workforce Support and Training

A stable, skilled workforce is essential. Thriving Kids must:

  • Invest in professional development, supervision, and coaching aligned with the Best Practice Framework.
  • Support workforce attraction and retention, including pay parity, housing strategies, and career pathways.
  • Fund local workforce development, especially in regional and remote areas.

5 Early childhood hubs operate under a variety of different models but can be described as a service and social hub where children and families can go to access key services and connect with other families. ECHs usually take the form of a centre that provides a range of child and family services – including early learning programs, maternal and child health, family support programs and targeted services as required by families. Social Ventures Australia Approaches to Integration in the Early Years https://www.socialventures.org.au/about/publications/approaches-to-integration-in-the-early-years/

6 Please see https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/ads/strategy#toc-australia-s-disability-strategy-2021-2031 7 Please see https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement

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Recommendation: Establish a national workforce strategy for Foundational Supports, including minimum qualifications, registration standards, and funded professional development. Consider strategies to address rural, remote and very remote workforce challenges.8

2.6 Domestic and International Best Practice

Thriving Kids must align with national strategies and international evidence. This includes:

  • The National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (the Best Practice Framework) recently reviewed by Melbourne University
  • The Early Years Learning Framework and Early Years Strategy 9
  • Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 10
  • National Autism Strategy 2025-2031 11
  • NDIS Quality and Safeguards including the NDIS Practice Standards 12
  • The Independent Review of the NDIS 13
  • Child Safe Standards and the ECEC Review of Child Safety 14
  • National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 15
  • Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031
  • National Agreement on Closing the Gap
  • National Framework for assessing children’s functional strengths and support needs in Australia 16

Recommendation: Embed the Best Practice Framework into all Thriving Kids initiative funded services and ensure that the initiative is aligned with relevant strategies, with oversight from an independent body to ensure fidelity and quality.

8 Please see https://attractconnectstay.com.au/publications/ 9 Please see https://www.dss.gov.au/system/files/resources/early-years-strategy-2024-2034.pdf 10 Please see https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/ads/strategy#toc-australia-s-disability-strategy-2021-2031 11 Please see https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-autism-strategy-2025-2031 12 Please see https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/rules-and-standards/ndis-practice-standards 13 Please see https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/resources/reports/working-together-deliver-ndis/ 14 Please see https://oia.pmc.gov.au/published-impact-analyses-and-reports/child-safety-review 15 Please see https://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au/projects/childrens-strategy

16 Please see https://www.autismcrc.com.au/best-practice/strengths-and-supports

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2.7 Seamless Transitions Through Mainstream Systems

Children’s developmental journeys unfold in everyday spaces. Thriving Kids must:

  • Enable fluid movement between systems, without requiring a diagnosis to access support.
  • Fund collaboration across sectors, including health, disability, education, and community services.
  • Establish shared outcome measures, including child development, family wellbeing, and inclusion.

Support data sharing and a universal data base. This could build on current work to expand the role of Healthcare Provider Identifiers.17

Recommendation: Fund integrated service models and local consortia to co-design community-specific solutions and establish a national outcomes framework to track progress. Align with the National Framework for assessing children’s functional strengths and support needs

3. Monitoring and Evaluation

ACaFSA also recommends that Thriving Kids be underpinned by a nationally consistent outcomes framework that includes:

Child-level outcomes:

  • Developmental progress (e.g. AEDC indicators)
  • Participation in early learning and education
  • Safety and inclusion in community settings
  • Wellbeing and emotional regulation

Family-level outcomes:

  • Family functioning and wellbeing, including the wellbeing of siblings
  • Confidence and capability to support and advocate for their child
  • Reduced isolation and increased participation in work and community life

Community-level outcomes:

  • Increased inclusion of children with developmental concerns in mainstream programs

17 Please see: https://www.health.gov.au/topics/health-technologies-and-digital-health/about/healthcare-identifiers

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  • Improved capacity of community services to support developmental diversity

System-level outcomes:

  • Alignment with NDIS, early childhood education, and labour force participation
  • Workforce retention, satisfaction, and access to professional development
  • Reduction in administrative burden and service fragmentation

Tools and data sources:

  • Standardised tools for assessing developmental outcomes
  • Expanded items in the ABS Labour Force Survey to identify families accessing Foundational Supports.
  • Public reporting on frequency, intensity, and quality of supports.
  • Transparent tracking of process measures, including complaints and regulatory impacts.

