Thriving Kids rollout welcomed, but implementation questions remain for allied health and early childhood sectors

The Federal Government's proposed Thriving Kids initiative has been widely welcomed as an important step towards improving early identification and support for children experiencing developmental delay.

Expected to replace National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support for many children with mild to moderate developmental concerns, the model will see states and territories assume greater responsibility for developmental assessment and the delivery of early intervention services.

While the policy direction has received broad support, stakeholders across the allied health and early childhood education and care (ECEC) sectors say attention must now shift from identifying children's needs to explaining how support will be delivered once those needs have been identified.

Dr Amanda Mazzoni, Chief Executive Officer of Care Squared Kids, said the vision underpinning the reforms aligns with contemporary evidence on early intervention, but significant implementation questions remain.

"The sector has been told how children will be assessed, but not how support will be delivered. Families deserve transparency about who will provide services, what qualifications they will have and who will be accountable for outcomes."

"The concern across the sector is that we are being asked to have confidence in a system without being shown how it will operate."

From assessment to intervention

Across Australia, the emerging Thriving Kids model places a strong emphasis on earlier developmental screening through existing community touchpoints, including maternal and child health services, general practitioners, early childhood education and care services, preschools and community health providers.

The model also reflects a broader move towards family-centred, multidisciplinary support and greater integration between health, education and community services.

However, while governments have outlined how children are expected to enter the system, less information has been released about what happens after developmental concerns are identified.

Questions remain about where intervention will occur, how frequently support will be provided, how long families will remain within the program and whether jurisdictions will adopt coordinated key worker models or more traditional multidisciplinary approaches.

According to Dr Mazzoni, these practical design decisions will ultimately determine how effectively the reforms support children and families.

"These details will determine whether Thriving Kids becomes a comprehensive early intervention system or primarily an assessment and referral pathway."

Workforce capability and clinical governance

Another significant area of discussion is the workforce responsible for conducting developmental assessments and recommending intervention pathways.

Australia continues to experience workforce shortages across a number of allied health professions, including speech pathology, occupational therapy, psychology and physiotherapy, with regional and rural communities often experiencing the greatest challenges in accessing timely services.

Dr Mazzoni said developmental assessment is a specialised clinical activity requiring more than simply administering a standardised assessment tool.

"Assessment is not simply the administration of a tool. It requires clinical reasoning, developmental knowledge and the ability to interpret information from multiple sources to understand the whole child."

She said many standardised developmental assessments require specific tertiary qualifications, professional registration and demonstrated competency because assessment findings influence intervention planning, referrals, educational adjustments and, in some cases, access to additional services.

While broader workforce roles such as Allied Health Assistants, Developmental Educators and early childhood practitioners play valuable roles in observation, screening, information gathering, parent coaching and intervention support, she believes comprehensive developmental assessments should remain clinically led by appropriately qualified registered professionals.

"Assessment findings should never be viewed in isolation," Dr Mazzoni said.

"Professional judgement, developmental history, family information and observations across everyday environments all contribute to ensuring children receive the most appropriate support."

She added that registered clinicians also operate within established professional standards, ethical frameworks and regulatory oversight that provide important safeguards for children and families.

Implications for early childhood education and care

The reforms are also expected to have significant implications for the ECEC sector.

Educators are often among the first professionals to recognise developmental differences in children and already play an important role in working alongside families and allied health providers.

The Thriving Kids model presents an opportunity to strengthen these partnerships and embed support within children's everyday learning environments.

However, Dr Mazzoni said educators will require clear role definitions, ongoing coaching and access to specialist advice to ensure they are supported rather than expected to undertake therapeutic responsibilities beyond their professional scope.

The effectiveness of the model, she said, will depend on genuine collaboration between families, educators, clinicians and government agencies.

Governance and accountability

Stakeholders are also seeking greater clarity around the governance arrangements that will underpin the reforms.

Questions remain about workforce qualification requirements, supervision standards, service quality, safeguarding processes, clinical governance and how governments will measure outcomes over time.

Given the scale of the reforms, many believe strong accountability frameworks will be essential to maintaining public confidence and ensuring children receive safe, equitable and evidence-based support.

Building a best-practice model

Dr Mazzoni said international evidence suggests mature early intervention systems clearly define where intervention occurs, how support is coordinated, the intensity and duration of services, workforce roles, outcome measures and quality assurance processes.

She also highlighted the importance of structured partnerships between allied health providers and early childhood education services, allowing intervention strategies to be embedded within children's everyday routines and learning environments.

A reform worth watching

Few would dispute the importance of identifying developmental concerns earlier and ensuring children receive timely support.

The broad direction of the Thriving Kids reforms has therefore been welcomed across both the allied health and early childhood sectors.

However, as governments move from policy design to implementation, many of the practical details that will determine the initiative's success remain unresolved.

How support will be delivered, who will provide it, the qualifications required, how outcomes will be measured and how early childhood services will participate are all questions that stakeholders believe require greater clarity.

The coming months are expected to provide a clearer picture of how the reforms will operate in practice and whether Thriving Kids can fulfil its ambition of creating a nationally coordinated early intervention system that supports children and families when they need it most.