Driving national advocacy agenda on behalf of OTs

Last week, OTA ramped up our national advocacy efforts, with our Chief Executive Officer and Head of Policy and Advocacy meeting key federal politicians and sector representatives in Canberra and Sydney.

Read our update on meetings with decision makers, where we pressed for urgent action on issues affecting our profession, including NDIS pricing, the Thriving Kids program and student clinical placement funding.

Read the full story here.

Thriving Kids – Supports for children with disability and developmental delay

On 20 August 2025 the Australian Government announced the development of Thriving Kids, a national system for early intervention services and supports for children with mild and moderate developmental delay and autism aged under nine.

OTA anticipates that Thriving Kids will form the main program under Targeted Foundational Supports for children with developmental delay and disability.

New assessment and eligibility criteria for the NDIS will be implemented from 1 July 2027, at which point children with mild/moderate developmental delay or autism will no longer be eligible for NDIS. Those with significant permanent disability will remain eligible.

A Thriving Kids Advisory Group will be established by Minister Butler, to be co-Chaired by Professor Frank Oberklaid. This group will be tasked with advising the Minister on the design and implementation of Thriving Kids.

More information is available in this fact sheet developed by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

OTA recognises the anxiety and stress in the sector relating to the lack of available detail regarding Thriving Kids. OTA will continue to advocate for our members, building on our Advice to Government paper on early childhood foundational supports.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability Committee has recently announced a new inquiry into Thriving Kids, chaired by Dr Mike Freelander MP. OTA will be making a submission to this Inquiry and we will be seeking input from members in the coming weeks. The Inquiry also includes a brief survey to gather community feedback on the experiences of families and carers in accessing support services for children with additional needs. The survey will be open until Friday, 10 October 2025 and can be accessed here.

NSW community consultations on Foundational Supports for children

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is taking registrations for its community and sector consultation on Foundational Supports for children in NSW.

The consultation sessions are being held from August to November 2025, across the state.

The DCJ wants to hear from parents, carers and kin, people with disability, and people working in early childhood education, disability or early intervention services. Unless otherwise specified, all sessions will be open to people living in the community and working in the sector.

For more information about the sessions and to register in your local area click here.

The Inspector-General of Aged Care 2025 progress report reflects OTA concerns

The Inspector-General of Aged Care 2025 progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was released on 4 September 2025, after being tabled in Parliament.

The Office of the Inspector-General (OIG) has found that the government is pursuing a wide-reaching and substantial body of work to drive change across the aged care system, and that much of this work is occurring at a very fast pace. While the report identifies the introduction of the new Act as a significant achievement that lays the groundwork for the person-centred, rights-based aged care system the Royal Commission envisaged, it finds that the actions that would have seeded transformational change have not yet been delivered.

Significantly, the OIG reports that it has consistently heard that people in residential aged care have not experienced any improvement in their access to general practitioners or specialists, while their access to allied health professionals has diminished.

The Report reflects the issues raised by OTA in our submissions on the Act and its rules, including concerns about the HM cap, co-contributions potentially impacting on people choosing to access allied health supports, and the unintended consequences of the introduction of the AN-ACC which has seen providers reduce the amount of allied health support provided.

OTA welcomes the OIG intention to monitor and assess whether Support at Home provides effective access to the allied health supports that older people living at home or in the community need, especially to be able to remain living safely at home, connected with their communities.

You can read the Report and summary documents here.

NDIS Reform Advisory Committee members appointed

Late last month, The Australian Government announced the incoming members of the NDIS Reform Advisory Committee. The Committee has been established following a recommendation from the NDIS Review, and will advise government on the implementation of NDIS Reforms. The Committee’s 11 members come from disability communities across Australia and were appointed after a nominations process:

• Jeramy Hope (NSW representative)

• Nigel Webb (Qld representative)

• Carrie Clark (WA representative)

• Clare Waiss (Tas representative)

• Catherine McAlpine (Vic representative)

• Renee Heaton (ACT representative)

• Katharine Annear (SA representative)

• Annie Rily (NT representative)

• Kelly Treloar (community representative)

• Elvis Martin (community representative)

• Sebastian Langdon-Macmillan (community representative).

The Committee is Co-Chaired by well-known disability advocates El Gibbs and Dougie Herd, who was on the NDIS Independent Revie Panel.

The Committee will meet monthly and will share updates on their work on the Government’s NDIS Reform Advisory Committee page.

New DVA Quick Guides available for OT clients and referrers

The Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) has published two new quick guides that may be a useful resource for clients and referring GPs, helping them to understand and support referrals for OT services provided under DVA arrangements.

Allied Health Treatment Cycle Quick Guide

DVA Rehabilitation Appliance Program Quick Guide.

DVA’s Quick Guide Page also has guides on the basics of DVA scheme coverage, DVA claiming and many other topics, which can be found here.