Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We all want our children, and Australia's children, to have the best possible start in life. We want them to thrive. And if, by some chance, they seem to exhibit developmental delays, we want to be able to support them to achieve the best possible outcome. As with all early intervention, the earlier the better. But it has to be the right interventions at the right times. When dealing with very small children, this can be difficult to assess. They may not be of an age to be able to undertake assessments. They may not be cooperative with assessments; no-one wants to focus on the things they can't do.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. It seems logical that access to services requires a diagnosis, a gatekeeping eligibility. Yet, for early intervention, this need for a diagnosis can form an impenetrable barrier, preventing young children from accessing vital services for early intervention. This is one of the challenges that Thriving Kids was set up to address. As with any change in a complex system such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the changes themselves are complex, and there is, understandably, concern and nervousness in the participant and carer community as well as among clinicians and therapists.

So I'm pleased to be able to speak about the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability report No child left behind, which examines the proposed Thriving Kids initiative, a reform that goes to the heart of who we are as a nation and how we support our youngest Australians. This committee inquiry was specifically set up to examine Thriving Kids and its implementation.

I'd like to think the committee and its chair, the member for Macarthur, Dr Mike Freelander, himself a paediatrician, as well as the more than 400 organisations, peak bodies and individuals who provided vital information and gave evidence to the committee. At its core, this report asks a simple but profound question: when a child needs support to thrive, will the system be there—early, equitably and effectively?

Importantly, the committee recognised the importance of maintaining the ideals underpinning the NDIS: independence, dignity, choice, equity and inclusion in the new program. The Thriving Kids initiative is therefore positioned as a critical element of broader reform, designed to strengthen early intervention, improve equity of access and embed evidence-based, coordinated supports for children who have developmental delay and their families. This is not merely administrative reform; it's about life trajectories, because, when support comes early, children are more likely to be able to participate fully in education, build relationships and reach their potential. When it comes late or not at all, the consequences can echo across a lifetime.

Families, clinicians, educators and advocates spoke to the committee clearly. Fragmented systems must be connected. Workforce sustainability matters and reforms must never compromise access to care. Their message was unmistakeable. Reform must be careful, inclusive and grounded in evidence. That is why one of the report's central recommendations is for an inclusive co-design process involving recognised organisations, people with lived experience, First Nations communities and culturally diverse families. If we are designing supports for children, those voices must not just be consulted; they must help lead the design. The report also recommends establishing a thriving kids advisory council to guide governments on implementation and ensure the initiative delivers appropriate quality services. This is about governance, but, more importantly, it's also about trust. Parents must be able to trust that, when the reforms occur, their child will not fall through the cracks. Indeed, the committee was explicit: the initiative should be implemented in phases with safeguards to prevent the loss of supports for children. That principle—no loss of support—should be our guiding light. Any child who misses out, who falls through the cracks, is potential lost.

We know from the inquiry that families already face long wait times for assessments and therapies, sometimes stretching from six months to four years. So much for early intervention. We know they report confusing navigating systems and inconsistent decision-making, and we know that uneven service distribution forces some families, particularly in regional areas, to travel hours just to reach a provider. These are not minor inconveniences; they are structural barriers to opportunity. The report therefore emphasises integrated planning across health, education and disability systems; culturally safe and neurodiversity-affirming models of care; and multidisciplinary teams, particularly in rural and remote areas. In short, it calls for a system that works around the child, not one that forces the child to navigate the system. A single point of entry to help families get the support they need is another really vital reform.

But perhaps the most important message of this report is captured in its title: No child left behind. The committee made clear that its objective was to ensure every child who requires foundational supports is protected, included and provided appropriate services as the Thriving Kids initiative is designed to do. That is a commitment this parliament must honour. Now, reform of this scale will inevitably prompt concern. The announcement of Thriving Kids has already caused anxiety among families and providers, and we should not dismiss these concerns. We need to listen to them. Good reform is not measured by how quickly it's implemented but by how safely it is delivered. So, as the government considers its response, due within six months of the report's publication, we must focus on what success looks like. Success is a parent who can access help for their child. Success is a teacher who has the allied health support in the classroom. Success is a child who gets the right support at the right time before challenges become lifelong barriers. And success is a system that is equitable no matter a child's postcode, background or family circumstance.

The measure of a society is not how it treats those who are thriving already; it is how it lifts those who need support to thrive. This report gives us a blueprint. It calls for evidence-based policy, it calls for coordination, it calls for accountability and, above all, it calls for inclusion. So let's take up that challenge with the seriousness it deserves, because, when we invest early in children, we do more than change individual lives. We strengthen communities, reduce long-term disadvantage and build a more compassionate nation. Every child deserves the chance not just to participate but to flourish. And let's ensure that, in Australia, truly, no child is left behind.

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