Noticing that your child is doing things differently, or later, than other children their age can be an unsettling experience. You may have heard the phrase early intervention, or been told to contact the NDIS, without anyone explaining what that actually involves. The good news is that support in Australia is designed to start early, and in most cases you do not need a diagnosis to begin. This guide explains how the NDIS early childhood approach works, who it is for, and what the first steps look like.
TLDR
- The NDIS early childhood approach supports children younger than 9 who have developmental delay or disability.
- Your first contact is usually a local early childhood partner, and families can get in touch themselves.
- A diagnosis is not required for young children to start receiving support.
- Developmental delay and developmental concerns mean different things, and each opens a different pathway.
- Not every child needs an individual NDIS plan. Many are supported through community and short term services.
- Best practice early intervention happens in everyday settings, with families as active partners.
- A new national program called Thriving Kids begins rolling out from 1 October 2026, with NDIS access changes from 1 January 2028.
- Occupational therapy supports play, motor skills, sensory processing, self care and daily routines.
What early childhood intervention actually means
Early childhood intervention is the support given to young children who have a developmental delay or disability, and to the families around them. It is not one service or one appointment. It is a coordinated set of supports designed to help a child build skills, take part in everyday activities, and be included in their community.
In Australia, the main pathway for this is called the early childhood approach, delivered through the NDIS. Its purpose is to reach children early in life, when new skills are forming quickly and small changes to daily routines can make a meaningful difference.
It is worth naming what early intervention is not. It is not a judgement about your parenting, and it is not a label that follows your child forever. Many children move through early intervention and no longer need it by the time they start school.
Who the early childhood approach supports
The early childhood approach is for children younger than 9 who have delays in their development or a disability. Children aged 9 and over do not work with an early childhood partner. They work with a local area coordinator instead.
Two age numbers often get confused, so it helps to separate them. Under 9 is the age range for the early childhood approach as a whole. Under 6 is the age range that applies specifically to the developmental delay pathway and to early supports.
Until July 2023 the approach was known as ECEI, or early childhood early intervention, and covered children under 7. The current term is the early childhood approach, and the age range now extends to children younger than 9.
Developmental delay or developmental concerns?
These two terms sound similar, but the NDIS uses them to mean different things. Understanding which one applies to your child helps you understand which door you are walking through.
| Term | What it means | What it usually leads to |
| Developmental delay | Your child finds it much harder to do everyday things that other children their age can do, and needs extra help to do them. The child must be younger than 6 and meet the definition in the NDIS Act 2013. | A pathway to apply for the NDIS and, if eligible, an individual plan. |
| Developmental concerns | Delays in development that do not meet the NDIS definition of developmental delay. | Early supports for children younger than 6, plus connections to community and mainstream services. |
Developmental areas commonly looked at include everyday routines such as dressing, toileting and sleeping; eating and drinking; gross motor and fine motor skills; communication and language; thinking skills; and social and emotional development.
Delay in one area does not mean delay in all of them. Many children are tracking beautifully in some areas while needing extra support in others, and this is exactly the kind of picture early intervention is built to respond to.
Do you need a diagnosis first?
For young children, no. The early childhood approach is deliberately designed so that families can start without waiting months or years for a formal diagnostic assessment. Your own observations, together with input from your GP, child health nurse, childcare service or preschool, are usually enough to begin the conversation.
This matters because waiting lists for diagnostic appointments can be long, and development does not pause while a family waits. Support that begins earlier gives a child more time to practise skills in the settings where they matter.
For older children in the 6 to 9 range, the picture is different. Because the developmental delay pathway applies only to children under 6, families of older children generally need evidence of an impairment, which often means diagnostic information from a paediatrician, psychologist or other qualified professional.
How families access early childhood support
You do not need a referral from a doctor to make the first call, and you do not need to have everything worked out before you do. The process is designed to start with a conversation.
Talking with an early childhood partner
Early childhood partners are local organisations funded to deliver the early childhood approach. Their teams include professionals with clinical experience in child development, and they act as the front door for families. If there is no partner operating in your area, the NDIS works with you directly.
At this first contact you will talk about what you are noticing at home, at childcare or at preschool. Bringing along any letters or observation notes from your GP, educator or child health nurse can help, though they are not a requirement for children under 6.
