Thriving Kids and Foundational Supports: what you need to know

Thriving Kids and Foundational Supports roll out: what you need to know

Thursday 1 October 2026

Thriving Kids starts rolling out from 1 October 2026. It is the first phase of a much bigger change to disability supports outside the NDIS.

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What is Thriving Kids
What does this mean if my child is in the NDIS?
What changes in 2028?
What if I or my child is older than eight?
What is happening NSW?
What is happening Queensland?
What is PWDA calling for?
Resources
Feedback Survey on Thriving Kids rollout

Not everything will change on 1 October. Services will be introduced gradually, and important details about Thriving Kids and the broader system of Foundational Supports are still being worked out.

There are also no changes to how people access the NDIS on 1 October. Changes to NDIS access are not due to begin until 1 January 2028.

We know there is a lot of information about these changes and it can be difficult to work out what they mean for you, your family, carers or kin.

This explainer covers what we know now, what is still being worked out and what PWDA is advocating for.

What is Thriving Kids?

Thriving Kids is a new approach to supporting children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs, and their families, carers and kin.

It will include information and advice, help to identify developmental needs, programs for children and families, and targeted supports such as allied health for children who need additional support. Children will not need a diagnosis to access Thriving Kids. Thriving Kids Factsheet

Thriving Kids will not provide individual funding in the same way as the NDIS. Most services will be delivered through community and government services, including in places where children live, learn and play.

The rollout starts from October 2026 and will happen gradually. Some general supports will begin first, with more targeted supports progressively becoming available. Governments intend Thriving Kids to be fully rolled out by 1 January 2028.

This means not every Thriving Kids service will be available everywhere from 1 October.

What does this mean if my child is in the NDIS?

There are no changes to how children access the NDIS on 1 October.

Children can continue to apply for the NDIS under the current access arrangements. Children already in the NDIS can continue to use their current plans and supports. The Australian Government says changes to NDIS access for children affected by Thriving Kids will not begin until 1 January 2028.

We also know this does not mean nothing else is changing for children and families.

Many children with disability and their families, carers and kin have gone without appropriate support for far too long. We are also hearing from families affected by reductions in NDIS supports and other changes to the NDIS.

From 1 October, for example, funding for some NDIS supports under the Social, Civic and Community Participation and Daily Living budget lines begins changing progressively when participant plans are created, reassessed or renewed

We know gaps in support have real consequences. When children cannot get the support they need, the impact is felt by the child with disability and by their families, carers and kin.

PWDA believes Thriving Kids must add to the support available to children and families, not create new gaps or be used to justify removing necessary NDIS supports before equivalent and appropriate alternatives are available and working.

What changes in 2028?

From 1 January 2028, the Australian Government intends to change NDIS access for children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs.

Children with permanent and significant disability, and children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have high support needs, are intended to remain eligible for the NDIS subject to the usual eligibility requirements.

Children who are already accessing the NDIS before 1 January 2028 will continue to be reassessed under the eligibility criteria that were in place before that date. The Australian Government says that once they turn nine, they will be reassessed under the new eligibility criteria based on functional capacity.

There is still important detail to be worked through before these changes begin.

What if I or my child is older than eight?

Thriving Kids is only the first phase of Foundational Supports.

Foundational Supports are supports being developed outside and alongside the NDIS for people with disability, their families, carers and kin.

They are intended to include:

general supports, such as accessible information, advice, peer support, help finding services and support to build skills and independence

targeted supports for people who need more support than mainstream services provide but do not need the specialist supports available through the NDIS.

The Australian, state and territory governments have agreed to jointly invest up to $10 billion over five years in Foundational Supports. $4 billion of this is for Thriving Kids.

But we know very little about what will be available where and to who outside of Thriving Kids. So while the National Agreement allows governments to develop Foundational Supports for future priority groups beyond Thriving Kids. There is not yet a clear public roadmap setting out who those groups will be, what support they will receive, how they will access it or when those supports will become available.

