Step 1: Speak to your child’s health or education professional
This may be their family doctor, early childhood educator or child health nurse.
Let them know you have concerns about your child’s development.
They will help you work out what supports you and your child might need.
They may also put you in touch with an early childhood partner in your area.
Step 2: Understand your options
NDIS supports under the early childhood approach
Our early childhood approach is about supporting children with delays in their development or with disability.
It is available for children younger than 6 with developmental delay or children younger than 9 with disability.
Children younger than 6 do not need a diagnosis for our early childhood approach.
Our early childhood partners can:
- connect you with local mainstream and community services
- give you information about child development
- help you understand the impact of your child’s delay or disability
- see if your child is likely to benefit from early support
- provide a short period of early supports where appropriate
- support you to apply for the NDIS
- monitor your child’s progress and support them to move on from the early childhood approach.
Early connections
Early connections are for children with delays in their development or with disability. They provide quick access to supports that meet your child’s needs.
They are available for children younger than 6 with developmental delay or younger than 9 with disability.
They might include connections:
- with mainstream and community services
- to information that’s relevant to your child’s development
- with other families for peer support
- with early supports
- to apply for the NDIS.
Early connections aim to build on your child’s strengths and your own. They can help you support your child to develop the skills they need to take part in everyday activities.
Your child does not need to be eligible for the NDIS for early connections.
If your child gets early connections, they might not need NDIS supports in the future.
Some early connections are also available to families living in Australia regardless of their citizenship or visa status. However, your child needs to meet the residency requirements to be eligible for the NDIS.
Early supports
Your child may be able to get early supports if they are younger than 6 and have developmental concerns.
This will be for a short period which is usually 3 to 6 months. It can be up to 12 months.
Early supports are designed to build capacity in you and your child. They promote learning across everyday settings including your home.
An early childhood partner will work with you to understand your child’s strengths and needs.
They will see what kind of NDIS supports may meet your child’s needs. They will also see how long your child may need them for.
This information will be put into an early support plan.
Step 3: Contact an early childhood partner
Your child’s health or educational professional may connect you with one of our early childhood partners.
You can also connect with them directly by using the office finder on our website. If you’re not sure who your early childhood partner is, you can contact us on 1800 800 110.
Early childhood partners will work with you to understand your child’s needs.
They can do this by:
- talking to you
- asking for information prepared by the professionals who know your child well
- observing your child in their usual environment
- using assessment and screening tools to understand your child’s development.
They will connect you with the NDIS supports that best meet your child’s needs.
If your child is 9 or older
Our NDIS partners, also known as local area coordinators, can support children 9 or older with disability.
They can connect you with mainstream and community supports in your area. They can also help you see if the NDIS is right for your child.
Use our office finder to find an NDIS partner near you.