Joint Letter to Minister Camm re: Clarity on Queensland’s pathway forward for Foundational Support
1 October 2026
People with Disability Australia (PWDA), Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network (QIDAN) and Children and Young People with Disability Australia wrote to The Hon Amanda Camm MP Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.
Joint Letter to Minister Camm re: Clarity on Queensland’s pathway forward for Foundational Support
Dear Minister Camm,
Re: Clarity on Queensland’s pathway forward for Foundational Support
We write on behalf of the Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network (QIDAN), People with Disability Australia (PWDA) and Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) regarding Queensland’s approach to Thriving Kids and the broader development of Foundational Supports.
We recognise you are currently on leave and wish you well. With Thriving Kids beginning to roll out nationally, however, we believe it is important to write now. We request a meeting with you at your earliest convenience following your return.
Queensland remains the only state or territory without a bilateral agreement for Thriving Kids. As implementation begins elsewhere, Queenslanders with disability, children and their families, carers and kin still do not have a clear picture of what will happen here.
We recognise the Queensland Government has raised concerns about funding, the design of Thriving Kids and the risk of people falling through gaps as responsibilities shift between the NDIS and other systems. We share the concern that people with disability must not lose necessary support before equivalent and appropriate alternatives are available and working.
But the absence of agreement cannot mean an absence of a clear pathway forward.
Queensland’s decision not to sign the bilateral agreement has consequences. While other
jurisdictions move into implementation, Queensland families are being asked to live with
continued uncertainty about what supports will be available here and when. If the
Government is not satisfied that the current arrangements protect Queensland children
and families, it now needs to set out a credible pathway to arrangements that will. People
with disability, families and the organisations that represent and advocate alongside them
must be part of that work.
Queenslanders need clarity
People with disability and families should not have to piece together Queensland’s position
from competing statements between governments.
We are asking the Queensland Government to publicly set out:
- the issues that remain unresolved with the Australian Government
- the pathway and timeframe for resolving them
- the work underway to prepare Queensland services and systems
- how Queensland will ensure children and families are not disadvantaged while
these issues remain unresolved - how people with disability, families, independent advocates and disability
representative organisations will be involved in decisions about implementation.
There must also be clear and accessible information about what the current situation
means for Queensland families as Thriving Kids rolls out elsewhere.
This matters because people are trying to make sense of Thriving Kids alongside
significant changes to the NDIS. Clear information from the Queensland Government
about what is changing, what is not and when decisions will be made is essential.
Bring Queensland’s disability community back to the table
Queensland does not need to start from scratch. In 2024, the Queensland Government
engaged QIDAN to consult the independent disability advocacy sector on Targeted Foundational Supports, resulting in 64 recommendations informed by advocates working alongside people with disability across the state.
That work remains relevant. Independent advocates continue to see where people fall between the NDIS, mainstream services and community supports, and the particular barriers facing people in regional, rural and remote Queensland, First Nations people with disability and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
We are concerned that engagement with Queensland’s disability advocacy and representative sector has not kept pace with the decisions now being made. If the Government considers the current national arrangements inadequate to protect Queenslanders with disability, people with disability and the organisations working alongside them must be part of determining the way forward.
We are asking the Queensland Government to establish a formal mechanism for active ongoing engagement with independent advocates and disability representative organisations alongside people with disability and families to help resolve outstanding issues, identify risks and gaps, and inform Queensland’s position as negotiations continue.
Queensland must prepare for what comes next
Thriving Kids is only the first phase of Foundational Supports. Queenslanders with disability are already falling through gaps between the NDIS, mainstream services and existing community supports. Future NDIS reforms will put further pressure on those gaps.
Queensland cannot afford to wait for the Thriving Kids negotiations to conclude before supporting our communities and preparing for the next phase of foundational supports.
The Government should use the evidence already gathered through QIDAN and the broader disability sector to identify where support is missing, which groups should be prioritised and what Queensland needs from future Foundational Supports. This work should begin now and inform Queensland’s position in future national negotiations.
QIDAN, PWDA and CYDA are ready to contribute our evidence and expertise to that work and work constructively with your office and the Queensland Government.
We look forward to meeting with you on your return.
Yours sincerely,
Caitlin de Cocq van Delwijnen Director, Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network
Megan Spindler-Smith Acting Chief Executive Officer People with Disability Australia
Liz Hudson Acting CEO Children and Young People with Disability Australia