Families, schools and early learning providers will bear greater responsibility for caring for children with developmental delays and mild autism in a major shake-up of Australia's disability support system.
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The $4 billion Thriving Kids program aims to help reduce the soaring price tag of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which is projected to cost $46 billion this financial year.
The government signed a deal with the states on Monday to provide extra support outside the NDIS for children with more moderate disabilities.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the program would allow children to get support without having to spend years chasing a formal diagnosis.
"(Support services) will be available where children and their parents live and learn and play in the community in a broad-based, mainstream way," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
Children under nine will be covered by the Thriving Kids program, which Mr Butler said would begin rolling out from the start of October, and be fully operational by 2028.
Frank Oberklaid, a pediatrician who worked with Mr Butler to develop the program's principles, said it would be a major shift in the way children with disabilities were supported.
"(The old system) did not work for kids," he said, speaking alongside the health minister.
"The focus on the child's weaknesses and making a diagnosis doesn't work for kids.
"Pediatric practice is about what does this child and this family need over the next six, 12 months? What sort of supports do they need to make a difference, not what is the diagnosis?" Professor Oberklaid said.
Under the principles for the disability program, parents will be provided with resources like online courses, short videos and peer support groups to help them support their children.
Children and families who need extra help will also get access to specialists including occupational therapists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists and psychologists.
"It won't be a traditional Medicare-funded allied health professional visit that might be bulk billed or might attract a gap fee. This will be quite a different model than state governments particularly asked us for," Mr Butler said.
The health minister said schools and early learning centres would play a crucial role in identifying and supporting young people with developmental delays.
Australian Associated Press
