A Special Report from abilityNEWS

Mild to moderate autism conditions are to be removed from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) by July 2026. A new system called ‘Thriving Kids’ is set to replace it, but it isn’t clear how that would work, who would qualify, or if state governments will agree to share the bill.

Prompted by the growing number of young children entering the NDIS with autism diagnoses, the changes were announced by Minister for Health, Ageing, and Disability, Mark Butler at the National Press Club. The Minister said the NDIS needs to be brought back to focus on supporting people with long term and permanent disability.

Autism numbers are now overwhelming the NDIS he said, risking public support for the scheme.

He says a new program is needed to deal with mild to moderate autism and developmental delays in children by making better use of the health and education systems and providing appropriate support for young people and families.

“Tens and tens of thousands of young children with mild to moderate developmental delay or autism are on a scheme set up for permanent disability, Butler said. “I doubt very much this is what most of their parents really wanted or expected.”

“But it’s all they’ve had available – the only port in the storm, if you like.” He said this was “not the parents’ fault.”

“They love their children and want the best for them. They are desperate – absolutely desperate – to get their children diagnosed because we’ve made it the only way they can get help.”

“Too often, they have to wait for ages and pay thousands of dollars just to get that diagnosis. Families looking for additional supports in mainstream services can’t find them, because they largely don’t exist anymore. And, in that, governments have failed them,” Butler said.

“The NDIS model just doesn’t suit their needs.”

The Minister acknowledges that the changes may be hard for families and carers to hear, but says continued community support for the NDIS demands the action. Children enrolled on the NDIS before the system changes in 2026 will remain in the scheme.

He foreshadowed a yet-to-be-designed system called the Thriving Kids program. Butler says it could be funded jointly by the States and the Commonwealth, however there was no specific detail on how this would happen. He said the aim of the new system would be to identify needs early.

Mr Butler suggested wider use of health checks via the Medicare system to identify developmental delays and is considering a new Medicare item to bulk-bill health checks for 3-year-olds.

“Where these checks find that kids need additional supports, we will look at providing access to new Medicare allied health items. Parents will rightly want to know what Thriving Kids will look like before they steer away from the NDIS.”

“Over coming months, we’ll work with the community to design a system to support Thriving Kids and how best to invest the Commonwealth’s $2 billion provision,” Butler said.  

“States will obviously be key partners, having committed to share funding equally. But so will service providers and – importantly – parents themselves.”

In an admission that the scheme is still on the drawing-board, the Minister said he intends “to work with those groups directly over the coming months to design Thriving Kids in more detail.”

In other changes announced by the Minister, he said there are new plans for NDIS provider registrations. “While there are currently more than 260,000 NDIS service providers, only 16,000 are registered, leaving far too much scope for poor quality service, sharp practice, conflicts of interest and precious little oversight,“ he noted in his speech.   “That has to change.”

“There should also be a more rigorous evidence base for the supports being funded by taxpayers.”

Changes to registration requirements will be overseen by the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Jenny McAllister, and a newly establish NDIS Reform Advisory Committee.

There are still unanswered questions about how foundational supports would be changed and evaluated under any proposed NDIS redesign.