Roll-out of Thriving Kids
South Australia is commencing the roll-out of the Thriving Kids approach, for families – including parents, carers and kin – and their children aged 8 and under who need extra support with their development.
Thriving Kids is an opportunity to shift towards best practice early childhood intervention by strengthening supports where kids live, learn and play – and in settings where families already spend time and feel comfortable – while also adding to the range of supports available.
Every child develops in their own way. Developmental delay is when young children take more time to build skills like communicating, learning, moving, interacting with others and managing emotions. Developmental differences such as autism shape how people experience the world, like how they communicate and interact or process information.
Thriving Kids enhances the opportunities for parents, practitioners and educators to identify developmental concerns earlier and connect families and other adults in a child’s life with timely and appropriate information and support. It also aims to help the adults in a child’s life understand and respond to developmental differences.
Families will start to see Thriving Kids supports progressively becoming available from October 2026, and supports will continue to build over the next 15 months.
The Preschool Boost program is giving our State a head start on implementing a Thriving Kids approach. From 2026, Preschool Boost offers small group programs for children, and educator and family-focused allied health coaching in Flying Start partner preschool services.
Free child health and development checks, including age-appropriate screening activities, are available for children living in South Australia before they start school. These screenings support families and children to grow, learn and thrive, and can connect you with the right early health and/or development supports, if needed.
In 2027, South Australian families will see the enhanced delivery of playgroups, peer-support groups and other innovative options to help families and children, including autism-specific supports.
By 2028, Thriving Kids will also provide targeted supports after extensive discussion and design with key stakeholders. Targeted supports are goal-oriented supports that include more tailored family capacity building and allied health.
South Australia’s initial Thriving Kids service offerings for families and children will be based on existing evidence about best practice and what works. We will also seek to learn lessons and build additional evidence about what works for diverse families and communities, to help strengthen future approaches.
While the Thriving Kids approach is being rolled out, it is very important for families to know that there will be:
- no change to NDIS eligibility until the start of 2028
- children aged 8 and under who are already in the NDIS at that point will remain subject to existing rules
- children with permanent and significant disability and with high support needs will remain eligible for the NDIS.
Frequently asked questions
Thriving Kids is for families and their children aged 8 and under who need extra support with their development.
Children will not need a diagnosis to receive support through Thriving Kids. Getting support early can make a big difference, helping children:
- build on their strengths
- build connections with families, carers and the community
- grow the skills they need to learn and participate in everyday life.
Information, advice and family supports are intended to be easy to access from the point a concern arises about a child’s development.
Alongside the services that will be delivered in South Australia, the Australian Government will provide national services to improve awareness of developmental delay and neurodevelopmental difference, and to support families with early identification.
They will include additional Thriving Kids online and phone supports. For more information on national initiatives visit the Australian Government website.
More information on community-based supports will be available as they roll out in 2027 and on tailored family capacity building and allied health supports will be available in the lead-up to 2028.
Thriving Kids will help enhance and expand delivery of some services that South Australia’s families and children already use in the early years, and will add some additional supports over time.
Families can now access up to seven child health and development checks, delivered by nurses before their child starts school. A child health and development check is a friendly appointment with a qualified health professional.
These checks are an opportunity for families to understand their child’s development, and access information and advice where needed that support your family’s goals.
Each child health and development check looks at your child’s whole development, and provides practical, family-friendly advice on things like:
- physical health - growth, feeding, sleep, hearing and vision
- development – talking, moving, playing, learning
- social and emotional wellbeing – how your child interacts and manages feelings; and
- parenting support – help with sleep, behaviour, toilet training, safety, nutrition, and more.
For further information on how to book a free child health and development check, see free child health and development checks
Some families may prefer to see their GP. Nationally, Thriving Kids will see a new Medicare Healthy Kids Check supporting GPs to assess a child’s health and development at age 3. This will help families get advice about their child’s health and development.
South Australian children also have access to extra support for their learning and development through the Preschool Boost program. The program allows South Australian preschool partners to offer evidence-informed programs and supports designed to improve outcomes for children, including small group programs for children, and educator and family-focused allied health coaching.
In 2027, families will start to see community-based Thriving Kids supports, delivered in everyday settings where families already spend time and feel comfortable. Their purpose is to help families and carers build their confidence and practical knowledge to identify and respond to developmental delay earlier. Examples of these supports include parental peer support and supported playgroups for families and younger children, noting that other supports are also intended to be available, including autism-specific supports.
From 2028, Thriving Kids will provide targeted supports for children and families who need them most. Targeted supports are goal-oriented supports that include more tailored family capacity building and allied health.
More information will be made available ahead of the 2028 commencement of these supports.
Thriving Kids will start with a conversation. It might be with a GP, a CaFHS nurse, an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Service or an early childhood educator.
It will be a place for families to start when they are unsure. These conversations might see a family call the national phone line, or reach out to join a local playgroup, or enrol in 3-year-old preschool.
It will look different for families, depending on the extra support that will make a difference for their child’s development.
All children learn and develop differently. Some children may need extra support with their communication, learning, behaviour, movement or social skills.
Thriving Kids will be an easy place to start when families have questions about their child's development and are not sure what to do.
The Independent Review of the NDIS found that many children and families face challenges accessing the right support at the right time. In particular, the need for a diagnosis can delay access to help, and support systems have often focused on individual approaches rather than family capacity.
Thriving Kids has been designed by experts, informed by evidence that tells us that best practice early intervention leads to better outcomes for children and families, including:
- identifying developmental concerns early
- providing information, advice and timely support without the need for a formal diagnosis
- strengthening family capacity, building on strengths and providing support where needed
- building stronger community connections by delivering supports in everyday settings that are accessible, familiar and trusted by families.
Thriving Kids is an approach that gives families the confidence and understanding to support their child's development.
GPs are already a great source of information and advice for many families. This will continue under Thriving Kids, including with the new Medicare Healthy Kids Check being rolled out by the Australian Government, supporting GPs to assess a child’s health and development at age 3.
In South Australia, families also have the choice to access child health and development checks including from the Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) and several Aboriginal Community-Controlled Providers.
The range of choice available to families gives options to discuss their child’s development with a practitioner in settings that feel comfortable for them.
It is intended that Thriving Kids is available to all children and families regardless of where they live, although the supports might look different in some cases.
Preschool Boost is a funding program designed to help early childhood education centres partnered with the South Australian Government do more to address developmental vulnerability and improve outcomes for 3-and 4-year-old children, their families and communities.
Preschool Boost funding can be used by early childhood education and care providers to purchase pre-approved allied health and other quality, evidence informed programs from the Preschool Boost menu.
Preschool Boost is designed to support groups of children and enhance the capability of services, educators, and parents.
To find a service receiving Preschool Boost funding, or its equivalent, look for the Flying Start banner or find your closest Flying Start service
Changes to NDIS access for children aged 8 and under will not be made until 1 January 2028. In South Australia, Thriving Kids supports will be available by the time access changes for some children take effect. Until then, families and children can still apply to access the NDIS for supports.
Children of all ages with permanent and significant disability will continue to be eligible for the NDIS, subject to the usual NDIS processes, after 1 January 2028.
For more information on changes to the NDIS, see About the changes to the NDIS