The NDIS early childhood approach is how the scheme supports young children with developmental delay or disability, and their families. It’s for children younger than 6 with developmental delay or younger than 9 with disability. It replaced the older program called early childhood early intervention (ECEI).
The approach doesn’t start with an NDIS application. It starts with a local organisation that helps a family work out what support their child needs. That support may or may not involve becoming an NDIS participant.
What is an early childhood partner?
The NDIA funds local organisations called early childhood partners to run the early childhood approach. Partners are the first point of contact for families with concerns about a young child’s development.
Families often hear about a partner from someone who knows their child, such as a GP, paediatrician or maternal and child health nurse. Families can also contact a partner directly, without a referral.
What are early connections?
Early connections are the first kind of help a partner offers. They can include information about a child’s development, links to playgroups, kinder and community services, and connections with other families.
For children younger than 6 with developmental concerns, early connections can also include short-term early supports from professionals such as allied health practitioners. Early connections don’t need a medical diagnosis or confirmed developmental delay.
Who is eligible?
The support available through the early childhood approach depends on a child’s age and needs:
- Children younger than 6 with developmental delay, as defined in the NDIS Act 2013
- Children younger than 9 with a disability
- Children younger than 6 with developmental concerns (delays that don’t fully meet the definition of developmental delay), who can get early supports through a partner without joining the NDIS
Developmental delay only works as an access pathway before a child turns 6. From that age, a child needs to meet the NDIS disability requirements instead. Developmental delay and autism are also different things, and our explainer on global developmental delay and autism covers how they differ.
What can early childhood intervention help with?
Goals come from the child’s plan and what matters most to the family. Common areas include:
- Communicating needs and feelings, with words, signs, pictures or a device
- Making friends and playing with other children, including joining in group games
- Sharing toys and taking turns
- Listening carefully and following simple instructions at home, kinder or childcare
- Noticing big feelings like anger, frustration or worry, and finding ways to calm down
- Staying calm during stressful moments, such as a busy shop or an unexpected change
- Waiting for a turn and coping when a routine changes
- Eating more independently, trying new foods and sitting at the table for a meal
- Settling at bedtime and sleeping through more of the night
- Toilet training and becoming more independent in the bathroom
- Bath, shower, teeth brushing and other self-care routines
- Thinking and problem-solving, like working out how to reach a toy on a high shelf
- Understanding everyday ideas, such as first and then, big and small, or now and later
Good goals are specific and small enough to notice progress. “Ask for help instead of crying” or “brush teeth with one reminder” is easier to work on, and to measure, than “improve social skills”. Over time, small wins like these add up to more independence at home and more confidence at kinder and school.
How does a child become an NDIS participant?
If a partner thinks a child is likely to meet the NDIS eligibility requirements, they can help the family apply. This usually means gathering reports from doctors, specialists or therapists showing how the child’s development affects everyday life.
Once the child becomes a participant, the partner helps the family put together and use their NDIS plan, including setting goals and choosing providers.
What does the NDIS fund under the early childhood approach?
Funding goes towards supports that build the child’s skills and the family’s confidence. These are usually funded from Capacity Building supports. Therapy and key worker support often sit under Improved Daily Living, and behaviour support usually sits under Improved Relationships.
Many families use a key worker, one main practitioner who works closely with the family and brings in other expertise when needed. Support usually happens where the child already spends time, like home, kinder or childcare, because skills practised in real routines are more likely to stick. Depending on the child, this can include early childhood intervention, ABA therapy or Positive Behaviour Support.
Plans can be NDIA-managed, plan-managed or self-managed. Whichever option a family chooses, the NDIS can only fund behaviour support from providers registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
What happens when a child turns 9?
Children aged 9 and older don’t work with an early childhood partner. Participants move to a local area coordinator, who helps with their plan from then on. Plans are reassessed as a child’s needs change, and families can ask for a change sooner if something isn’t working.
How does Thriving Kids fit in?
Thriving Kids is a new government program outside the NDIS. It started rolling out on 1 October 2026 for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay or autism and low to moderate support needs, and will be fully in place by 1 January 2028.
There are no changes to NDIS access or eligibility until 1 January 2028. Children with permanent and significant disability or high support needs will continue to access the NDIS. Families with questions can call the Thriving Kids Autism Helpline on 1300 654 789, or read more on the Department of Health’s Thriving Kids page.
This article is general information about the NDIS early childhood approach, not advice about any child’s eligibility or plan. The NDIA makes all eligibility and funding decisions.
Getting started with Helping Hands Behaviour Support
Helping Hands Behaviour Support (HHBS) is an NDIS-registered provider specialising in Positive Behaviour Support, ABA therapy and early childhood intervention. We work with children who have plans through the early childhood approach, as well as older children and adults, at home or at school. Families can use us whether their plan is NDIA-managed, plan-managed or self-managed.
If your child has joined the NDIS through the early childhood approach and has funding for therapy, call us on 0406 920 296 or send us a message, and we’ll help you turn the goals in that plan into real progress at home and at kinder. Support coordinators can make a referral online.
