Hi! I’m David. This is our final Booster for Term 1! Today, I’m channeling my inner stoic:

Why I’m not worried about NDIS Price Limits for 2026-2027

Q1 is almost over! Well done SLPs!

April beckons. Before we know it, pundits will be making predictions about the 2026-2027 NDIS price limits. 

This year, I’m not wasting time debating price limits on social media. I won’t be frustrated by the inevitable late notice and all the admin headaches that come with it. I won’t be disappointed by an outcome I can’t influence or control.  

Instead, I’m making plans for 2026-2027 on the following assumptions:

• All unregistered NDIS therapy providers will continue to experience real price cap erosion as inflation picks up again, and business conditions and confidence worsen.

• As with physiotherapists last year, the NDIA may roll out price limit cuts for some professions and therapies. SLPs may be affected (although it would be unfair).

• Large registered providers may succeed in their push for favourable differential pricing. 

• In the short-term, price limits will continue to favour low-cost, low overhead therapy providers, like sole traders, who don’t have to pay, supervise or train staff or pay for significant physical space. 

• Clinic-based, small providers who employ, train and supervise staff:

  • will reduce their reliance on NDIS funding and change their service delivery models and cost structures to survive; and

  • may struggle to attract, recruit and retain staff as workforce changes begin in response to the roll-out of Thriving Kids. 

• more therapy providers will exit the scheme, including some small and mid-tier clinic-based providers.

Why these assumptions? Let me explain.

Context: The carrot & stick years

Price caps are a blunt regulatory tool designed to protect participants from excessive costs, while maintaining enough providers and services for participants.

Over the life of the scheme, the NDIA has tried to balance cost-efficiency with the need to attract enough providers to the scheme: At different times, it has used price limits:

• as a stick, to encourage providers to be cost-efficient; and 

• as a carrot, to attract more providers.

For example:

• The original designers of the NDIS wanted to set price caps that encouraged providers to be cost-efficient.

• By 2018, price caps were lifted to attract more providers to the NDIS.

• In the years that followed, lots of providers joined the scheme. Pricing policy then shifted back to cost-efficiency.

• For half a decade, price limits for many therapy supports were held constant as the NDIA attempted to impose more competitive discipline into the market to put downward pressure on prices. 

From stick to sledgehammer 

By 2025, it was clear to to the Independent Pricing Committee (IPC) that:

Let me explore this in a bit more detail as it goes to the heart of what’s happening right now:

• In practice, price caps have not worked to drive price competition or service differentiation between providers. 

• Most service providers do not compete on price, but charge at or near the cap:

  • For SLPs and OTs, more than 90% of claims are priced within 5% of the cap.

  • In recent years, inflation/business costs have risen significantly, compressing and in some cases eliminating profit margins. 

• Participant demand for supports is also relatively price-insensitive:

  • for many participants, therapy services are considered essential;

  • substitutes are limited; and

  • participants have prefunded budgets, calculated by reference to the hourly price caps. This has reduced the motivation for participants to shop around for a cheaper service.

•  Many participants are not motivated primarily by price, but by other factors like:

  • geographic proximity;

  • rapport with their clinician; and

  • the provider and clinician’s reliability and reputations.

• Current settings encourage lower-cost providers, who are more profitable. In some markets, squeezing out higher cost providers might be a good thing. But, under current settings:

  • some high quality providers are leaving the sector; 

  • remaining providers are not incentivised to invest in quality, innovation, or staff training or supervision;

  • remaining providers are incentivised to target participants with less complex needs, leaving some participants underserved; and

  • some rural and remote providers can’t absorb travel cuts, limiting services.

• Fewer providers means:

  • less choice for participants; and 

  • less competition between providers.

The government is squeezing mid-tier providers, hoping the provider market will restructure itself

It was clear to the IPC in 2025 that:

• many mid-tier providers were just clinging on, using savings and debt to keep the lights on; and  

• the provider market was on the brink of major change:

Eyes wide open

Knowing all this, on 16 June 2025, the NDIA announced several price-cap adjustments that took effect on 1 July 2025. Among other changes:

• Price caps were frozen for OTs and SLPs. 

• Hourly rates for some therapies were cut, including for physiotherapy, podiatry, dietitian services, and, in WA-SA-Tas-NT, psychology. 

• Tighter limits were imposed on billable travel time. Some remote and very remote loadings were removed.    

Many large and mid-tier providers continued to struggle financially, and some exited. When warned by participants and providers about what these decisions would do to the provider market, the NDIA responded bluntly: 

Zoom out

The bigger picture doesn’t help us either.

The Government is worried about Australia’s low productivity growth. Some economists think part of the problem is that too many Australians are employed in the care sector - that we’re a drag on productivity; and that Australia would be better off economically if some of us moved (or were pushed) out of our current businesses and jobs into more economically productive roles, e.g. in the corporate sector. Thriving Kids expressly contemplates a major shakeup to the allied health workforce, which will kick off this year.

In this context, we should expect governments to impose costs and provider incentives to drive:

• some allied workers out of paediatric therapy into other parts of the care economy (e.g. aged care, hospitals); and

• some allied health workers out of the care economy altogether and into other “more productive” parts of the economy.

Clinic-owners under pressure 

Large registered providers continued (rationally) to lobby for differential pricing, culminating in the NDIS Therapy Pilot we wrote about last week. For now, sole traders are the big winners - but expect this to change as NDIS reforms continue and as Thriving Kids rolls out. 

Right now, the big losers are small and mid-tier clinic owners who employ, supervise and train staff. They do not have a government-funded pilot study looking at sustainable business models, and they are facing challenges on lots of other fronts, too, including:

• NDIS reforms to eliminate the early intervention pathway for most kids;

• tighter NDIS supports definitions and impairment notices, potentially reducing the scope of services that can be offered to some clients; 

• the Thriving Kids model of care, which explicitly rejects clinic-based service delivery models;

• State Foundational Supports initiatives, with moves to de-privatise some paediatric services in some states;

• the expert committee looking at the evidence base for some therapies, including early intervention services;

• increased admin costs associated with funding periods and other reforms;

• increased compliance costs, including uncertainty about mandatory registration requirements; and

• I-Can assessments replacing some allied health reports for some participants.

