Thriving Kids Program Delayed: What NDIS Providers and Allied Health Practices Need to Know

The Thriving Kids program, Australia's $2 billion national initiative for children with developmental delay or autism, has been delayed by three months. Originally scheduled to commence on 1 July 2026, the Thriving Kids program Australia will now begin on 1 October 2026 following a National Cabinet decision on 30 January 2026.

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese framed the delay as a way to "get the detail right," the shift came amid significant pushback from unions, professional associations, and disability advocacy groups. It was also part of tense negotiations that saw the Federal Government commit an additional $25 billion over five years to state-run public hospitals.

For allied health providers and NDIS Thriving Kids-affected businesses, this delay extends an already uncertain period. This article outlines what we know about the Thriving Kids program, the real concerns facing NDIS-reliant practices, and how providers might navigate what could be a significant shift in the early childhood intervention landscape.

What Is the Thriving Kids Program?

The Thriving Kids program is a foundational support initiative targeting children aged 8 and under who have mild-to-moderate developmental delay or autism. The program aims to address what Dr Tim Jones, Chair of Child and Young Person's Health at the RACGP, has described as the "messy middle": children who "don't quite hit thresholds for NDIS but clearly benefit from support."

For parents asking "what is the Thriving Kids program?" - it represents the government's response to concerns that too many children were entering the NDIS for early intervention when their needs might be better met through mainstream services.

Key Features of the Thriving Kids Scheme

Based on available information from the Thriving Kids fact sheet and government announcements, the Thriving Kids initiative has several distinguishing characteristics:

• No diagnosis required - The shift from "diagnosis-based" to "needs-based" support is a core pillar of the 16 recommendations from the Parliamentary Thriving Kids inquiry
• Mainstream delivery - Supports will be delivered through GPs, schools, child health services, and community settings rather than through private practice
• Early intervention focus - The program targets children aged 8 and under, emphasising early support
• Functional needs approach - Supports are designed around what children need functionally, rather than diagnostic categories

Thriving Kids Program Funding and Scale

The Federal Government has committed $2 billion to the Thriving Kids program Australia, which states have now officially agreed to match following the January 2026 deal. Full implementation is expected by 1 January 2028, with the October 2026 start date marking the beginning of a phased rollout.

What the Parliamentary Inquiry Survey Reveals

The Thriving Kids inquiry conducted a comprehensive survey between August and October 2025, receiving 1,194 responses from parents, carers, and service providers. The findings paint a stark picture of the current system and explain why many are sceptical about the proposed changes.

The Current System Is Already Failing

Before examining concerns about Thriving Kids, it is worth understanding the baseline:

• 64% of respondents found it "difficult" or "very difficult" to find information about available supports. Only 4% found it "very easy"
• 27% (327 people) waited more than a year to receive support. Only 1% received support within a week
• Inclusion support in schools was rated worst - 45% said it was "very difficult" to obtain inclusion support in early childhood or primary school settings, with an average rating of just 2.00 out of 5

These statistics are significant because the Thriving Kids program proposes to deliver more services through the very school system that families already rate as the most problematic.

The "Temporary Needs" Myth

One assumption underlying the Thriving Kids scheme is that many children's needs are temporary and can be addressed through short-term foundational supports. The survey data challenges this:

• 75% of respondents reported that their child's support needs either increased or required entirely separate services over time
• Only 4% said their child's needs significantly decreased

This has implications for the program's sustainability. If most children's needs increase rather than decrease, the $2 billion capped budget may prove insufficient, and families may find themselves needing to transition to the NDIS anyway.

Quality vs. Access

Interestingly, once families receive support, satisfaction is relatively high. 48% reported being "satisfied" or "extremely satisfied" with the quality of support received. The problem is access, not quality.

This raises questions about whether the Thriving Kids program's focus on mainstream delivery will improve access or simply shift the bottleneck from one part of the system to another.

Why the Thriving Kids Program Was Delayed

The three-month shift from July to October 2026 was a strategic trade-off made during what sources described as "tense negotiations" at the first National Cabinet meeting of 2026.

The $25 Billion Hospital Deal

The Thriving Kids delay was not an isolated decision. In exchange for states agreeing to a 6% NDIS cost growth cap and the delayed start date, the Federal Government committed an additional $25 billion over five years for state-run public hospitals. This gives context to why states requested the delay. They needed time to integrate these services into already-stretched school and community health systems.

The Role of the Thriving Kids Advisory Group

The Thriving Kids Advisory Group, co-chaired by Professor Frank Oberklaid, has been providing expert advice on the program's design. However, the pushback that contributed to the delay has come from broader stakeholder groups beyond this advisory body.

