Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
Submitted by: Teach Speak Hear (TSH)
Date: 1/10/2025
Address: 36 Dodd St, Wembley, WA 6014
Summary
This submission, written on behalf of Teach Speak Hear (TSH) addresses the key issues for consideration in the planning and implementation of a successful national Thriving Kids initiative. Drawing on professional experience of over 25 years in the field of supporting children and families with mild to moderate developmental delay, it highlights key considerations and proposes practical recommendations to ensure that Thriving kids is accessible, culturally appropriate, and responsive to diverse family needs.
Introduction
TSH is a unique Allied Health and Early Education hub based in Western Australia (WA), dedicated to supporting children and families through a comprehensive range of services. We provide speech pathology, audiology, occupational therapy, psychology and specialised education to over 450 children and their families currently accessing support through the NDIS. We have worked closely with children who present with mild to moderate developmental delays for over 25 years and with children with hearing loss for almost 60 years. We are driven by a commitment to delivering the highest quality care and achieving the best possible outcomes for children, families and communities. We believe Thriving Kids represents a timely and powerful opportunity to extend this impact even further.
Terms of Reference
1. Evidence-based information and resources for families.
Family-centred practice is widely recognised as best practice in supporting children’s development and wellbeing (Moore et al.2025). Strategies based on family coaching and carer empowerment should be a foundational approach within the Thriving Kids initiative. Listed below are examples of existing, evidence-based information and
resources for the identification and support of mild to moderate developmental delay for families.
- The Ages and Stages Questionnaires, used by Community Health Services in WA (Squires, J., & Bricker, D., 2009)
- Daily care records or eco-mapping to help families identify where they need supports for their child and what they are already doing well.
- Hanen and Circle of Security are examples of two established courses that teach parents to best support their child with developmental delays by focussing on attachment, connection and communication.
- Checklists or trackers such as those published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in America (Learn the Signs. Act Early. | Learn the Signs. Act Early. | CDC)
- Information, articles and videos published on the Raising Children Network Site.
- Individual Family Service Plans, with reference to the family’s strengths, goals and strategies to be co-created by the professional and family.
2. Current programs and initiatives
In WA, families seeking identification and support for concerns about their child’s development generally have three main avenues available to them.
- State-based services such as Child and Parent Centres, Child Development Services/WACHS, Maternal Child Health Nurse services. These are universally accessed services, but with long wait times and limited ongoing support offerings.
- Privately funded assessment and intervention. A partial Medicare rebate is available for five allied health sessions a year, but the large financial outlay for these services is a huge barrier for a lot of families.
- NDIS funding.
These pathways often operate in isolation from one another and can be challenging to navigate, especially for families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, or those with limited capacity.
We propose a wrap-around support for these children and families including both general and targeted supports, delivered through a hub style model. A hub style model, as described by Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership & Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (2024), “provide(s) a familiar base for families to connect and access age-appropriate support across a range of developmental stages and service providers as their children grow”.
TSH currently operates within a tiered service model, providing one-on-one clinic-based assessments and support for children and families with higher needs. This includes
outreach to MMM1 – MMM7 areas across WA via telehealth, partnerships with local communities, and remote visits. We also offer weekly therapeutic groups for children and families with mild to moderate support needs. Every therapeutic group is run in a purpose-built room, supported by a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, early childhood educator, allied health assistant, audiologist, psychologist and family liaison officer. This wrap-around model fosters authentic cross-disciplinary support, where professionals collaborate to integrate individualised therapy goals, coordinate service delivery and ensure a holistic, child-centred approach. It enhances the effectiveness of interventions while prioritising the safety, accessibility and wellbeing of our families.
Integral to our program delivery, is parent education providing families with the space, time and support to understand and practise strategies in a nurturing environment. The group-based approach fosters meaningful caregiver connections, empowerment and a sense of belonging, offering friendship and solidarity during what can often be an isolating journey.
3. Equity and intersectional issues
Our most vulnerable families, such as the Deaf community, First Nations families, CALD families and those living with disability should be explicitly planned for within the Thriving Kids initiative to ensure their access to high quality, culturally safe, and appropriate assessment and support.
Cultural safety is a human right. At TSH, we have built a connection with local communities and leaders within our Outreach program, offering allied health and ear health services to children across WA, including Aboriginal communities in the Pilbara region. We take a targeted approach to piloting programs, prioritising service delivery in communities and regions across Perth and WA where the need is greatest.
To promote equitable access to services, we propose implementing universal developmental screening at key milestones, such as 18 months and 3 years of age. These routine checks would serve as an early identification mechanism, enabling timely and tailored support based on each child’s unique needs. Service differentiation within this process ensures that interventions are individualised and responsive, aligning with the National Framework for Assessing Children’s Functional Strengths and Support Needs in Australia. As Fitzpatrick et al. (2004) emphasise, assessment should … “[consider] each child’s strengths, support needs, and support options in a holistic sense across life situations, knowing that no two children and families are the same and that it is not about prioritising the needs of one child and family over another”. Following screening, clear referral pathways to allied health professionals, educator capacity building or integrated service hubs would be established. To ensure inclusivity, access
to high quality professional interpreters and translators must be embedded within the system for families who require language support.