Silver linings?

• Interestingly, if registered providers manage to win a favourable uplift in their price limits, we may see some actual price competition in the therapy market for the first time in the scheme’s history.

• If unregistered providers have no option but to charge a lower price than the big registered providers, small providers may as well make the most of it in their marketing. As NDIS plans are cut, this message may resonate with those participants who are focused on value for money. 

• Small and medium clinic owners will have to dig deep to find solutions to their current challenges. Within reason, constraints can inspire innovation. We may see some clinic owners offering new and differentiated services to participants in different ways, including to clients who can’t currently access speech pathology services. (We’ve written about this before, and in the context of Thriving Kids.)

• Many participants and families will continue to choose their providers based on non-price factors like trust, geography, rapport with the treating clinician, and the provider’s reputation. We can’t control price limits, but we can - and should - focus on improving service-quality factors within our control to deliver evidence-based, safe supports that produce great outcomes for the clients and families we serve.

Question for you

This one’s for clinic owners and managers who employ staff: what are you doing to manage these challenges? We need all the ideas we can get, so reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

Free, useful things!

Resource: wordless stories about insects - what’s not to love? (Thanks to Tania Simmons for the suggestion!)

Minuscule

🐞🐛 Welcome to the OFFICIAL Minuscule channel! 🕷️🪲 MINUSCULE humorously follows the lives of insects through expressive, wordless adventures, blending CGI bugs with real-world backdrops to bring nature’s tiniest creatures to life. People of all ages enjoy this quirky and funny series here on the official YouTube channel!

www.youtube.com/@Minuscule

Learning opportunity

Open-access paper looking at quality of life in children with #DevLangDis#SLPeepsdoi.org/10.3390/chil...

— Nichola Shelton (@nichola-slp.bsky.social)
9:00 PM • Mar 22, 2026

Twitter tweet

Community service announcement!

Instagram post

SLP (and/or dad) joke

One of my favourite facts is that the spiky tail of a stegosaurus didn't used to have a specific name, until Gary Larson published this Far Side cartoon, at which point "thagomizer" was adopted by paleontologists.

— Hugo Gordon (@hugogordon.bsky.social)
8:31 PM • Mar 22, 2026

That’s it for this season of the Booster! We hope you’ve found it helpful.

We’ll be back in early Term 2! Until then, stay well!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

Was this Booster forwarded to you? Thanks for reading! Sign up for free here.

Hi! I’m David. Thanks for all the suggestions in response to our last issue about building respectful allied health workplaces. Keep them coming!

In the meantime, let’s look at the NDIS Therapy Pilot. I have questions:

If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything* 

What I imagine is happening with the next wave of NDIS reforms behind the scenes!

What’s happened? 

On 12 March 2026, the NDIS Minister, Jenny McCallister, announced that the Government has awarded $20 million to 27 registered disability service organisations for a 12-month national NDIS therapy pilot. 

Under the radar?

The money was awarded to registered providers through a closed non-competitive grant process. Unregistered providers and single-discipline providers were not invited to participate.  

What’s involved?

In return for $20 million, the 27 registered providers will share information with the government about:

• service delivery;

• workforce skills; and

• participant outcomes.

Objectives

The Government wants two main things: 

• participants (and taxpayers) to get value for money for their therapy; and

• disability service providers to stay in business long enough to support participants.

Context

Therapy supports make up about 10% of NDIS spending. The government is keen to keep them under control.  

Many large registered providers, with high fixed costs, have suffered financial losses for several years, in large part because of NDIS price limits.

Some high-profile registered providers have exited the NDIS over the last couple of years. In some cases, they have gone out of business altogether, including recently.

Given their very real business challenges, registered provider groups have long been lobbying for:

• a new price formula to shift incentives away from unregistered providers (who make up over 90% of providers) to “stabilise” the business model of registered providers, specifically a two-tired hourly rate, with a higher rate for registered NDIS providers; and/or

• mandatory NDIS registration of all providers.

Selection bias?

The pilot program suggests the Government is listening to multidisciplinary registered providers.

A key open question is whether they are also listening to the ~94% of therapy providers that are unregistered, and the participants they support.

In their final pricing report released in June 2025, the Independent Pricing Committee said that: “[w]e are not suggesting the [NDIA] should be targeting any one market structure with respect to the contributions of small versus large providers, for-profit versus not-for-profit providers, or registered versus unregistered providers.” (p 44).  

In August 2025, an NDIA spokesperson was equally clear: “The NDIA does not directly fund providers, but allocates funding to NDIS participants and business decisions, including whether to continue offering services through the NDIS, are a matter for individual organisations.” 

It’s unclear how these statements fit with the closed non-competitive grant process or even the stated objectives of the pilot. 

What’s the bigger picture?

It’s equally unclear how decision-makers plan to use the data collected from a selected, single part of the sector, as they set about restructuring the entire supply side of the NDIS provider market. It’s also unclear how the results will affect the next wave of NDIS reforms, which are made up of several parallel developments, including:

• price limits, including differential price settings for different services and types of supports;

• the (yet-to-be-released) final definition of “NDIS supports”;

• expert reviews on the evidence-base for different kinds of therapies; 

• therapy guidelines;

• the announced roll-out of I-Can Needs assessments;

• tightening advertising rules; and

• the Thriving Kids roll-out, and the end of the early intervention pathway for most younger kids.

Once more with feeling: “registration” does not guarantee quality or safety

The government - once again - appears to have conflated “registered provider” with “high-quality provider”. In its press release, it has explicitly endorsed the grant recipients as quality providers:

• The pilot is called the “NDIS Quality Supports Program”.