People with disability outside the NDIS are already going without support. At the same time, further changes are being made to the NDIS. The need for supports outside the NDIS is growing. Foundational Supports should build a strong disability support system for people who have long been underserved outside the NDIS, as well as ensuring people affected by future NDIS reforms do not fall into gaps.

PWDA is calling on the Australian Government to provide national leadership and publish a clear roadmap for what comes next.

What is happening NSW?

PWDA provides both systemic and individual advocacy services in NSW and has been actively advocating for Foundational Supports that work for people with disability in this state.

NSW has signed an agreement with the Australian Government to deliver Thriving Kids. The rollout will be gradual. From October 2026, some general supports will begin to become available, including parent peer support and supported playgroups. From January 2027, targeted supports will start to become available for children who need extra help, including short-term allied health supports. More services will be introduced during 2027.

Not every service or location has been finalised yet. The NSW Government says it will publish information about services, locations, eligibility and how to access them as they become available.

PWDA is calling for clear and accessible information so families know what support is available, where it is available and how to access it. We also want people with disability and our representative organisations to have an ongoing role in identifying problems as Thriving Kids rolls out and in shaping what comes next. We have also called on the NSW Government to take a leadership role and start preparing now for the next phase of Foundational Supports, including supports for people with disability beyond the Thriving Kids age group. One way to do this would be to build on NSW’s previous advisory arrangements, creating an ongoing disability-led mechanism to help co-design the state’s roadmap for the next phase of Foundational Supports.

What is happening in Queensland?

PWDA provides both systemic and individual advocacy services in Queensland and has been actively advocating for people with disability in the state to have access to appropriate Foundational Supports.

Despite our advocacy, the situation in Queensland remains significantly less clear.

As of 1 October 2026, Queensland is the only state or territory that has not signed an agreement with the Australian Government to deliver Thriving Kids. While other states and territories are moving ahead with their rollouts, Queensland families still do not have a clear picture of what supports will be available, where they will be available or when they will begin.

The Queensland Government has raised concerns about funding, the design of Thriving Kids and the risk of children falling through gaps between the NDIS and other services. PWDA shares the concern that children must not lose necessary NDIS supports without equivalent and appropriate alternatives in place. But disagreement between governments cannot be allowed to leave Queensland children and families without the supports they need, including those who never had or will not have access to the NDIS.

PWDA, the Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network (QIDAN) and Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) written to the Queensland Government to call on them to reach agreement with the Australian Government and commence the rollout of Thriving Kids, with people with disability, families and disability organisations co-designing how it works in Queensland.

Early support matters. Continued delay risks Queensland children missing out on supports being introduced elsewhere in Australia. Missing out on the right support during childhood can have lasting impacts on a children with disability’s development, participation and entire lives.

Queensland families need clarity now. They need to know when supports will become available, how they will access them and what the Queensland Government will do while outstanding issues with the Australian Government are resolved.

Queensland also needs to start planning now for the next phase of Foundational Supports, with people with disability and our representative organisations at the table. We cannot afford to repeat the same delays and uncertainty when other supports are developed. People with disability across Queensland already need those supports.

What is PWDA calling for?

PWDA supports building a strong system of disability supports outside and alongside the NDIS. We are calling for Foundational Supports that genuinely meet people with disability’s needs across their lifetimes to be funded, accessible and available wherever people live. People with disability must co-design these supports.

We are calling for:

no gaps in support, including no reduction or removal of necessary NDIS supports before equivalent and appropriate alternatives are available and working

clear and accessible information about what is changing, when it is changing and where people can get support

national consistency, so access to essential supports does not depend on where someone lives

disability-led co-design and oversight, with people with disability and our representative organisations meaningfully involved throughout development and implementation

a national roadmap beyond Thriving Kids, setting out who the next Foundational Supports will be for, what support will be available, how people will access it, when it will begin and what supports will fill any gaps.

PWDA has consistently argued and will continue to argue that Foundational Supports must not be used simply to replace or reduce necessary NDIS supports.