Upskilling staff in culturally safe and respectful practices is essential to the successful rollout of the Thriving Kids initiative. At TSH we are committed to ongoing cultural safety training, including programs such as ‘Diverse WA’. We also seek guidance and training from respected local voices, such as Aboriginal Insights training by Jolleen Hicks who is a highly regarded cultural awareness trainer in the Pilbara – to ensure our work is grounded in the cultural context of the communities we serve.
To strengthen equity and accountability, we recommend that reporting within the Thriving Kids initiative includes the collection, analysis and publication of data on service access, child outcomes, family and community level outcomes and gaps. This will help ensure that the initiative can identify and address the way that intersectionality may cause vulnerable children to ‘fall through the cracks’.
4. Gaps in workforce support and training required
Interdisciplinary training and support is crucial in delivering and maintaining effective, quality, best-practice intervention (World Health Organization, [WHO], 2010). An interdisciplinary approach to service delivery includes allied health staff working together, but also extending to cross-sector collaboration, for example with general practitioners, maternal child health nurses and early childhood educators.
Professionals should be skilled to coach and empower families and care providers. As the WHO (2020) states “it is primarily the family who provides the nurturing care that children need to develop in the earliest years, but many parents and other caregivers need support to put this into practice” (p.2).
The workforce delivering the Thriving Kids initiative needs to have child safety at the forefront of everything they do, with all organisations involved aware of and abiding by the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations as authored by the Australian Human Rights Commission (2019).
Finally, ongoing financial commitment from both the state and federal governments is essential to the long-term success of the Thriving Kids initiative. This investment is critical not only for attracting and retaining the skilled workforce required to deliver high-quality services, but also for supporting the fully scope of the role, including administrative duties, non-face to face engagement, and travel to regional and remote areas. As an organisation, TSH is increasingly reliant on corporate sponsorship, grants and philanthropic funding to meet the growing demand for services among children and families who would otherwise be unable to access the support they need.
5. Domestic and international policy experience and best practice
There are key documents, frameworks and policies to draw from in creation of the Thriving Kids Initiative. Reiterating the importance of family centred practice and cultural safety, the National Best Practice Framework (2025) sets out four universal principles for early childhood intervention. These are rights-based, relationship-based, strengths-based and ecologically-based.
The Framework for Assessing Children’s Functional Strengths and Support Needs in Australia (Fitzpatrick et al., 2024) strongly advocates for genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families, and communities. It emphasises walking alongside families to facilitate culturally informed and responsive approaches to assessment and support. It involves listening, observing and engaging in ways that are developmentally appropriate and respectful. This Framework builds on foundational principles to guide a cyclical process of assessing functional strengths and support needs, differentiating levels of support and informing meaningful reporting (Fitzpatrick et al., 2024).
Finally, the Family-Centered Early Intervention Deaf/Hard of Hearing (Moeller et al., 2024) lists 10 principles for working with children and families with hearing loss. This document expands on the policies and best practice lists above but also integrates the importance of early intervention following identification or hearing loss.
6. Mechanisms for a seamless transition through mainstream systems
As previously stated, we propose universal developmental screening. This system will enable a triage of children’s support needs, directing them to the most appropriate pathway, whether that be high support needs (e.g., NDIS), no additional support needs (e.g., mainstream services such as community playgroups) or low to moderate support needs (e.g., Thriving Kids).
We envision a network of interdisciplinary service hubs, that provide every Thriving Kids participant with access to parent coaching, family connection opportunities and online resources delivered in locations that are safe, convenient and familiar to families. These hubs could be co-located within existing community spaces such as schools, early childhood education and care services, public libraries or child and parent centres, making services more accessible and integrated into everyday environments. The hub model fosters cross-sector collaboration, enabling a coordinated and holistic approach to early years support. It also supports seamless transition to mainstream systems when families no longer require Thriving Kids services. This includes ongoing access to
parent resources, clear information and designated points of contact to guide families throughout their journey.
To support the effective delivery of the Thriving Kids initiative, we propose the implementation of a block funding model. This would enable organisations like TSH to continue providing tailored support to the communities we know intimately and are already embedded within. Our longstanding relationships and trusted presence among families and communities position us as experts in delivering high quality, culturally responsive care. A block funding or tender-based approach, with robust reporting requirements and accountability measures, would ensure sustainability and allow us to focus on what we do best – supporting children with mild to moderate needs and their families. Without this financial commitment, we are increasingly reliant on non-guaranteed and uncertain funding to meet growing demand and to ensure equitable access to essential services.
Conclusion
The Thriving Kids initiative has the potential to transform outcomes for children with developmental concerns and their families. By investing in early identification, integrated supports, and a child and family-centred approach, we can ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive.
At TSH, we strongly welcome the opportunity to contribute further to this inquiry and would be pleased to participate in any public hearings or consultation process. Given our deep expertise and longstanding commitment to supporting children and families, we would value the chance to be actively involved in shaping the direction of Thriving Kids through direct engagement in the consultation team.
References
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Learn the signs. Act early. Retrieved September 15, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/about/index.html
Child and Adolescent Health Service. (n.d.). Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ): Clinical nursing manual. Perth Children’s Hospital.
https://www.pch.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/HSPs/CAHS/Documents/Community-Health/CHM/Ages-and-Stages-Questionnaires-ASQ.pdf?thn=0
Department of Social Services. (2024). National framework for assessing children’s functional strengths and support needs in Australia. Australian Government.
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