• To quote the Minister: “By working closely with a range of quality providers, we’ll learn crucial information that will make the NDIS stronger now and into the future.”  (emphasis added) 

The press release names three reputable providers. But, if you dig into the full list (scroll right to the bottom) and do some cursory checks, you’ll see some of the grant recipients are known to the investigation units of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and/or the Fair Work Ombudsman. (I won’t name names: you can check for yourself.)

Bottom line

The NDIS can’t function without a sufficient supply of quality providers across the country. Unfortunately, lots of providers - registered and unregistered - are considering reducing their NDIS work or exiting the NDIS for financial reasons, including in response to worsening business conditions and years of price cap erosion due to inflation. 

The problems faced by large multidisciplinary registered providers are very real. But, if we end up with a two-tiered pricing model that effectively drives more small, single discipline providers out of the sector:

• participants will have less choice and control over their providers; and 

• large providers will have less competition, reducing incentives to invest in better quality services, participant safety, or innovation.

You don’t maximise participant choice and control or outcomes by reducing competition between classes of providers. Nor do you improve the NDIS by removing incentives for small providers to innovate and to provide local services to participants in communities in ways that can’t or won’t be delivered by larger organisations. 

* A quote from economist Ronald Coase

Question for you!

What (if anything) are your hearing from small, clinic-based allied health providers in your neck of the woods as we all look to adapt to these changes? Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

Free, useful things!

Resource

A great resourve for vocabulary instruction: textproject.org/vocabulary-i...

— Mme Lockhart (@mmelockhart.bsky.social)
11:39 PM • Mar 17, 2026

Learning opportunity

The autism spectrum is complicated, per a new graphic of 39 traits: “There is no single trait that defines autism: it encompasses differences in social communication skills, interests, sensory sensitivities, and more. Every person’s profile is unique.”

www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

— Thinking Person's Guide to Autism (@thinkingautism.com)
4:27 AM • Mar 18, 2026

Helpful read or watch

Twitter tweet

SLP (and/or dad) joke

thinking about the medieval cat door in Exeter cathedral again

— weird medieval guys (@weirdmedieval.bsky.social)
7:58 PM • Mar 16, 2026

That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

Was this Booster forwarded to you? Thanks for reading! Sign up for free here.

Hi! I’m David. Today, I’m giving you a (short) break from regulatory reforms to focus on something more important:

SLPs are under the pump, but it’s no excuse for disrespect 

 

We have a respect deficit

• Even before we were hit with waves of NDIS reforms and Thriving Kids, far too many allied health professionals suffered from presenteeism: 

  • working while unwell, exhausted, and/or disengaged;

  • trapped in toxic workplaces, or within dysfunctional teams; and

  • working without proper clear supervision, or training and career opportunities. 

• As I interact with speech pathologists from all walks of life across the country, on Discovery Calls and in your responses to these newsletters, I hear worrying anecdotal evidence of increased:

  • workload, caseload and time pressures;

  • unprofessional workplace behaviours, like bullying;

  • leadership and governance problems, like inadequate communication, and absent line managers; 

  • job insecurity; 

  • critical gaps in supervision, training and development; 

  • confusion about long-term career paths; and

  • burn out.

And here is the truth:

No one is coming to fix these problems for us. We must do it ourselves. 

Specifically, we have to work together to support each other to build simple systems in practices and across the profession that deliver:

• Stronger leadership

• Proper supervision of every professional

• Engaging training and development

• Effective teamwork

• Fair workload management

• Safe workplaces

• Mutual respect

Respect is free

Building - or rebuilding - respect for each other in our workplaces is our most immediate challenge. In many ways, it’s the foundation for everything else. 

Respect is the hallmark of professionalism. It’s an infinite resource, built around three simple ideas:

• Everyone is owed respect, without exception.

• We should treat others in the same way we would like to be treated (the Golden Rule)

• “Do not to others what you don't want them to do to you” (the Silver Rule)

Respect deficits affect service quality. They increase workplace and client safety risks. They contribute to workforce churn and burnout. They weaken our advocacy for clients and families - and ourselves.  

If we can’t establish and maintain respect for each other, the profession will fail - and deservedly so. 

This week’s free resource is the first chapter from my book, “How to Supervise Speech Pathologists Properly in Private Practice”. In the book, I lay out the specific things I do (and avoid) to build a strong foundation of respect for each other, and for the profession I love. 

Bottom Line

If we can’t treat each other with respect at work, we have no right to expect lawmakers, regulators, the media, clients or families to respect us as professionals. Good intentions aren’t enough. To build better workplaces, we need leaders, professionals, systems and workplaces cultures that can withstand the day-to-day pressures we all face in clinical practice. 

Question for you

What, specifically, does your team do at work to foster and show mutual respect to each other? 

I’ll consolidate the best ideas (respecting confidentiality) and share them in a future Booster so we can learn some best practices from each other!

Free, useful things!

Free Resource

Click the image to download Chapter 1 from my book, “How to Supervise Speech Pathologists Properly in Private Practice”.

Learning opportunity

💡 NEW POST 💡

‘Selecting vocabulary to teach’

What ‘keystone’ and ‘bridging’ vocabulary can unlock learning?

What is the challenge with teaching vocabulary Tiers?

alexquigley.co.uk/selecting-vo...

— Alex Quigley (@alexjquigley.bsky.social)
9:45 AM • Mar 15, 2026

Helpful read or watch

SLP (and/or dad) joke

#IdesOfMarch

— AmiyaJLO (@amiyajlo.bsky.social)
2:18 AM • Mar 15, 2026

That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

Was this Booster forwarded to you? Thanks for reading! Sign up for free here.

Hi! I’m David. Hope your week has started well!

Today, I’m looking at some of the real world challenges we’ll all have to work through with the roll-out of Thriving Kids:

Thriving Kids is just a plan unless it immediately degenerates into hard work* 

Thriving Kids has ambitious and laudable aims. But, to work, state governments must translate the model into actions within local communities that help improve outcomes for children with autism and/or developmental delay. State governments face three key challenges:

• Knowledge: Governments don’t - and can’t - know enough about every community’s real conditions, needs, and informal networks to design services that give every child in the state access to the same level of service.

