Thriving Kids Program: What Melbourne Families Need to Know About Foundational Supports

If you're a parent or carer of a young child with developmental delay or autism in Melbourne, you've probably heard about the new Thriving Kids program. It's the biggest change to early childhood disability support in Australia in over a decade, and it starts rolling out from 1 October 2026.

What is Thriving Kids?

Thriving Kids is a $4 billion program jointly funded by the Australian Government ($2 billion) and state and territory governments ($2 billion) over five years. It's the first phase of what the Government calls "Foundational Supports," a new tier of disability support that sits outside the NDIS.

The program will support children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs, along with their families, carers and kin.

Rather than individual NDIS plans, Thriving Kids will deliver support through everyday settings like schools, childcare centres, community health clinics and family homes. The idea is to provide earlier help through local services, in the environments where children spend their time.

Who stays on the NDIS?

Children with permanent and significant disability will continue to be eligible for the NDIS. Children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have high support needs (substantially reduced functional capacity) will also remain on the NDIS, subject to usual arrangements.

Children enrolled in the NDIS before 1 January 2028 with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs will have their reassessments made under the eligibility criteria that were in place before that date. No child will have their current NDIS plan cancelled as part of this transition.

When does it start?

The rollout begins from 1 October 2026 and will be phased by location. Full national coverage is expected by 1 January 2028. From that date, new access arrangements for children will take effect, and NDIS access will focus on children with permanent and significant disability or high support needs.

Why the change?

The NDIS Review highlighted that nearly half of new NDIS participants were children under nine. The scheme was originally designed for permanent and significant disability, and many families with younger children found the system complex and hard to access. The Government's position is that many of these children will receive better support through a dedicated early childhood program with local service delivery.

What Melbourne families should do now

If your child is currently on the NDIS, their plan stays in place. You don't need to take any action. If you're considering applying to the NDIS for your child, the current rules still apply until January 2028.

Keep an eye on updates from the Victorian Government about how Thriving Kids will be delivered in your area. The Australian Government has also published fact sheets at health.gov.au/our-work/thriving-kids.

At Mirai Wellbeing, we work with families across Melbourne to make sure their children get the support they need. If you're unsure how these changes affect your family, reach out and we can talk you through it.