By Nicole Rogerson, CEO and Founder, Autism Association of Australia

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It feels like it's been a long time coming, but finally, Thriving Kids launches today around the country.

So what does this mean for your family? Honestly, we're not really sure. We need to be honest about that.

What is Thriving Kids supposed to be?

The idea behind Thriving Kids is that it could be an early intervention support program for children right across the country, run by their state and territory governments.

It's meant to get early intervention and supports to children aged 8 and under with developmental delay, speech delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs.

Done well, Thriving Kids could be a once in a generation opportunity. A chance to really examine how we manage developmental paediatrics in this country, and how we get the right supports to children in the early years, when they can make such a difference.

Will it be all those things?

We're not sure.

To be honest, it will probably look different in different states and territories. And sorry, Queensland, there's no official word from your government on Thriving Kids at all at the moment.

There is a lot of potential here. Children could be identified and supported earlier. Families could get better information and help navigating what their child needs. We could build a much better early intervention system for children who need support.

But there are risks too.

We don't want Thriving Kids to become a cheaper system that simply moves children out of the NDIS without giving them the support they need. We know, for example, that playgroups can be useful for families, but they are not a stand alone early intervention option for children with autism.

And what happens when a child isn't progressing? What happens when their needs are greater than expected? How do we make sure children don't fall through the gaps between Thriving Kids and the NDIS?

These are the questions we will be asking.

But please don't panic

Thriving Kids launches today, but it's going to roll out over the next 15 months, with full rollout expected by 1 January 2028.

That gives us time. Time to see what it really means for our families, and what it means for your kids. Nothing changes overnight, and you don't need to make any decisions today.

Our commitment to you

Autism Association of Australia makes this commitment: when we know more, you'll know more.

We'll keep you up to date as details emerge in each state and territory. We'll keep asking the hard questions of the people designing this system. We'll tell you what looks promising and we'll tell you when we're worried.

And we want to hear from you too. As Thriving Kids rolls out, tell us what you're seeing and experiencing. What's working? What's not? What are you worried about?

So, could Thriving Kids help our kids thrive?

The answer is a strong maybe. We really hope so.

Stay tuned.

In the meantime, everything confirmed so far, plus links to your state or territory's information, is on our Thriving Kids page.

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