Significant Pushback from Unions and Professional Bodies

While the Prime Minister framed the delay as a way to "get the detail right," the pushback that contributed to this decision has been substantial and focuses on three main areas:

1. Workforce and Under-Resourced Systems

Unions representing educators and health workers have raised serious concerns about shifting thousands of children from the NDIS into "mainstream" settings like schools and childcare centres under the Thriving Kids scheme.

The "Dump and Run" Concern: The Australian Education Union (AEU) has expressed concerns that schools are being expected to act as clinical hubs without the necessary infrastructure, calling the plan a "dump and run" on state school systems.

Educator Workload: The United Workers Union (UWU) has argued that educators are already under-resourced and that moving thousands of children into early childhood education and care (ECEC) services without massive staffing increases would be a "burden" and "unsafe."

Pay and Conditions: Unions are pushing for guaranteed funding to ensure that the "foundational supports" delivered in these settings include professional wages for the people delivering them. This has implications for Thriving Kids jobs and how services will be staffed.

2. The Medical Model vs. Social Model Debate

The Nobody Worse Off Coalition, an alliance of major unions and disability advocacy groups, has formally challenged the design of the Thriving Kids program NDIS transition.

They argue that relying on GPs as the primary "gatekeepers" uses a "medical model" of disability that many in the disability sector have moved away from. Many unions have pointed out that GPs are already at capacity, with 15-minute appointments being insufficient to assess complex developmental needs.

3. Fear of "Supports Lite"

Professional bodies, including Psychology Australia and Speech Pathology Australia, while supportive in principle, have been vocal about the risk of children receiving "lower quality" care outside the NDIS under the Thriving Kids initiative.

The Entitlement Issue: Unlike the NDIS, which is an uncapped "entitlement" scheme, the Thriving Kids program has a fixed $2 billion budget. Groups are pushing back against the idea that a child's support could be "capped" or limited based on what the local school or clinic can afford, rather than what the child actually needs.

Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) stated on 2 February 2026 that while they welcome the clarity of the October date, they are demanding $3 million in the first phase just to hold "Access Forums" to help parents navigate the transition.

Summary of Stakeholder Concerns

The collective pressure from these groups is a large reason why National Cabinet agreed to the October 2026 delay for the Thriving Kids program Australia. It gives them an extra quarter to negotiate how these services will actually be staffed and funded on the ground.

Why Families Are Concerned About the School-Based Model

The Thriving Kids program's emphasis on delivering services through schools has generated particular concern. The Parliamentary Inquiry survey identified several themes:

Schools Are Already Under-Resourced

With 45% of survey respondents rating school-based inclusion support as "very difficult" to access (the worst-rated category in the entire survey) there is understandable scepticism about schools becoming the primary delivery hub for developmental support.

Respondents argued that teachers lack the training to manage developmental delays effectively, and that adding more children with support needs without corresponding increases in specialist staff will overwhelm an already stretched system.

Schools Can Be Sources of Trauma

For some children, particularly those who "mask" their symptoms during the school day, the school environment is a source of strain, not a place where they feel safe to engage in therapy. Parents (especially of girls with autism) reported that schools often miss developmental issues because children mask during the day, only for symptoms to surface intensely at home.

This has implications for assessment accuracy. If children are being assessed in environments where they naturally suppress symptoms, their needs may be underestimated.

Loss of Choice and Control

Unlike the NDIS, where parents can choose their own private clinicians, respondents fear the Thriving Kids scheme will move toward a "one-size-fits-all" model that reduces their ability to choose the best provider for their child.

This concern is particularly acute for families who have built relationships with specific therapists over years. The prospect of being assigned to whichever provider happens to service their local school, regardless of fit, represents a significant loss of agency.

The Hidden Burden on Families

The Parliamentary Inquiry survey revealed the toll that navigating the current system takes on families:

• The "Case Manager" Burden: Families describe navigating the current system as a "full-time job," causing significant mental health declines and burnout among parents and carers
• Inconsistent Decision Making: Parents reported "vastly different outcomes" for children with the same diagnosis, highlighting a lack of transparency in the current NDIS/state interface
• Financial Toll: Many families are forced to pay for private assessments to avoid 4-year public waitlists, leading to significant debt for those who cannot afford to wait

Whether the Thriving Kids program will reduce or increase this burden remains to be seen. The lack of clear information about how the program will work in practice is itself adding to family stress.

NDIS Thriving Kids: What Happens to NDIS-Dependent Practices?

