What early childhood partners are
We fund and work with community-based organisations to help us deliver the NDIS. We call these organisations NDIS partners.
Our early childhood partners are local organisations with teams of professionals. They have specialist knowledge and experience working with young children with delays in their developmental or disability, and their families.
They can help if you have a child younger than 9 with delays in their development or disability.
Your child doesn’t need a diagnosis for our early childhood partners to help.
Get help for your child from your health or education professional
A good place to start could be talking to your child’s health or education professional if you have a concern about your child's development. This person may be your:
- family doctor
- early childhood educator
- child health nurse.
They might also suggest contacting an early childhood partner.
What early childhood partners are for
An early childhood partner helps you work out what supports you and your child might connect to. They work with you and your child to understand what support you both need.
This might include:
- talking to you about your child’s daily life
- reading any reports or letters you have from professionals, like health professionals or educators observing your child in their usual environment
- using assessment and screening tools to understand your child’s development.
Once your early childhood partner understands both your and your child’s needs, they will work with you to determine what kind of supports you might connect to.
Early childhood partners will connect you with the right supports
They help deliver early connections.
Early connections form a part of the early childhood approach.
They’ll make sure you get the right early intervention supports to help with your child’s individual needs.
This might include:
- connecting you with community and other government supports
- providing practical information relevant to your child’s development
- connecting you with other families to assist with peer support
- providing a period of early supports for children younger than 6 with developmental concerns
- supporting you to apply for the NDIS.