The NDIA are making changes to the way young children and families receive support through the NDIS early childhood approach.
Image Description: Young boy laying on his tummy playing with a toy xylophone.
This is a really positive step forward for families with young children.
While the NDIS early childhood approach is meeting the needs of many families across Australia, a number of reviews highlight inconsistent experiences of early intervention best practice, confusion about the intent of the early childhood approach, and missed opportunities for inclusive environments for all children and families.
An NDIS early childhood reset is already underway.
The reset began in 2020 with a consultative project to inform the recommendations for change. In total, the NDIS ‘Supporting young children and their families early, to reach their full potential’ paper proposed 23 recommendations.
Earlier this year, families and the early childhood sector had an opportunity to respond to the reset paper. Feedback solidified most recommendations, reshaped some, and discontinued others.
Some of the supported recommendations have already been put in place, which we have raised on Kinora.
Other recommendations are due to be implemented across the next 12-24 months.
These include:
• Strengthening the role of mainstream early childhood services
• Giving families more information and support when they are transitioning from the Scheme
• Improving provider compliance with the NDIS Practice Standards on early childhood supports
• Moving the age limit for the early childhood approach from children younger than seven to children younger than nine
• Boosting early childhood partner capacity to provide more short-term early intervention support for children under six with developmental concerns
• Understanding what disadvantaged and vulnerable families need, and creating culturally appropriate services and resources
More information on the progress of the NDIS early childhood approach reset can be found on the NDIS website.
Jump onto Kinora to share your thoughts on the NDIS early childhood reset recommendations, and what these will mean for you and your child.
