03/02/2026
What today’s Thriving Kids announcement means for families
Today the government shared more about the new Thriving Kids approach for young children needing early support.
The big message is this:
👉 Families won’t need to chase a diagnosis to get help.
👉 Support won’t be about “what’s wrong” with your child.
👉 The focus is on helping families understand their child and build confidence and skills to support them.
This approach is designed to reduce stress for parents by offering support earlier, in everyday places like early learning settings, GPs, and the community, not just through specialist pathways.
For families who already have children on the NDIS, current reassessment criteria remain in place. Nothing is changing right now, and you do not need to do anything differently.
Once Thriving Kids is rolled out children with permanent and significant disability – including those with developmental delay and/or autism with high support needs – will continue to be eligible for the NDIS.
Every child grows and learns in their own way, and families know their children best. This shift is about supporting children within their families, not putting more pressure on parents.
We’ll keep sharing updates as more details become clear.
https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/advice-on-national-model-for-thriving-kids?language=en #:~:text=3%20February%202026-,The%20Australian%20Government%20has%20reached%20a%20significant%20milestone%20towards%20delivering,delay%20as%20early%20as%20possible
