RACGP speaks out to shape NDIS shake up

With thousands of children currently sitting on waitlists, the RACGP has told a Parliamentary Inquiry it is vital that an incoming overhaul to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) enables GPs to play a central role in supporting children and families.
 
On Monday, RACGP President Dr Michael Wright and Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health Chair Dr Tim Jones fronted the inquiry to voice the views of GPs directly to health decision makers.
 
The inquiry is helping to design the Federal Government’s incoming Thriving Kids program, which will see eligible children diverted into the program from the NDIS.
 
The $2 billion program will begin on 1 July 2026 and is intended as a national support system for children aged eight and under with mild to moderate developmental delay and autism, and low to moderate support needs.
 
Ahead of the program’s launch, the Parliamentary committee has been tasked with investigating the effectiveness of current initiatives, identifying gaps in workforce support and training, and identifying ways to create a ‘seamless transition’ through mainstream systems.
 
Dr Jones, who is also on the Thriving Kids Advisory Group, said that as a GP, he is ‘very excited by the potential’ the program offers.
 
‘Every day, GPs will be seeing families who are stressed and wondering where the support is, and who are seeing situations where their kids are getting worse because that support isn’t happening,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘We hope it’s going to be a system where families that really need that early support, because of any concern raised about their child’s development, are going to be able to touch base with the GP or the maternal child health nurse and get prompt support that really reflects them.
 
‘There’s also a strong wish for this to move back into being a community service rather than lots of individual pockets of support, which has been the NDIS model.’
 
Dr Jones said that GPs are perfectly placed to play a central role in Thriving Kids.
 
‘We’re very connected to the communities we work in, we know what’s out there, we know what communities need,’ he said.
 
‘We are very effective at knowing how to use limited resources for the greatest benefit in our chronic condition management – we’re always using very limited Medicare funding to the greatest benefit of our patients.
 
‘We’re really good at keeping teams that all might have very different skillsets working for the common good of our patients and keeping them focused on goals – and that aligns with how an effective Thriving Kids model could work.’
 
With a tight timeframe planned, Thriving Kids will be rolled out in several phases, with national services in place ahead of broader changes to NDIS access arrangements from mid-2027.
 
The Federal Government has also flagged creating a new Medicare item for bulk-billed three-year-old health checks, a move the RACGP has long advocated for.
 
With 16% of six-year-old boys now in the NDIS, Dr Jones said ‘we don’t have the funding as a country or the workforce to be able to deliver NDIS packages’.
 
‘We’re much better at detecting early developmental concerns, but we’ve created a logjam in terms of what can actually be activated to help meet those concerns,’ he said.
 
‘We’ve now crossed over 3000 children here in my home state of Tasmania being waitlisted for assessment and, as a percentage of our total number of children, that is enormous.
 
‘There’s a tremendous possibility for effective multidisciplinary care, so GPs, nurses, and other allied health providers are all working together to make sure kids and families get what they need.’
 
Committee Chair Dr Mike Freelander said the launch of the inquiry marks a ‘significant initial step’ in ensuring the voices of families, professionals, educators and the wider community are central to designing the program.
 
‘Foundational supports play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectories of children with developmental delay and autism, offering the scaffolding necessary for optimal growth, learning, and wellbeing,’ he said.
 
The committee has heard from several other witnesses, including the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, the Australian Association of Psychologists, Occupational Therapy Australia, and the Disability Advocacy Network Australia.
 
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National Disability Insurance Scheme NDIS Parliamentary Committee