• Incentives: The new system should reward measurable improvements in child outcomes. But, too often, governments and their bureaucracies measure inputs (like the number of programs delivered), rather than whether they actually helped children. (We’ve looked at this before in the context of existing programs intended to help children in mainstream settings.)

• Trade-offs: States must make hard choices about which services they fund, and how they deliver them. Not everyone will be happy, including some families of children accustomed to NDIS supports.

These risks are well-known features of social programs delivered by governments. They are not specific to Thriving Kids. 

But they allow us to make predictions about some of the main real world challenges state governments face as they look to roll out Thriving Kids. 

Predictable front-line risks

• Increased bureaucracy:

  • tensions between health, disability and education bureaucracies over who will control which aspects of programs;

  • duplication, with overlapping systems and complicated interfaces between systems.

• Increased complexity of navigation for families: Another layer of complexity for families to navigate. 

• Ongoing tensions between local knowledge vs. central design:

  • accounting for differences between inner city suburbs, regional centres, rural and remote communities;

  • uneven local capacity to deliver services, e.g. in regional and rural communities;

  • challenges engaging with multilingual and culturally diverse populations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in culturally safe ways. 

• Misallocation of services: some children who need help losing access, and others getting access to supports they may not need or benefit from.

• Workforce/role confusion:

  • workforce dislocation, including challenges with recruitment, training and supervision in public and private roles;

  • teachers and early childhood educators expected to take on therapeutic work; and

  • allied health care workers expected to perform education roles. 

• Commissioned provider conflicts of interest and/or misaligned incentives. Providers: 

  • being incentivised to measure activities, not results; and

  • when challenged on outcomes, blaming “external factors” to justify continued funding. (This is an example of the “Shirky principle”, which states that organisations will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.) 

Ideally, governments should be alive to these risks. They should design their new systems to eliminate (or at least mitigate) them.

Time will tell.

Case study: New South Wales’s Foundational Supports

In February 2026, the NSW Legislative Council Select Committee on Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in NSW released their first report. The report looks at the supports available for children and young people with developmental delay or disability in NSW, and the challenges families have accessing them.

The Select Committee made 14 findings and 17 recommendations, identifying several challenges and potential policy recommendations that might influence the NSW Government as it implements Thriving Kids. It provides a good snapshot of some of the “on the ground” issues highlighted above.

Key existing challenges

• Cost of living pressures for families.

• Location lottery: disparities in the availability, quality and cost of services in different places in NSW - especially rural and remote areas.

• Poor integration between health, education and disability services, including disconnected referral pathways and uncertainty about eligibility and available supports.  

• Long waiting lists for many services.

• Lack of services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders or LBOTE/CALD

• Over-reliance on diagnosis to access some services.

• Limited community-based services equipped to support the number of children affected.

• Difficulties for families trying to navigate systems, especially for children who have health and/or disability and/or educational needs, and for families with low health literacy.

• Mixed community perceptions of service providers.

• Workforce shortages, including NSW losing workers to other states and private practices, high rates of worker stress and burnout, limited career paths and low pay.

• Unstable funding models - short term project grants and commissioning leading to  fragmented services and limited system-wide data.

• Limited stakeholder involvement in the design of services (young people, families, allied health, educators). 

Key recommendations

• Clear system mapping, including eligibility boundaries, service scope definitions, and interface points with NDIS, health and disability sectors.

• A focus on early intervention/prevention, and parent and carer capacity building.

• Statewide-integrated foundational supports co-location navigation model with shared referral protocols across health, education and community services.

• Funding models to include “multi-year, flexible block funding arrangements, outcome-based accountability, and co-investment mechanisms to enable long-term planning, workforce stability, and continuity of care”.  

• Community “place-based solutions” like relational contracting based on the needs and strengths of each community, with shared accountability among service providers, families and community stakeholders.

• Services embedded in homes, playgroups, early learning, neighbourhood centres, family support centres, and school settings, including co-commissioned allied health supports and integrated planning between education, health and disability systems.

• Rural and remote access guarantees (outreach, telehealth, mobile allied health teams, travel subsidies, workplace incentives and regionally-tailored commissioning).

• Co-design of services with affected stakeholders, including families, local communities, and allied health providers. 

• Transition pathways for children turning 9 and older.

Bottom line

States have their work cut out to achieve Thriving Kids’ ambitious goals. So do allied health professionals who work with children with autism and/or developmental delay.

It’s time to switch our attention to on-the-ground realities and specifics for the local communities we serve. When service gaps inevitably arise, we should try to fill them with evidence-based, safe services that suit children with developmental delay and autism and their families.   

* Paraphrasing Peter Drucker

Question for you!

What (if anything) are you hearing right now about the Thriving Kids (or Foundational Supports) roll out in your neck of the woods? Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

Free, useful things!

Resource

Twitter tweet

Learning opportunity

Twitter tweet

Useful read

Protocol Cards — Evidence-backed Nervous System Regulation

A library of guided audio practices for nervous system regulation. Quick protocols for emergency stress relief, focus, recovery, sleep, and emotional processing.

protocolcards.com

SLP (and/or dad) joke

Twitter tweet

That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

Was this Booster forwarded to you? Thanks for reading! Sign up for free here.

Hi! I’m David. I hope you’ve had a good day so far. Today, I want to highlight a development we all need to watch closely:

Speech pathology therapies under review by the NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee. Which ones, and why?

Never enough coffee for the reading pile…

Big picture

On 16 February 2026, the NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee (EAC) launched a public consultation into the safety, suitability and value for money of four types of supports. At least three of these supports are of direct interest to speech pathologists who support NDIS participants. Consultation closes on 29 March 2026. 

