DROs respond to government agreement on disability supports

Jonathan Shar
4 minutes ago
5 min read

Australia’s Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) acknowledge an agreement has been reached between Federal, State and Territory governments regarding hospital funding and disability supports, including the Thriving Kids initiative—reforms that will affect how people with disability access support across Australia and across the lifespan.

Joint statement by disability rights organizations welcomes the delay of the Thriving Kids initiative, emphasizing the need for national consistency and preparedness in reforms.

While public announcements have focused on Thriving Kids, DROs say the bigger issue is whether governments are prepared to deliver a functional, nationally consistent Foundational Supports system (including Thriving Kids) that works alongside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

These reforms must be delivered in parallel so people with disability can access support outside the NDIS and avoid widening service gaps and inequity between jurisdictions.

What the Thriving Kids delay means

DROs cautiously welcome the short delay to the commencement of Thriving Kids to October 2026, and stress the importance of using this time wisely.

The disability sector has consistently called for sufficient time for:

genuine co-design across all jurisdictions
strong safeguards
workforce planning
appropriate piloting and testing before large-scale implementation

DROs say the delay must be used to strengthen readiness and address known gaps.

Families and frontline professionals say the system isn’t ready

DROs point to feedback from families, educators and health professionals, including responses gathered through national surveys conducted by Children and Young People with Disability Australia and the Australian Autism Alliance, indicating key parts of the system are not ready for transition at scale.

DROs say similar concerns have been raised through past inquiries and reform processes, where people with disability and families have called for stronger safeguards, clarity, and accountability.

National consistency is still unclear

National Cabinet has agreed to Thriving Kids being fully operational by 1 January 2028, with $2 billion contributed by the Commonwealth, matched by states and territories.

DROs say states and territories need flexibility to operationalise supports locally—but warn that without:

a public implementation plan
national standards
and public reporting on progress

Families will continue to face uncertainty about what supports will be available and when.

Beyond Thriving Kids: how Foundational Supports and the NDIS will work together

DROs emphasise the agreement sits within broader negotiations that will determine how Foundational Supports and the NDIS interact.

There remains significant uncertainty about how General and Targeted Supports will be funded, delivered and governed across jurisdictions. With responsibilities split across governments, DROs say transparent intergovernmental agreements are essential—alongside public clarity on pathways as people’s needs change over time.

Safeguards must include crisis-response pathways

DROs say safeguarding mechanisms must interact across all Foundational Supports, including Thriving Kids, and embed:

crisis-response and escalation pathways
clear referral mechanisms
rapid review processes
coordination with health, mental health and community services

The aim: ensuring people experiencing acute stress or system breakdown can access timely, wraparound support without falling between programs or jurisdictions.

Sequencing matters: no one should lose support in transition

NDIS planning reforms are progressing under the New Framework Planning, making sequencing critical.

DROs argue Foundational Supports must be operational, accessible and adequately resourced before boundary changes shift supports between systems.

No person with disability should be redirected into community systems that are not ready to meet demand—particularly children, who may experience changes to NDIS eligibility criteria from mid-2027 onwards.

Equity risks for communities facing intersecting disadvantage

DROs warn families navigating language barriers, cultural differences, disability type, geography, and other intersecting factors are most at risk during system transitions.

Redirecting families to community systems without addressing existing access barriers risks compounding inequity and leaving children and families without essential supports.

System pressure will spill into hospitals and schools without proper design

DROs say if reforms are not properly designed and funded, impacts will extend well beyond disability services—shifting pressure to hospitals and emergency departments, schools managing unmet support needs, and health and aged care systems responding to issues that should have been addressed earlier through community-based supports.

Call to action

DROs call on all governments to urgently commit to the following actions:

1) Provide public clarity and transparency

On how Foundational and Targeted Supports will be funded, delivered and governed; how Thriving Kids aligns with state/territory delivery; how supports interact with the NDIS; and pathways as needs change over time.

2) Guarantee national consistency and equity

By establishing a nationally coordinated Foundational Supports framework with minimum service guarantees; requiring best-practice, disability-affirming supports; confirming whether funding models, eligibility and access pathways will differ across jurisdictions; and preventing postcode-based inequity.

3) Ensure workforce readiness before large-scale rollout

Including targeted investment, training, role clarity and workforce supports—especially in regional, remote and culturally diverse communities where shortages already exist.

4) Build capability across diversity

Workforce training should include cultural competency, gender-responsive practice, disability-affirming approaches across disability types, and understanding intersecting identities.

5) Deliver operational safeguards and continuity of support

By publishing clear transition arrangements; defining responsibilities across systems; ensuring transparent escalation/review processes; and providing accessible public information so no child or person with disability experiences loss, delay or reduction of supports.

6) Reframe reform communications

To be accessible, strengths-based, disability and neuro-affirming, aligned with the National Autism Strategy, grounded in lived experience, and actively challenging deficit narratives.

DROs have sought further direct clarity from government and remain ready to work constructively to ensure reforms are co-designed with people with disability, children and families, strengthen coordination across systems, and deliver lasting improvements in access to supports.

“This is bigger than Thriving Kids… If Foundational Supports are rushed, badly implemented or poorly sequenced with changes to the NDIS, people with disability risk being left without the support they need—and the pressure will shift to hospitals, schools and aged care.”

Megan Spindler-Smith, Acting CEO, People with Disability Australia

“We welcome the decision to delay Thriving Kids—but delay alone doesn’t make reform safe… Timelines must be readiness-based, not date-based.”

Jenny Karavolos, Co-Chair, Australian Autism Alliance

“Families have been very clear… 79 per cent of those we surveyed said the original Thriving Kids timeline was too short.”

Skye Kakoschke-Moore, CEO, Children and Young People with Disability Australia

“Access to peer support, self-advocacy and decision supports is critically important for people with an intellectual disability to truly exercise choice and control…”

Catherine McAlpine, CEO, Inclusion Australia

“When information isn’t available in community languages… these families fall through the gaps. This delay must be used to build equity into the foundations.”

Lara Kissin, Acting CEO, National Ethnic Disability Alliance