4. Additional Recommendations

While not directly aligned to the Terms of Reference for the inquiry, ACaFSA recommends the following:

  • Appoint a Minister for Children to champion child-focused policy.
  • Establish an independent oversight body to ensure quality and accountability.
  • Fund Foundational Supports as a long-term, sustainable commitment.
  • Build the capacity and capability of Early Childhood Education Care settings through adequate resourcing, funding and professional development and collaboration with the early childhood intervention sector.
  • Embed structured review processes and public reporting.
  • Ensure authentic sector consultation in program design and implementation.

5. Conclusion

Thriving Kids is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a national system that sees the whole child, supports families, and empowers communities. ACaFSA urges the Committee to recommend a robust, inclusive, and sustainable approach to Foundational Supports—one that ensures no child is left behind.

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6. References

Australian Government Department of Education (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Australian Government Department of Social Services (2021). Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021–2031. https://www.dss.gov.au/system/files/resources/dess5016-national-framework-protecting-childrenaccessible.pdf

Australian Government Department of Education (2025). 2024 AEDC National Report. https://www.aedc.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/aedc_national-report-2024_da7-409a37b9d-95ce-43e7-af00-51aa604cf0b3.pdf

Australian Government Department of Social Services (2024). Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031: Building a More Inclusive Australia. https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2025-01/5831-dss3513-ads-strategy-2021.pdf

Australian Government. National Agreement on Closing the Gap. https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement

Australian Government Department of Health. National Autism Strategy 2025–2031. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-autism-strategy-2025-2031

Australian Government Department of Social Services (2024). The Early Years Strategy 2024–2034. https://www.dss.gov.au/system/files/resources/early-years-strategy-2024-2034.pdf

Autism CRC. National Framework for Assessing Children’s Functional Strengths and Support Needs. https://www.autismcrc.com.au/best-practice/strengths-and-supports

Cosgrave, C. (2025). Attract Connect Stay. https://attractconnectstay.com.au/publications/

Early Childhood Intervention Australia (2016). National Guidelines: Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention. https://www.eciavic.org.au/documents/item/1419

Moore T., Imms, C., Luscombe, D., SNAICC authors, Bonyhady, B, Dimmock, K., Deane, K, D’Aprano, A., & Kakoschke-Moore, S. (2025). National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention. The University of Melbourne. Commissioned by the Commonwealth of Australia’s Department of Social Services. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/national-best-practice-framework-for-early-childhood-intervention

Social Ventures Australia (2024). Integration in early years services: Learnings for impact. September 2024, in partnership with dandolopartners. https://www.socialventures.org.au/about/publications/approaches-to-integration-in-the-early-years/

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7. Submission details

Submitted by: Australian Child and Family Support Alliance (ACaFSA) Date: September 2025

Contact:

Morgan A. Fitzpatrick Koorana Chief Executive Officer redacted: s47F - Personal privacy

Stacey Touma Belongside Families Chief Executive Officer redacted: s47F - Personal privacy

Emily Caska Playgroups NSW Chief Executive Officer redacted: s47F - Personal privacy

8. About ACaFSA

The Australian Child and Family Support Alliance (ACaFSA) is a coalition of over 45 organisations, services, researchers, and peak bodies from every state and territory across Australia that span the diverse field of early childhood support.

ACaFSA has a long history of collaboration, bringing together complementary skills and shared values grounded in social impact. Our membership reflects the diversity of regions and organisations across the country, with specialist local and cross-regional knowledge, as well as deep expertise in early childhood across a range of sectors. Together, we represent a broad set of capabilities in supporting and advocating for vulnerable children, families, and communities.

We offer stakeholders the opportunity to engage with us early in this initiative—becoming active partners in shaping an innovative response that reaches families who may not be formally engaged in services. We bring the ability to consult directly with the sectors supporting children and their families, an understanding of how the existing system is utilised and mapped for families, and can offer solutions to implement difficult policies that integrate existing and new initiatives. By engaging with ACaFSA, stakeholders position themselves as contributing to local, national, and international evidence on what works.

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Based on our collective insights and experience, and backed by peer-reviewed research, we attest that evidence-informed investment in the early years will:

  • Improve developmental outcomes

  • Reduce long-term service dependency

  • Strengthen families and communities

  • Reduce the need for more costly interventions later in life

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