For many allied health clinics (particularly speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and psychologists) NDIS funding represents the foundation of their business model. Some practices have built their entire operations around serving NDIS participants, with paediatric early intervention forming a substantial portion of their caseload.

The NDIS Thriving Kids transition raises difficult questions that many practice owners are grappling with:

Will There Be Increased Competition for Existing NDIS Participants?

Children currently on the NDIS will remain on the scheme under usual reassessment criteria until the new system is fully operational. The government has guaranteed continuity for existing participants. However, as new children are directed toward the Thriving Kids program rather than the NDIS, the pool of NDIS-funded paediatric clients will gradually shrink through natural attrition.

This creates a concerning dynamic: more providers competing for a stable or declining number of grandfathered NDIS participants. Practices that have relied on a steady stream of new NDIS entrants may find themselves working harder to retain existing clients and attract the diminishing number of children who still qualify for NDIS support.

Are We Heading Back to the Pre-NDIS Model?

For clinicians who remember the landscape before the NDIS, the Thriving Kids scheme's emphasis on "mainstream delivery" through schools and community health settings may feel uncomfortably familiar. Before the NDIS transformed the sector, many allied health professionals worked within school systems or community health centres rather than private practice.

The NDIS created opportunities for clinicians to establish independent practices, set their own hours, and build businesses around client choice and control. The Thriving Kids initiative's focus on delivering services through schools and state-run health services raises questions about whether some clinicians may need to consider employment within these systems rather than private practice, at least for their paediatric caseloads.

This is not a certainty, but it is a possibility that practice owners should be thinking about. The details of how private providers can participate in Thriving Kids remain unclear, and this uncertainty is itself a significant concern.

What Does This Mean for Practice Viability?

Practices heavily weighted toward paediatric NDIS services face the most significant strategic questions as the Thriving Kids NDIS changes approach:

• Diversification - Is now the time to expand into adult services, aged care, or other funding streams?
• Service model changes - Should practices explore contracts with schools or community health to deliver Thriving Kids services?
• Workforce planning - How do you retain staff through a period of uncertainty about future caseload composition?
• Financial reserves - Is the business positioned to weather a potential reduction in paediatric referrals?

NDIS Autism Thriving Kids: What We Know About Continuity

For families and providers concerned about NDIS autism Thriving Kids impacts, the government has been clear on one point: children currently on the NDIS will not see immediate changes to their supports. Existing participants will remain on the scheme under usual reassessment criteria until the new system is fully operational.

This provides some reassurance for current caseloads, but it does not address the longer-term question of what happens as children age out and fewer new children enter the NDIS for early intervention supports.

Survey respondents were emphatic about one point: autism should be recognised as a lifelong condition, not something children "grow out of." There is concern that the language around "foundational supports" and "early intervention" may be used to justify reduced long-term support.

Referral Pathways Under the Thriving Kids Program

Recent discussions around new Medicare (MBS) items for child development checks suggest that GPs will play a central role in identifying children for Thriving Kids program supports. This aligns with the program's emphasis on mainstream delivery through existing healthcare touchpoints.

However, this approach has attracted criticism. Many unions and advocacy groups have pointed out that GPs are already at capacity, with 15-minute appointments being insufficient to assess complex developmental needs. The Nobody Worse Off Coalition has specifically challenged the "medical gatekeeping" model.

The survey data supports this concern: 546 respondents (nearly half) already rely on telehealth to access services, and 81 had to use both telehealth and interstate travel to get the help they needed. This suggests that local mainstream services are already insufficient for many families.

For allied health providers, this has implications for referral relationships. Practices that have built strong connections with paediatricians and developmental specialists may need to expand their referral networks to include GPs and maternal child health nurses who will likely become key gatekeepers under the new system.

What Families Are Asking For

The Parliamentary Inquiry survey respondents were explicit about what they want from any reform:

1. Preservation of the NDIS: A strong rejection of moving children out of the NDIS into "foundational" supports that are perceived as "lower quality"
2. Recognition of Autism as Lifelong: Rejection of language suggesting children "grow out" of autism or that their needs are temporary
3. Co-Design: A demand that the Thriving Kids initiative be co-designed with neurodivergent people and their families, rather than being perceived as a "cost-cutting measure"

Whether the final program design will address these concerns remains to be seen.

Using the Additional Time Before Thriving Kids Begins

While the delay creates frustration, it also provides time to prepare for what may be a significant shift in how early childhood services are delivered and funded under the Thriving Kids program Australia.

