PWDA Endorses CYDA Response to Parliamentary Inquiry into Thriving Kids Initiative
2 October 2025
PWDA was pleased to endorse Children and Young People with Disability’s (CYDA) Response to the Parliamentary Inquiry
CYDA’s response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative by the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability has two parts:
- A set of recommendations that are based on the lived experiences of our disability community, endorsed by 15 disability and peak organisations.
- An Appendix containing a factsheet presenting key findings of a survey about Thriving Kids that received 1535 response from our disability community, which provides the evidence base for our recommendations.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1: Ensure no child falls through the cracks by aligning the support ecosystem
1.1 Pause NDIS eligibility reassessments and guarantee that children will not be removed from the Scheme until alternative supports under Thriving Kids are fully in place
1.2 Provide a clear path of supports for children and young people with disability over nine years old
The disability community is concerned that the misalignment of current reforms is putting children’s rights to safety, inclusion and continuity of support at risk. Children are being reassessed before alternative supports are available, and there is serious danger that children over nine will fall through the cracks between the NDIS and Thriving Kids.
Recommendation 2: Provide adequate time for genuine co-design and evidence-based evaluation
2.1 Plan a longer roll-out timetable for Thriving Kids to allow for genuine consultation and co-design
2.2 Design a trial period to test and evaluate the Thriving Kids initiative
The disability community is worried that this Inquiry will be the only opportunity for consultation about Thriving Kids. They are concerned that Thriving Kids will be implemented as the only supports system, and that other supports will be dismantled, before there has been an opportunity for evidence-based evaluation of the Thriving Kids initiative.
Recommendation 3: Build on and strengthen existing supports rather than starting from scratch
3.1 Continue funding and delivering supports that children and young people rely on
3.2 Direct resources to programs and services that have already demonstrated impact, using a grassroots connection model to support those most in need
3.3 Provide parents and caregivers with tailored information and support to help them better navigate and access services
Supports should be resourced through a proposed grassroots connection funding model already endorsed by Disability Representative Organisations that channels funding to existing programs and supports that are already working (see CYDA’s 2024 Foundational Supports Submission, Appendix 1). Additionally, parents require information and supports themselves to reduce the overwhelming responsibility and accountability they bear for coordinating supports.
Recommendation 4: Listen to existing community expertise to provide our disability community with what is proven to be effective
4.1 Ensure supports are tailored to individual needs, neuroaffirming rather than behaviouralist intervention-based, and provide choice, control and guaranteed support
4.2 Provide supports such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychology and physical therapy
4.3 Tailor supports to the specific needs of First Nations, LGBTIQA+, multicultural, and regional/remote-based children with disability, who face intersectional discrimination and overlapping forms of marginalisation
Recommendation 5: Ensure independent oversight of the delivery of new supports
5.1 Establish an independent oversight body to ensure that there is consistency of quality and equity of access to supports across multiple sectors and providers
Receiving supports across multiple sectors and providers, including schools, community and healthcare settings, might lead to variations in quality and equity of access. To ensure consistency, it is important to establish quality assurance and accountability mechanisms.
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