What to watch

The EAC is examining four types of supports:

• Early intensive behavioural interventions

• Positive behaviour support for older children and adults

• Social skills training for children and young people

• Robot-assisted gait training

Why it matters

The EAC advises the government on the suitability of supports for NDIS funding. It looks at the evidence base, focusing on safety, cost-effectiveness, quality of evidence, and gaps. Amongst other things, it gives government advice about:

• whether a therapy should be an NDIS Support (i.e. whether it should ever be publicly funded);

• when for whom such therapy should be funded (i.e. for which types of disability); and

• whether the research base for a therapy is low quality and needs more time to “mature”.

Zoom in

The EAC has published a summary document that explains what it’s looking at in more detail. Among other things, it will look at the following therapies:

• Early intensive behavioural interventions: 

  • Behavioural Interventions: Applied Behaviour Analysis and its variants, Early Intensive Behavioural Treatment, the Murdoch Early Intervention Program (MEIP)

  • Naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions (NDBIs): including the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), and Learning Experiences Alternative Program (LEAP) 

  • Developmental interventions, such as Developmental Individual Different Relationship-Based (DIR)/Floortime

  • Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped children (TEACCH) 

  • Interestingly, the summary paper does not specifically mention Hanen programs or Inklings, although we would expect them to be reviewed as well.

• Positive behaviour support for older children and adults will include interventions that seek to reduce the negative impact of “behaviours of concern” by some people with a disability.

• Social skills training that aims to help children and young people aged 8-21 years develop social interactions with family, peers and the wider community. 

Why these interventions?

According to its own FAQs, the EAC chooses supports to review “based on the efficacy, safety, and value for money…with a focus on areas where the evidence base is contested, mixed or emerging”. 

What’s involved?

• The EAC considers a range of evidence, including published literature, grey literature, data and lived experience of people with disability collected by public consultation. 

• Expert research groups will prepare assessment reports based on the best available evidence for each support. (We would expect, for example, that the EAC will consider existing research syntheses, e.g., AutismCRC’s Interventions for children on the autism spectrum.)

• The EAC will then review and assess the evidence and make recommendations to the government on the safety, suitability and value of supports for NDIS funding. 

Timing

According to the EAC’s FAQs, the process may take several months, or more. If the government decides to defund or otherwise restrict a support, it will communicate this clearly before any changes come into effect. 

Why it matters

The EAC’s consultation, review and recommendations will allow the government to make informed decisions about which of these interventions qualify as NDIS supports (for funding), and, potentially, dosage guidance, and service-delivery models. This may have significant implications for how speech pathologists and others deliver these kinds of early intervention and social skills therapies to participants.

What else to watch

In its summary document, the EAC states that it may consider looking into social skills training for children under 8 years in future assessments. This may have knock-on effects for younger NDIS participants and their families, and may also help inform some Thriving Kids programs and other targeted supports for younger children with low or moderate developmental needs and/or autism.

Next steps

The EAC has invited participant and provider submissions, including through a survey. Submissions close just before midnight on 29 March 2026.

Question for you

What do you think about the current evidence-base for the interventions under review? What do you see as the priorities for future research?

Free, useful things!

Resource

Twitter tweet

The Language and Literacy in Young People is an amazing resource. Thanks to @suze-freogirl.bsky.social@me-boyo.bsky.social and team for creating such valuable and practical work.
Loads of free evidence based downloads. languageandliteracyinyoungpeople.com/resources/fr...
#DevLangDis

— Word Aware (@wordaware.bsky.social)
5:51 PM • Feb 25, 2026

Learning opportunity

Twitter tweet

Helpful read or watch

Do the Next Right Thing: Carl Jung on How to Live and the Origin of His Famous Tenet for Navigating Uncertainty

“There is no pit you cannot climb out of provided you make the right effort at the right place… do the next thing with diligence and devotion.”

www.themarginalian.org/2026/02/25/carl-jung-next-right-thing

SLP (and/or dad) joke

Twitter tweet

That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

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Hi! I’m David. Today, we’re talking about a big problem - the public perception of NDIS providers - and some things we can do as reputable providers to improve it:

To improve our service quality, participant safety, and reputations, we must address regulator concerns with day-to-day actions

The Problem

If you read the comments on any NDIS-related news article, you’ll know a sizeable part of the population holds a low opinion of NDIS providers. 

The big - and growing - problem for allied health NDIS providers is guilt by association:

• The whole sector is judged because of the misconduct of a few bad eggs. 

• In media reports and press announcements, NDIS providers are all tarred with the same brush. 

• Politically, anti-provider sentiment helps governments win support for difficult reforms.

The challenge

We’re in a bind:

• If we complain about anti-provider sentiment, we sound like we’re defending bad providers, or minimising the harm they’ve caused.

• If we criticise specific reform proposals, like the NDIS supports definition, or mandatory provider registration, or I-CAN Needs Assessments, we sound like we’re opposed to all efforts to improve the scheme. 

• If we question the evidence base for specific programs, or care models, or service delivery proposals, we sound like we’re impugning the good intentions of the programs and models (and the people behind them).   

• If we grumble about real business challenges triggered by policy decisions, like pricing limits, we sound entitled or self-interested.

We are what we do, repeatedly

One reason I publish NDIS-reform articles here, rather than on social media, is that I know many participants and taxpayers (and some providers!) are sick of hearing us talk about ourselves. 

In truth, our actions speak louder than words. Instead of simply asserting our professional standards and good ethics, we need to demonstrate them, every day, in our practices. 

One way to do this is to pay special attention to the concerns and priorities of our regulators, and then address them with better systems and training.

Let’s look at a specific recent example of a regulator sharing their concerns about NDIS providers, with practical suggestions to make things better for participants:

ACCC advertising concerns

On 10 February 2026, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) published a 45-page report with its observations on consumer issues in the NDIS (Report). 

Since 2024, the ACCC has been working with the NDIA and the NDIS Commission to improve NDIS provider compliance. The Report was written to help educate us about specific behaviours that might breach the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), with tips to improve our practices. Here are eight key areas to consider:

1. Respect Pricing Arrangements and Pricing Limits

We must deal correctly with participants based on:

• our registration status; and

• how each participant’s plan is managed.  

