Thriving Kids: What the NDIS Changes Mean for Your Family

Are you the parent of a young autistic child, or a child with developmental delay? You have probably heard the name “Thriving Kids” over the past year. You may still be unsure what it means for your family. That’s understandable. It is one of the biggest changes to support for young children since the NDIS began, and the detail has arrived in pieces. The first services start on 1 October 2026. Here is where things stand.

Thriving Kids is a new national program that sits outside the NDIS. It covers children aged 8 and under who have developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs. Instead of funding therapy hours through an individual NDIS plan, it builds support into the places families already go: maternal and child health, playgroups, kindergartens, schools and community health services.

What is Thriving Kids?

Governments are funding Thriving Kids together. All governments will invest $4 billion over five years from mid-2026: $2 billion from the Australian Government and $2 billion from the states and territories. The states and territories run the services day to day. That is why Victoria may look different from New South Wales or Queensland.

So far the supports include developmental checks, parenting programs, peer support for parents and supported playgroups. Children who need more can also get time-limited help from allied health professionals, such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists.

Who Thriving Kids is for, and who stays on the NDIS

The reform divides young children with developmental needs into two broad groups.

Why is this happening?

Over recent years, the number of young children on the NDIS has grown quickly. For many families the scheme became the main way to get funded early support, and a diagnosis opened the door. At the same time, recognition of autism has increased: Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that 4.3% of children aged 5–14 were autistic in 2022, up from 3.2% in 2018.

Thriving Kids adds another pathway. It offers earlier, community-based help that does not depend on a diagnosis or an individual funded plan, and it sits alongside the NDIS for children who need it.

The Thriving Kids timeline

The dates matter for planning, so here they are in one place:

• August 2026: Parliament passed the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, which makes the legal changes Thriving Kids depends on.
• 1 October 2026: the first Thriving Kids supports begin, delivered by the states and territories.
• Through 2027: supports expand, including more targeted, time-limited help for children who need extra assistance.
• 1 January 2028: all supports should be in place, and the rules for accessing the NDIS change for children aged 8 and under with low to moderate support needs.

What about children already on the NDIS?

There are no changes to how children access the NDIS until 1 January 2028. If your child is already a participant, their plan does not simply stop on 1 October.

The change is not only for new applicants, though. Government and sector information says that children already on the NDIS who fit the Thriving Kids criteria will have an assessment before the new arrangements start. Some will move across to Thriving Kids where that suits them better. Exactly how and when those reviews happen for each family is still not clear.

Nothing changes overnight on 1 October, but it is worth understanding where your child is likely to sit before 2028.

What Thriving Kids looks like in Victoria

The Victorian Government has said the first supports will be in place from October 2026, with the full range of services from 1 January 2028. Victoria’s model builds on its Maternal and Child Health service and early childhood education, and includes two new developmental checks — one before kindergarten and one before school — along with allied health support delivered where children live, learn and play.

The Victorian Government is still releasing details of how families access each support. The Victorian Government’s Thriving Kids page is the best place to watch for updates.

What’s still being worked out

It’s worth being plain about this: the program is still taking shape. A federal parliamentary committee’s report into the initiative, No Child Left Behind, released in December 2025, called for genuine co-design with families and professionals, a gradual transition with safeguards so no child loses access to therapy along the way, earlier help without waiting for a diagnosis, and investment in the allied health workforce.

Governments are still working out who pays for which supports, how referrals will work, and what a family can expect locally. The honest answer to “what exactly will my child be entitled to in 2028?” is that it is not fully settled yet.

Where assessment fits

Some parents are wondering whether an assessment still matters now that Thriving Kids won’t require a diagnosis. Funding has only ever been one reason families seek an assessment, and it is rarely the main one.

A thorough assessment aims to build a clear picture of how your child thinks, learns, communicates and experiences the world. That understanding shapes how a school supports them. It helps you make sense of what you see at home, and gives you words to explain your child to the people around them. For children with higher support needs, evidence of those needs also remains part of accessing the NDIS. Whether and when to seek an assessment is your family’s decision, and it can help to talk it through with your GP or a psychologist. Our guide to what to expect from an autism assessment explains the process step by step, and our Autism Assessments page sets out how we work.

Where to get reliable information

For anything that affects your child’s actual entitlements, go to the primary sources: the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s Thriving Kids pages, the NDIS website, and the Victorian Government’s Thriving Kids page. If your child is already on the NDIS, your planner or Early Childhood Partner is the right person to talk to about your specific circumstances.

Related reading: What to expect from an autism assessment and Understanding anxiety in children.