A practical guide to what Thriving Kids currently offers in WA, what is still rolling out and what remains unchanged for the NDIS until 2028.
Thriving Kids officially began rolling out in October 2026. That does not mean every promised service, provider network or referral pathway is already operating.
For Western Australian families, the first phase primarily provides information, advice and help navigating existing supports through Thriving Kids Connect WA. Targeted local supports are being introduced progressively, with full implementation anticipated from 1 January 2028.
That distinction matters. A family may hear that Thriving Kids has “started” and reasonably expect to find a complete pathway from developmental concern to assessment, referral and funded support. The pathway is still being built.
This guide separates:
Information current at 10 October 2026. Thriving Kids is changing quickly and services differ across states and territories. This article focuses on Western Australia and provides general information rather than individual funding, clinical or legal advice.
Thriving Kids has commenced, but it is in a staged rollout.
Families in WA can currently use Thriving Kids Connect WA, an information, advice and navigation service commissioned by the WA Government and delivered by Uplyft. National information services and phonelines are also available.
The full network of local programs, targeted allied-health supports, providers and referral pathways is not yet operating. The WA Government says services will be progressively introduced between 1 October 2026 and 1 January 2028.
There are also no changes to how children access the NDIS until 1 January 2028. A child is not automatically removed from the NDIS because the Thriving Kids rollout has begun.
Thriving Kids is the first phase of Australia’s Foundational Supports program. It is intended to support children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs, together with their families, carers and kin.
The Commonwealth and state and territory governments have committed a combined $4 billion over five years. Governments intend Thriving Kids to provide support outside the NDIS, including:
The national model establishes broad principles and types of support. Each state and territory will deliver its own mix of existing and new services.
This means Thriving Kids will not look identical in Perth, regional WA, New South Wales or the Northern Territory.
The Australian Government’s rollout information says some supports began in October 2026, other supports will grow over time and all supports are expected to be rolled out by January 2028.
WA describes the current period as a transitional phase for testing, learning and refining the program. Its official guidance says services, providers, referral pathways and support options will be progressively introduced and expanded throughout 2027.
It is therefore useful to think about the rollout in three layers:
| Layer | Current position |
|---|---|
| Information and general advice | Available nationally and through Thriving Kids Connect WA |
| Navigation and connection to existing services | Available in WA through Thriving Kids Connect WA |
| Complete local targeted-support pathway | Still being introduced and commissioned |
A navigation service can help a family understand their options. It is not the same as having a funded psychologist, occupational therapist or speech pathologist ready to accept a referral.
The WA Government has commissioned Uplyft, formerly Wanslea, to provide Thriving Kids Connect WA. It is a free statewide phone and online information, advice and navigation service. A diagnosis is not required.
The service is intended to:
Families can visit the service information linked from the WA Thriving Kids Connect page or call 1300 WA KIDS (1300 925 437).
The service can help families find a starting point. The published information does not say that every family who contacts it will immediately receive a funded individual therapy service.
Families can access the Thriving Kids National Digital Information Hub, delivered by the Raising Children Network.
This is intended to provide reliable information and practical guidance about children’s development. It may be useful when a parent is unsure whether a difference warrants further discussion or wants help preparing for an appointment.
Information is not a substitute for an individual assessment where one is needed. It may, however, help a family describe what they have noticed and identify the next service to contact.
The national Thriving Kids phoneline is staffed by maternal and child health nurses for families of children aged eight and under. Families can call 1800 882 436 or use the video-call service, with published hours of 7 am to midnight, seven days a week. The video-call page specifies Australian Eastern Time (AET), not Perth time; check the service’s current hours before calling or joining from WA.
This provides information and advice about childhood development and behaviour. It should not be described as a complete assessment, diagnosis or guarantee of access to a particular service.
The Thriving Kids Autism Helpline, delivered by Amaze, is available on 1300 654 789 from 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays. Amaze specifies that these hours apply across Australian timezones.
It provides autism-specific information and advice for families of children aged zero to eight who may be exploring autism or already have a diagnosis. It can help families understand support options and connect with services.
Again, information and navigation should not be confused with funded ongoing therapy.
Governments say Thriving Kids will eventually include more direct and targeted supports. These may include:
These are intended components of the national model, not promises that every service is currently available in every area or that each child will receive each form of support. Availability, referral pathways, support thresholds, session volumes, waiting lists, regional access, provider choice and continuity arrangements are still being developed.
As at 10 October 2026, families may still be unable to find public answers to questions such as:
These are not minor administrative details. They determine whether the program functions as an accessible pathway rather than another place from which families are referred elsewhere.
The WA Government says families will not need a diagnosis to seek help through Thriving Kids.