Here’s a handy checklist:

Source: Report, p 9.

2. Ensure our services to participants are in fact “NDIS supports”

Put systems in place to make sure our services for participants are “NDIS supports” within the meaning of the law. This means we need to check that the proposed service is eligible for support, i.e. that it:

• meets the requirements of the Section 10 Lists (until the transitional rules are replaced by a permanent definition); and

• is reasonable and necessary for the participant; and

• is in line with the goals in the participant’s plan. 

3. Check our advertising is not false or misleading 

This means checking our social media posts, websites, brochures, and other advertising to confirm they include:

• no claims our services are “NDIS approved” or “NDIS funded” or “NDIS endorsed”;

• no guarantees of treatment outcome;

• no “higher was/discounted now” pricing (i.e. where the “sale” price is really the normal price);

• no statements that encourage participants to use NDIS funding to buy services or products that are not actually NDIS supports; and    

• only claims that we can prove to be accurate (including evidence-based) and true.

4. Respect statutory consumer guarantees

The ACL contains a number of consumer guarantees, including a promise that our services will be delivered with due care and skill. For example, if we provide a service that doesn’t pass muster, the participant might be entitled to a part-or-full refund (depending on the circumstances) in addition to exercising consumer and NDIS complaint rights. 

Ordinarily, consumer guarantees cannot be excluded by contract (e.g. in service agreements), and it’s illegal to claim that they don’t apply or are limited. 

5. Do not charge participants an “NDIS tax”

In December 2023, the NDIS Code of Conduct - which applies to all providers - was amended to regulate price differentiation and fair pricing:

• The drafting left a lot to be desired when it comes to service pricing. 

• But regulators like the ACCC and NDIS Commission clearly expect that prices changed to participants for a service are not higher than prices for non-participants for the same service - unless there is a very good reason to justify a difference. 

In practice, we mustn't charge participants more than non-participants for the same services unless we have clear (preferably written) legal advice that it’s justifiable and legal in the particular circumstance.

While we’re talking about fees, the ACCC also thinks that it might be false and misleading for providers to claim that they must charge the maximum price allowable under the Pricing Arrangements. (This is because participants and providers can negotiate lower prices.) 

6. Do not do anything to ‘lure’ participants into contracts or buying services

As healthcare providers, we should never try to lure participants into buying services they don’t need. This means, for example:

• No sign-on “freebies” (e.g. electronic tablets).

• No lock-in contracts.

Avoid things like discount coupons and testimonials, which might induce people to seek services they don’t need (and, in any event, breach SPA’s advertising rules, which are part of our Code of Ethics).

7. Review contracts to make sure they are understandable and fair

Service agreements and other contracts with participants need to be understood and accessible to participants. They should be clear about:

• Price (including any additional costs to participants)

• Scope of Services

• Timing

• Cancellation

• Disagreements and disputes

They must avoid unfair provisions,  e.g.:

• Penalties

• Unilateral termination rights

• Long notice cancellation fees (beyond what is allowed)

• Exit fees

• Broad limitations of liability and indemnities that go beyond what’s reasonably necessary to protect legitimate interests

8. Help clients avoid scams

As trusted health professionals, we have an important role to play in helping vulnerable participants to spot and avoid scams, e.g. MyGov phishing, romance scams, etc.

The ACCC recognises we play crucial roles in recognising red flags for potential scams targeted at participants, and supporting participants to report their concerns, e.g. to Scamwatch.

Bottom line

By listening carefully to regulators and participants, and responding with appropriate actions, we demonstrate our professionalism in day-to-day practice, rather than just talking about it. Over time, this helps us to build a compliance culture, and to maintain trust with participants and regulators. (It also helps us to distinguish ourselves from fraudsters and other bad apples.)

If we want to be recognised as reputable providers, we must maintain professional standards, regardless of business conditions. Specifically, we should:

• listen carefully to regulators and participants; 

• respond with actions to address concerns and improve our service quality and safety; 

• train staff to understand and meet our obligations in every day practice; and 

• do our best to do the right thing by participants.  

Question for you!

In your day-to-day practice, what do you do to understand and address regulator concerns? Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

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That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

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Hi! I’m David. Thank you so much to everyone who replied so thoughtfully to my question about the Thriving Kids model. Your responses included:

• recognition that the current system contributes to high clinician burnout rates and needs to change;

• hopes the new system will increase access for families to supports in natural environments, with less red tape;

• observations that we’ve seen these kinds of models before; 

• fears Thriving Kids will reduce our professional autonomy and flexibility of work; 

• questions about potential ethical challenges some of us may face when seeking to deliver evidence-based care to kids within constrained systems and programs; 

• acceptance we may need to make big changes to our business models - especially single-discipline clinic owners in metropolitan areas; and

• concerns about workplace satisfaction and meaningful career paths, including access to adequate supervision, training, and professional growth opportunities - especially for early career SLPs.

I’m keen to explore these themes further in future Boosters.

But, right now, let’s look at another hot topic for allied health providers and professionals:

Mandatory NDIS Provider registration is coming (but don’t panic)

As they say, don’t get out over your skis!

Over the coming months, expect to hear a fair bit about mandatory registration of NDIS providers:

What’s happening?

Back in December 2025, the Department of Health, Disability and Aging released a short consultation paper about a new definition of NDIS provider. The paper is really about mandatory registration of providers, including for SLPs and other allied health providers. The consultation ends on 28 February 2026.

The big picture

• It’s very likely that allied health NDIS providers will need to become registered providers. 

• But it’s not yet clear:

  • when this will happen; or 

  • what, exactly, registration will require of us in practice. 

• There are a few practical things we can do now to prepare. But, many of us have other urgent business and compliance priorities right now, and we shouldn’t over-react to future registration requirements until we know more details.

Context 

• Most small allied health providers are unregistered because of the expense, time-commitment, and red tape involved in becoming and staying registered, including the costs of audit or verification processes.

• Large registered providers have long argued that this creates an uneven playing field, favouring unregistered providers.

