Legislative amendment to support Thriving Kids
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 proposes to amend, from 1 January 2028, the access provisions in the National Disability Insurance Act 2013 (Cth)to require consideration of a prospective participant’s eligibility for other service systems when determining access to the NDIS: Schedule 1, Part 9 and Clause 2 (Commencement) of the Bill.
While the Bill itself does not refer to “Thriving Kids” specifically, the Bill’s Explanatory Memoranda (EM) does so 34 times, mostly as the first initiative of Governments’ broader plan to boost foundational supports to replace current NDIS funding responsibility.
The EM states that “National Cabinet has agreed to investment of $4 billion for the first tranche of Foundational Supports, known as Thriving Kids… A further $6 billion in joint Commonwealth and state and territory investment is set aside for further Foundational Supports to be delivered” (at 184).
Which children will be affected by the changes?
Children with permanent and significant disability and children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have high support needs will remain eligible for NDIS supports.
Children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs, will be diverted to the new Thriving Kids foundational supports program and be ineligible for NDIS supports.
The roll out of Thriving Kids, to be delivered by state and territory governments, is to commence from October 2026, to achieve full implementation by the 1 January 2028 access legislative change date.
The changes (if legislated) will apply to children aged 8 and under who seek to become participants after 1 January 2028.
The changes will not apply to children aged 8 and under who are already NDIS participants as at 1 January 2028; the current access criteria will continue to apply to them.
What will Thriving Kids deliver? NSW has some answers!
Neither the EM to the Bill nor any other Commonwealth Government publication to date has answered the million dollar question of parents, providers and others in the early childhood sector: what supports will Thriving Kids deliver in practice and who will deliver them?
The NSW Government has recently provided some guidance on what Thriving Kids is intended to deliver in that state.
On 31 March 2026, it released a Fact Sheet on how the program would be delivered in NSW. On 13 May 2026, it also published slides from an information session for non-government organisations interested in participating in the first Expression of Interest phase of its procurement process for Thriving Kids providers, ahead of the second Tender phase planned for July 2026.
From this material, it appears that Thriving Kids in NSW will provide two types of services:
General supports
Available to families who have concerns about their child’s development. These include:
- Supported playgroups for children aged 5 and under.
- Peer support and parenting programs.
- Information, advice and referrals to help families understand development and find help early.
Targeted supports
For children who need extra help for a specific period of time. Supports are goal‑focused, and include coordination of Thriving Kids supports for the family. These include:
- Allied health therapies delivered by qualified clinicians. Therapies can be individual or in small group, play‑based sessions.
- In some circumstances, providing low-cost assistive technology to families to support development goals.
- Information, advice and referrals to help families understand development and find help early.
Conclusion
Given the widespread criticism of the Bill to the Senate Committee who is currently reviewing it; related doubts about whether Parliament will pass it in its current form; and the seemingly slow rate at which Thriving Kids is taking shape, is the Government’s current timeframes for the program’s rollout realistically achievable?
Questions also remain about the precise responsibilities and the “boundary line” between Thriving Kids’ and NDIS’ responsibility. That is, who will be supported by Thriving Kids and how? Who will be supported by the NDIS and how? What will happen to the current Inclusion Supports programs of the states and territories?
Watch this space for further updates as these significant reforms evolve!
