More child health nurse visits for Victorian kids amid NDIS shake-up

Extra maternal and child health nurse visits for children in Victoria under Thriving Kids program Thu 11 Jun 2026 at 6:14am All Victorian children will get two extra visits with maternal and child health nurses as the state prepares to launch its Thriving Kids program for those to be shifted off the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn said the state would also review the existing 10 visits available for children from when they are born to the age of about three and a half. Last year the state reached an agreement with the Commonwealth to begin rolling out Thriving Kids from October. The program is for children aged eight and under with "mild to moderate" developmental delays or autism, who will be shifted off the NDIS in phases until 2028. Children with high support needs will remain with the NDIS. Ms Blandthorn said all Victorian children would get two extra assessments with maternal and child health nurses before they entered kindergarten and as they started school in order to identify any support needed. The review would also consider whether the 10 existing visits should be concentrated before a child begins three-year-old kindergarten, Ms Blandthorn said, and that the state would likely take the lead from councils. The state would employ more allied health professionals and support workers, co-located with maternal child health, kindergartens and early parenting centres. The final details of how the $874.3 million agreement will be allocated over the first five years are yet to be finalised. Victoria invested $514 million of this, compared to the Commonwealth's $360 million. Ms Blandthorn insisted all children would benefit overall but acknowledged services would be different under Thriving Kids than the NDIS. "A child that gets a plan today [under the NDIS], that might look different to what these services look like in the future," she said. "But what we want to do, and what we've heard very clearly from families, is they want it to be easier, more efficient, meeting them where they're at. "Some children just need a little bit of support at some point in time with motor skills or speech or developmental milestones. And some kids will need ongoing support from Thriving Kids services." The Victorian Liberals on Wednesday announced a $156 million pledge to help identify neurodiverse children at the start of their schooling from 2028. Shadow Education Minister Brad Rowswell said students needing further specialists would receive a $500 subsidy for an initial appointment. The Senate is separately inquiring into the Albanese government's proposed cuts to the NDIS, announced in the federal budget.