• Disability advocates and small allied health providers have counter-argued that, forcing small providers to register under current rules, would cause many providers to exit the sector, reducing participant choice and control (and competition for the big providers).

Politically convenient

The Government has won popular and media support for its NDIS and Thriving Kids reforms by:

• criticising the number of unregistered providers; 

• suggesting, fairly openly, that unregistered providers are a bunch of unregulated cowboys in a sector riddled with fraud, waste and poor safety; and

• not mentioning that many of the most egregious participant safety incidents to date, including participant deaths, and large fraud cases involve registered providers.

Case in point

In his Thriving Kids Announcement of August 2025, Minister Butler said: 

Perception resistant to fact-checks

• Unregistered ≠ unregulated: Allied health NDIS providers are bound by the NDIS Code of Conduct and health laws. 

• SLPs in private practice are regulated as CPSPs and are subject to SPA’s professional standards, Code of Ethics and complaints processes. (These mirror AHPRA rules that regulate other allied health professionals, like occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and psychologists.)

Key questions for us

• What will mandatory registration involve? 

• When will it be required?

• What, if anything, should we be doing to prepare for it? 

What we know 

In August 2024, the Government released the advice of the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce. In a nutshell, they recommended that, in addition to Worker checks:

• AHPRA-registered allied health professionals have their existing registration recognised for NDIS registration purposes; and

• “consideration be given” to the appropriateness of extending this recognition to SLPs and other allied health professions who are self-regulated by rules that mirror AHPRA’s requirements.

Growing consensus

Ideally, all allied health providers should be regulated the same way:

• It’s likely that SLPs will eventually be granted access to the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) through a ‘light touch’ professions registration pathway, giving us a form of registration, with AHPRA oversight. This should bolster the argument that SLPs should be treated in the same way as AHPRA-regulated allied health professionals. 

• The 2024 Scope of Practice Review report into the health workforce recommended that the regulatory model for professions operating outside of the NRAS (including for SLPs) be strengthened and standardised.

• The Productivity Commission also wants greater regulatory alignment across the care sector.

What does the Government think?

There are some pretty obvious clues in the consultation paper. The Government appears to want:

• mandatory registration of all providers (p 5), including allied health and therapeutic services, early childhood and early intervention services, health services, such as paediatric support and peer support programs and initiatives (p 8);

• a risk-proportionate regulatory model (p 7) and a regulatory system that reflects the level of risk and complexity of services delivered (p 2);

• a registration system “where providers of similar services are on a level playing field” (p 3); and

• participants to have choice and control of accessing supports (p 4).

Source: page 7

Risks for SLPs and other unregistered allied health providers: 

• The Government knows that, if it gets it wrong, reforms could have unintended consequences, including disruptions to services and unnecessary red tape (p 4). 

• Through its pricing controls, Thriving Kids, and its other reforms, governments are deliberately seeking to restructure the market for NDIS and other publicly funded supports, including allied health supports. 

• Solo speechies in metropolitan areas and clinic owners who train and supervise SLPs are particularly vulnerable to further changes, like mandatory registration, that might increase their compliance costs and other overheads. 

• Many SLPs are working hard to reduce their reliance on NDIS funding. 

• It’s likely some SLPs will not want to register, requiring them to cease providing NDIS supports altogether, reducing participant choice and control.     

Bottom line: what to do now

• Stay calm, watch and wait for the outcome of the consultations.

• Ensure your Worker Checks are up to date.

• Review your policies for compliance with both professional rules and the NDIS Code of Conduct.

• Implement/revise your Incident Management, Complaints Management and other compliance systems and policies to ensure they meet NDIS requirements that currently apply to registered providers.

Question for you!

For unregistered providers: What, if anything, are you doing - or have you done - to prepare for NDIS registration?

For registered providers: How have you found the registration process under the current rules? Would you recommend it to small providers?

Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

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Best Case Scenarios

We present the best case scenario over the next 25 years across different domains of life.

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That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

Was this Booster forwarded to you? Thanks for reading! Sign up for free here.

Hi! I’m David. There’s much afoot, so let’s get straight into it!

Squeezed out or set free? Thriving Kids will transform Australian paediatric allied health care and our workforce   

A deep breath, as we accelerate, feet first!

Big changes ahead!

After reading the Thriving Kids Advisory Group’s Final Report released 3 February 2026, as well as the Ministerial media release and press conference transcript from Minister Mark Butler and Professor Frank Oberklaid AM, it’s clear that Australian governments are working together to:

• give states direct control over the delivery of publicly-funded paediatric allied health services for children 0-8 years with developmental delays and/or autism with low and moderate support needs; and

• reorganise the allied health workforce, so that more of us work across different parts of the care economy (e.g. public hospitals, aged-care, veteran’s affairs) and/or in other sectors. 

Thriving Kids poses significant challenges for small paediatric allied health providers and professionals who support children with developmental delays and/or autism through the NDIS. But it will also create new opportunities to improve access and services for children and families - both within and outside the new system - and to grow as professionals and providers. 

Let me explain what’s happening, and why it matters:

A. Thriving Kids will transform paediatric allied health care

What’s happening? The Federal Government is giving states $1.4 billion - to add to their own $2 billion - to deliver Thriving Kids services. Service delivery and/or commissioning will be controlled by the states. According to Minister Butler, Thriving Kids is about “getting back to a system that existed before the NDIS but has largely been dismantled because of the NDIS covering the field”, including by leveraging existing state-delivered programs. 

Different states will take different approaches, based on what they are doing now. Keep an eye on what’s happening in the state(s) in which you work. For example, I’ve been following the latest round of NSW Foundational Support consultations closely.

Timing: Thriving Kids will roll-out from 1 October this year. If things go to plan, it will be fully operational by 1 January 2028.

Key components:

• Settings-based (not child-based): Thriving Kids will be delivered in places like homes, early childhood settings, schools, community-based child and family hubs “and similar settings” (not clinics). 