What happens after first contact
The partner will look at your child’s strengths, the areas they find harder, and the goals that matter to your family. From there, they might connect you with mainstream and community services, offer short term early intervention directly, link you with other families, or support you to apply to the NDIS.
Not every child ends up with an individual NDIS plan, and that is not a failure. Where more detailed information is needed, an occupational therapy assessment can describe how a child manages daily tasks, which helps everyone plan the right level of support.
What early intervention supports can include
Supports are shaped around a child’s functional goals rather than a diagnostic label. What one family needs will look quite different to another.
- Allied health therapy such as occupational therapy, speech pathology, physiotherapy and psychology
- Support delivered in everyday settings including home, childcare, playgroup and preschool
- Information, coaching and practical strategies for parents and carers
- Connections to community programs, playgroups and other families
- Equipment, aids and assistive technology where these help a child participate
Where funding is in place, it usually sits under capacity building supports, which are aimed at building skills rather than simply providing services. For very young children this often includes occupational therapy for toddlers, focused on play, sensory processing, motor skills and daily routines.
Families who are not eligible for NDIS funding still have options. Medicare chronic disease management plans and mental health care plans can help with a limited number of allied health sessions each year, and private health insurance may offer rebates. A GP can explain what applies to your situation.
How occupational therapy fits in
Occupational therapists support children to take part in the everyday activities that fill a young child’s day. That includes play, dressing, mealtimes, using their hands to explore objects, moving safely around a space, and coping with the sensory demands of busy environments.
An occupational therapist might suggest changes to a play space, recommend equipment, or coach a parent through a mealtime routine that has become stressful. They also work with children whose sensory, emotional or behavioural experiences are affecting their comfort and their social and emotional development.
Much of the work happens between sessions. When the adults around a child understand what helps, the learning continues at breakfast, in the car, at the playground, and at bedtime.
What good early intervention looks like
The ECIA National Guidelines for Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention describe what families should be able to expect. These principles are a useful checklist when you are choosing a service.
- The family sits at the centre, as active and equal partners in planning
- Services respect each family’s culture, language, values and beliefs
- Therapy happens in natural environments, where the child already spends time
- The team around the child communicates and works together
- Adults close to the child build their own knowledge and skills
- Goals reflect what the family wants, not what a form suggests
- Strategies are grounded in current evidence and delivered by qualified therapists
You may also hear about the key worker model, where one therapist coordinates the team and brings in others as needed. Sessions that build on a child’s own motivations, an approach sometimes described as interest based therapy, tend to hold attention for longer and carry over more easily into daily life.
Changes families should know about
Australian governments have committed to a new national system of supports called Thriving Kids, for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay or autism and low to moderate support needs. It came out of the Independent Review into the NDIS and forms the first phase of what are called foundational supports.
| Date | What happens |
| Now | Nothing changes. Existing NDIS plans and early intervention supports continue as they are. |
| 1 October 2026 | Thriving Kids services begin rolling out through state and territory governments. |
| 1 January 2028 | Thriving Kids is expected to be at scale, and new NDIS access requirements for children aged 8 and under take effect. |
Children with permanent and significant disability, and children aged 8 and under with substantially reduced functional capacity, are expected to remain eligible for the NDIS. Children already enrolled before 1 January 2028 would be reassessed under the eligibility criteria in place before that date.
Detail is still being finalised, including how the threshold between low to moderate and high support needs will be applied in practice, and how services will be delivered in regional and remote areas. If your child is already receiving support, there is nothing you need to do right now. Keeping your reports and assessments up to date is sensible regardless.
Ready to support your child?
Reaching out for the first time can feel like a big step, particularly when the language around funding and eligibility is unfamiliar. It helps to remember that early intervention is not about fixing a child. It is about understanding how they experience the world and giving them practical ways to take part in it.
A conversation with an early childhood partner, your GP, or an occupational therapist is a reasonable place to begin. Learn for Life works with children, teens and families across Adelaide from the Torrensville clinic and in the community, with a neurodiverse-affirming approach that starts with what your child can already do.
Sources: NDIS Guide to the early childhood approach (ndis.gov.au); Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Thriving Kids (health.gov.au); ECIA National Guidelines for Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention.
This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not replace individual advice from a qualified health professional. Every child’s development is different. If you have concerns about your child, speak with your GP, child health nurse or an occupational therapist about what may be appropriate for your family.