For families of young children with autism or developmental delay, one of the biggest NDIS changes is arriving soon, and it involves moving support for these children outside the scheme entirely. It’s called Thriving Kids, and it starts rolling out from October 2026. For parents, it raises real and understandable questions. Here’s the plain-language guide to what we know.
What Thriving Kids Is
Thriving Kids is a new government program designed as a partial replacement for the NDIS, specifically for children aged eight and under who have developmental delay or autism with lower to moderate support needs. Rather than accessing support through an individual NDIS plan, these children and their families will access support outside the NDIS, through what the government calls foundational supports.
The context is cost and design. The government has been open that the NDIS grew well beyond its original intent, and Thriving Kids is part of a plan to reduce participant numbers, from around 760,000 toward 600,000 by 2030, with young children with lower support needs among those most affected.
Why It’s Happening
The government’s argument is that the NDIS became the only door to support for many families, when it was never designed to be. For a child with a mild developmental delay, an individualised NDIS plan may not be the best or most appropriate response, and mainstream services like health and education should play a bigger role.
“The phased rollout of Thriving Kids supports begins from October 2026,” the Department of Health confirms.
The stated aim is a more family-centred system of supports delivered through community and mainstream settings. Whether it delivers that in practice is exactly what families and advocates will be watching.
The Honest Concerns
This is one of the most contested parts of the whole reform, and the concerns deserve airing. The central question is whether the supports available outside the NDIS will actually be there, and be good enough, when children move across. Moving a child off an individualised plan only works if the foundational supports replacing it are real, funded and accessible.
Disability advocates have pressed exactly this point, arguing that a genuinely family-centred system needs true family collaboration in its design, not just a redirection away from the NDIS. For parents, the worry is straightforward: will my child still get the help they need.
What Parents Should Know Now
A few grounding points. This is a phased rollout beginning October 2026, not an overnight switch, and detail is still emerging, so the most important thing is to stay informed through official channels rather than second-hand alarm. If your child is currently on the NDIS, changes happen over time and you should be notified, keep engaging with your current supports in the meantime. And keep documenting your child’s needs and the difference their supports make, because clear evidence of need matters in any system, NDIS or otherwise. The official information sits on the NDIS changes page.
The Bottom Line
Thriving Kids is a significant shift: young children with autism or developmental delay and lower support needs moving from individual NDIS plans to foundational supports outside the scheme, from October 2026. The promise is a more appropriate, family-centred system; the concern is whether the replacement supports will genuinely be there. Stay informed through official sources, keep your child’s evidence current, and watch how the foundational supports actually take shape. This is general information, not disability, medical, legal or financial advice.
Epik Wire covers the NDIS in plain language for participants and families. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