Understand the Program Details as They Emerge

Key questions providers should seek answers to include:

• How will private providers be able to participate in Thriving Kids delivery?
• What funding rates will apply compared to NDIS pricing?
• What registration or accreditation requirements might apply?
• How will referrals flow from GPs and schools to allied health providers?

Professional associations such as Speech Pathology Australia, Occupational Therapy Australia, and the Australian Psychological Society will likely provide updates as details emerge. The Thriving Kids fact sheet from the Department of Health & Aged Care is also expected to be updated regularly.

Build Relationships with New Referral Sources

If GPs, schools, and community health services become the primary referral pathway under Thriving Kids, now is the time to strengthen relationships with these sources:

• General practitioners - With new MBS items for developmental checks, GPs will likely identify children who could benefit from Thriving Kids program supports
• Schools and early learning centres - Teachers and educators are often the first to notice developmental concerns
• Maternal and child health services - Developmental checks provide natural identification opportunities

Consider Service Model Diversification

Practices that currently rely heavily on NDIS paediatric services may want to consider:

• Adult services - NDIS participants aged 9 and over are not affected by the Thriving Kids scheme
• Aged care - Growing demand and separate funding streams
• Medicare-funded services - Mental health plans, chronic disease management, and allied health items
• Private fee-for-service - Parents willing to pay out-of-pocket for preferred providers
• School contracts - If Thriving Kids is delivered through schools, being a contracted provider may be an option

Marketing Considerations for NDIS and Thriving Kids Providers

The uncertainty around the Thriving Kids program makes marketing planning challenging, but some approaches remain valuable regardless of how the program unfolds.

Strengthen Your Position with Existing Clients

If competition for grandfathered NDIS participants intensifies, client retention becomes more important. Focus on:

• Service quality and outcomes that give families reasons to stay
• Communication that keeps families informed and engaged
• Flexibility in scheduling and service delivery

Build Referrer Relationships

Whether referrals come through NDIS channels or new Thriving Kids pathways, strong relationships with referrers remain valuable. Consider:

• GP education about your services and expertise
• School outreach to build awareness of your practice
• Regular communication with support coordinators and plan managers

Diversify Your Marketing Channels

Practices that have relied primarily on NDIS-related marketing may want to expand their reach:

• Content targeting parents searching for developmental support (regardless of funding source)
• Local SEO to capture families seeking services in your area
• Adult and aged care marketing if diversifying service offerings

What We Still Do Not Know About Thriving Kids

Significant details about Thriving Kids program implementation remain unclear:

• Specific funding rates for different service types
• How private providers can participate in service delivery
• Whether existing NDIS providers will have any advantage in the new system
• Geographic rollout priorities and timelines
• Reporting and compliance obligations
• How the fixed $2 billion budget will be allocated and whether it will prove sufficient
• What Thriving Kids jobs will look like and how staffing will be managed

The period between now and October provides time for these details to emerge, and for providers to make more informed decisions about their strategy.

Looking Ahead: Thriving Kids Program 2026 and Beyond

The Thriving Kids program represents a significant shift in how early childhood intervention will be funded and delivered in Australia. For allied health providers who have built successful practices around NDIS paediatric services, this change brings genuine uncertainty and concern.

The Parliamentary Inquiry survey data suggests that families and providers share many of the same concerns: about the adequacy of school-based delivery, the loss of choice and control, and whether a capped $2 billion budget can meet the needs of children whose support requirements, according to the survey, are more likely to increase than decrease over time.

The three-month delay provides additional time to prepare, but it does not answer the fundamental questions about what the early childhood intervention landscape will look like in 2027 and beyond. Practice owners would be wise to use this time to diversify, strengthen referral relationships, and build financial resilience for what may be a period of transition.

The October 2026 start date for the Thriving Kids program Australia, with full implementation expected by January 2028, provides a clearer timeline for planning purposes. But the bigger questions remain open: the future of paediatric private practice, competition for existing NDIS participants, and whether the sector is heading back toward school-based delivery.

We will continue to update this article as more details emerge about how Thriving Kids will operate in practice and what opportunities may exist for private providers.

Sources: RACGP newsGP (30 Jan 2026); SBS News (30 Jan 2026); Grattan Institute Analysis (30 Jan 2026); United Workers Union ECEC Reports (Jan 2026); Link Magazine (Feb 2026); Occupational Therapy Australia Parliamentary Briefing (2 Feb 2026); Department of Health & Aged Care Thriving Kids Fact Sheet (Updated Jan 2026); Parliamentary Inquiry into Thriving Kids Survey Data (Aug-Oct 2025).