This could reduce one familiar barrier: waiting for a formal autism or developmental assessment before receiving any guidance. A family should be able to raise concerns about communication, learning, behaviour, movement, participation or social development without first proving a diagnostic label.
That does not make diagnosis irrelevant.
A formal assessment may still be useful for:
The safer distinction is:
A diagnosis is not intended to be the entry ticket for initial Thriving Kids guidance, but it may still matter for other clinical, educational and disability pathways.
This remains one of the most important unanswered questions.
Official information describes Thriving Kids as being for children with low to moderate support needs. It says children with permanent and significant disability, including children with developmental delay and/or autism with high support needs, will remain within the intended NDIS population, subject to the usual eligibility arrangements.
However, the official pages reviewed for this article do not provide families with one complete national scoring rule for deciding where low, moderate and high support needs begin and end.
Support need is also not always stable or obvious. A child might:
Until operational criteria are clearer, clinicians and families should avoid assuming that a diagnostic label or a brief observation automatically determines the pathway.
The current official position is more cautious than some headlines suggest.
The Australian Government states that:
Thriving Kids commencing does not itself cancel a current NDIS plan, automatically transfer a participant or create a new legal test today. Existing plans continue to operate unless changed through the usual NDIS processes.
The transition protection is important, but it should not be described as a guarantee that a particular plan, budget, provider or therapy will remain unchanged until age nine. Normal reassessment processes still apply, and the detailed arrangements for continuity between NDIS and Thriving Kids supports have not been fully published.
For a separate issue affecting current participants, read our 2026 NDIS support-budget changes guide. Future access arrangements and changes to an existing plan’s budget are not the same question.
Families should continue to respond to NDIS plan reviews, requests for information and reassessment processes under the rules applying at the time. They should not assume that an informal description of Thriving Kids has already replaced an individual NDIA decision.
If a family receives a decision about NDIS access or funding, the relevant question is what decision was actually made, under which current rule and what review rights apply. General announcements about a future system are not a substitute for the written reasons for an individual decision.
Until the full service network is visible, the following sequence may help.
Describe what the child is finding difficult and where it happens.
Instead of:
“I think my child needs therapy.”
Try:
“My child can communicate needs at home but becomes unable to speak or seek help in unfamiliar settings. This is affecting participation at school and community activities.”
Useful areas to consider include:
List:
This is useful whether the next conversation is with Thriving Kids Connect WA, a GP, school, psychologist or the NDIA.
For school support, our Australian IEP and reasonable-adjustments guide explains how to prepare for a planning meeting. School adjustments and developmental-service access are separate pathways.
Depending on the concern, this may include:
Contacting one service does not prevent a family from using another. Developmental, health, educational and disability systems have different responsibilities.
Clarify whether the service provides:
This prevents a family leaving an information appointment believing that a therapy referral has been accepted when it has not.
Record:
Families navigating several systems can otherwise be asked to repeat the same history without knowing which pathway remains active.
Families may wish to ask:
The answers may change as WA commissions additional services during 2027. Ask for links or written information where possible.
Psychologists and other professionals can help families describe functional needs, identify risks associated with delayed support and prepare relevant evidence.
They should be cautious about saying that:
These details depend on rules, commissioning decisions and local service availability that are still developing.
A more defensible clinical contribution is to explain:
For families to understand Thriving Kids as a genuine service pathway, public information will eventually need to answer:
The government has committed to monitoring service delivery, outcomes and emerging issues, as well as an independent three-year review. Clear access data will be important because program expenditure alone cannot show whether families received timely, suitable support.
Thriving Kids beginning in October 2026 is the start of a rollout, not the arrival of a complete replacement system.
In WA, families can now access information and navigation through Thriving Kids Connect WA and use the national information services. More direct supports are intended to follow, but the complete provider and referral pathway will develop throughout 2027.
The NDIS access rules do not change until January 2028. Children who enter the NDIS before then have a stated transition arrangement, but normal reassessments continue and the practical details of future support continuity remain incomplete. Families and clinicians should distinguish announced future arrangements from the services, plans and decisions that exist today.
If you are unsure where to begin, contact Thriving Kids Connect WA and ask which services are currently available for your child in your area. Keep a short record of the advice, referrals and next action.
For related reading, explore our neurodiversity and family-support guides. Clinicians can use our NDIS report checklist to structure functional evidence and browse NDIS resources. PsychVault resources do not establish eligibility, replace assessment or guarantee funding.
This article provides general information and does not determine whether a child is eligible for Thriving Kids, the NDIS or a particular clinical service. Check current Commonwealth and WA Government information before making funding or service decisions.
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