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The Big Story
AllPlay courtesy Monash Lens (photo iStock/Getty images plus]
Could AllPlay Dance be a Model for Disability Support?
Inclusive community programs like AllPlay Dance are more than just feel-good stories; they’re like a blueprint for smart support. Thriving Kids could scale such successes - but only if it learns the right lessons.
It doesn’t look like therapy. There’s no clipboard, no white coat. Just a group of children laughing and yelling as they follow movement instructions in a school hall. But, as Professor Nicole Rinehart explains in an article for Monash University Lens, the activity isn’t just about dance.
“AllPlay is about smarter delivery of therapy, inclusion, and opportunity. This isn’t just about dance,” says Rinehart, the program’s co-founder. “It’s about productivity, sustainability, and outcomes.”
It’s important to note that Rinehart doesn’t link the program’s success to the government’s new Thriving Kids initiative. Her study was completed well before that announcement. Nevertheless, it does suggest the possibility of success where the NDIS model has struggled.
AllPlay isn’t run in clinics. It’s embedded in schools and after-hours programs, allowing children with disability to stay engaged with their peers, and allowing parents to remain in the workforce.
It’s community-based. Evidence-informed. Low-cost. High-impact.
Informed by research from Monash and Deakin, and funded through philanthropic partnerships, AllPlay shows what can happen when support is embedded where children already live and learn.
This - accidentally - provides a sharp contrast to the current NDIS model. This relies on out-of-class individual therapy and often clinic-based appointments.
Health Minister Mark Butler’s Thriving Kids proposal is, intended to be the reverse of that (well, at least as far as we know, given the detail has yet to be announced). The fund aims to shift supports into schools and communities. The risk is that the model becomes a rebranded NDIS-lite.
AllPlay’s approach might show what Thriving Kids could become. But only with the right partnerships, delivery settings and evaluation tools.
Keep reading online for how to scale smarter supports together with five steps the government must implement to get it right.
The Briefing
Image courtesy MS Australia
Injectable form of Ocrevus® recommended for PBS listing
by Multiple Sclerosis Australia
An injectable drug for treating multiple sclerosis has been recommended for listing on the PBS. This could improve treatment convenience for patients with relapsing remitting MS, currently receiving the drug via lengthy intravenous infusions.
Tracking thinking and memory over time for people with MS
by Multiple Sclerosis Australia
MS Australia has introduced MSReactor, a long-term study tracking changes in thinking and memory in people with multiple sclerosis. The project aims to better understand how cognitive function evolves over time in affected individuals.
Just Published? Themes from the NDIA's Disability Representative and Carers May Forum
by NDIS
The Disability Representative and Carers Organisation Forum met on 19 May 2025 to discuss key sector priorities and emerging challenges. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of sustained collaboration and policy focus to support people with disability and carers.
Paid (and volunteer) work with Autism Network
by Autistic Self Advocacy Network
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network Australia and New Zealand is seeking interest from individuals keen to support its work. Roles include voluntary, paid and advisory positions aimed at strengthening community initiatives.
EOI for Free Local Government Accessibility Audits Now Open.
by Centre For Accessibility Australia
Digital Access WA is offering funded digital audits to Western Australian local governments, targeting inclusive online services for people with disability. Expressions of interest are open until 28 November 2025, with support from the Department of Communities WA.
Introducing the Remarkable Australia+ Accelerator Cohort 2025
by Cerebral Palsy Alliance
Remarkable has unveiled its 2025 Australia+ Accelerator cohort, spotlighting startups focused on disability inclusion through innovative technology. The programme supports early-stage ventures across Australia and New Zealand aiming to improve lives through accessible design and entrepreneurship.
Down Syndrome Victoria supporting Inclusive Education
by Down Syndrome Australia
Down Syndrome Victoria has opened registrations for its 2026 Education Support Service, tailored specifically for students with intellectual disabilities. The program offers tailored school visits, specialist advice and online resources to support inclusive education across Victorian mainstream schools.
Image courtesy Down Syndrome Australia
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The Wrap
Hundreds of families in limbo after long-standing provider ends disability services amid financial issues
by ABC
Welfare agency Centacare will cease its NDIS-funded disability services in south-east Queensland, citing financial pressures. The move will affect approximately 700 disability services clients and 600 staff. Centacare expects to close their disability services by the end of the year.
Butler Interview on Sky News
by Health Department
Mark Butler confirms children entering the NDIS before 2027 will remain inside it, but from 2027 new applicants will be directed to a broader, mainstream Thriving Kids program which will be delivered through health and community services. While admitting the only way into the NDIS is a diagnosis ("which can take months and months and months"), Butler says what's needed is a system that's easy to access for parents, calibrated to the needs of the child, and readily accessible in community settings. Most importantly, Butler insists these changes have broad political support. "I also talked last week about some research that shows that while still seven out of 10 Australians love the NDIS and what it's done for people with disability, seven out of 10 think it's costing too much, and it's riddled with inefficiencies and dodgy providers. Even six out of 10 said it was broken. We've got to square that circle, bring that social license aspect of the scheme back onto the rails."
Taxpayers forking out $5 billion in funding for school children with a disability, nearly three times more than a decade ago
by Sky News
The Coalition has declared it will closely scrutinise private school disability funding across multiple departments in the wake of an investigation that exposed the soaring cost of a multi-billion-dollar scheme. The number of Australian children considered disabled by the government is now more than one in four in some states, with schools receiving up to $43,000 per child under a federal funding scheme dependent on need.
Why the NDIS inevitably went pear-shaped!
by Pearls & Irritations
Opinion: "I was a part of the old (underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient, according to the Productivity Commission) state-run system." Richard Bruggeman was Chief Executive Officer of the Intellectual Disability Services Council (IDSC) from 1984 until 2006.
The Diary