• Universal Parenting Supports will include information, peer-support and supported playgroups, programs to build family capacity, and family advocacy training.

• Targeted Supports will include:.

  • Allied health therapies:

    • Kids identified as needing extra help by GPs/family health nurses, or Thriving Kids providers may get referred to allied health.

    • May include a “child development plan” similar to a Chronic Condition Management plan under the MBS. 

    • Diagnosis won’t be needed for access.

    • Treatment will be based on a ‘light-touch’ needs assessment.

    • Therapy will be time-limited and focused on specific goals. 

    • Therapy may be provided by a single discipline or transdisciplinary team based on a Key Worker model, depending on needs.

    • Therapy will be delivered “through a mix of 1:1, in person and/or virtually”.

    • May include intensive family capacity building (beyond Universal Parenting Supports)   

  • Low cost (<$1,000) assistive tech may also be loaned or provided. 

For kids affected, Thriving Kids will replace:

• early intervention NDIS access;

• individualised plans and NDIS funding; 

• choice and control of provider; and

• clinic-based care models.

What happens to kids during the roll out? Children aged under 9 with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs who are or become NDIS participants before 1 January 2028 will “be subject to the usual reassessment criteria in place prior to 1 January 2028”.

Zoom in: For more detail, read the Report - especially pages 9 and 63, which summarise the model and the “theory of change” that will inform service design and implementation.

B. Thriving Kids - and other factors - will transform our workforce

Thriving Kids will cut across the early childcare, education, disability, and health systems, and will affect them all. Those systems, in turn, will affect Thriving Kids. Big workforce changes are flagged several times in the report (e.g. pp 38-48), including the work that will be needed to “enable a smooth transition for providers and practitioners who are currently providing services through the NDIS and who may transition towards Thriving Kids delivery” (p 40). It’s a huge project.  

Priority-check: Before we get into some business and workforce implications for allied health providers and professionals, we must make three important points:

• Good intentions: A lot of work has gone into Thriving Kids. The Government, and the Report authors are very pleased about the model, with Oberklaid claiming that “it’s very hard to argue with any of it”. Despite our reservations, we know the current system needs an overhaul, and that Thriving Kids has the potential to help thousands of families with children with developmental delay and autism who cannot currently access the help they need. 

• Many families are stressed and need us to stay calm: We want Thriving Kids to succeed for the sake of the families and children we serve. Many families are worried by all the changes. Despite our own fears, we must remain rational, stick to the facts, and acknowledge we don’t have all the answers. During the roll-out, we have an important role to explain and co-navigate the new system with families looking for help (p 39.), as well as to advocate for better services when needed. 

• Yes, no one owes us a living. But we are not powerless pawns either. If our business and service delivery models stop working because of events outside our control, it’s up to us to change things within our control to adapt to new conditions. Of course, this is much easier said than done! 

Zoom out: The workforce and business implications of Thriving Kids make more sense if you consider the bigger picture: 

• Macroeconomic constraints: Right now, aggregate demand is above the aggregate supply, increasing inflation. This is why the RBA put up interest rates last week. Government spending on things like the NDIS (and Thriving Kids) contributes to aggregate demand. Federal and state government spending continues to increase, and most NDIS reforms to date are about slowing rates of spending growth, not decreasing the overall spend.   

• Governments are under pressure to increase productivity: Australia needs to increase overall productivity to increase our standards of living.

• The care economy is a big and growing part of the Australian economy: According to the Productivity Commission, Health, aged care, disability, veteran’s affairs and early childhood education and care (ECEC) contributed about 8% of GDP and 12% of our workforce in 2022-2022. Both shares are expected to rise over the next 40 years. A large care sector is a mixed blessing for productivity and the Australian economy:

  • Blessings: It frees up lots of otherwise unpaid careers (mostly women) to take on paid work. It improves outcomes for people who receive care.

  • Drawback: It intensifies competition for labour across the economy, potentially pulling workers out of other sectors - especially if people can earn more money in the NDIS than in a “more productive” private sector job. (Some sections of the media have been focusing on this point as part of the NDIS reform debate, arguing that too many NDIS workers are a “drag” on the economy.)  

• Productivity gains in the care economy are hard to achieve: Most care is labour-intensive and we don’t want to reduce care quality. The Productivity Commission thinks the government should intervene to “shape” the care economy, including by:

  • aligning regulation across care sectors, and making it easier for workers to work across different parts of the care sector;

  • embedding place-based “collaborative commissioning”, including between Local Hospital Networks and Primary Health Networks, to break down silos between organisations and types of care; and

  • implementing a national prevention and early intervention framework.  

What this means: Federal and state governments are working to try to change demand, supply and distribution of allied health services across disability, aged care, social care, health, and education settings. Through regulation, pricing limits, de-privatisation, funding arrangements, and other incentives, governments are seeking to reorganise our allied health workforce to meet their policy objectives. For example:

• as the Independent Pricing Committee observed last year, NDIS pricing limits are already forcing the allied health market to restructure itself, with current settings advantaging large providers (who can survive periods of low profitability and losses and achieve economies of scale) and sole practitioners (who have low overheads and no staff to train or supervise) over smaller providers that train and supervise staff. 

• even before Thriving Kids, most small clinic owners were aware that their business models must change, and many of us are working hard to diversify and reduce reliance on NDIS funding; and

• in his Thriving Kids press conference of 3 February 2026, Minister Butler explained that one of his aims is “[g]etting a little bit more of an even spread of that [allied health] capability into veteran’s care, into aged care, into public hospitals…of that allied health capability as it’s moved into the private sector to participate in NDIS.” 

Things seem worse for small clinic owners 

• the small businesses sector is struggling. Across the economy, business conditions are tough for small businesses, with rising overheads, inflation and interest rates challenging cashflows. In the 2025 financial year, we saw a record number of insolvencies (up 33% from the previous year [paywalled]). 

• NDIS risks and costs are increasing: NDIS pricing caps, new definitions of NDIS supports, increasing regulatory risks, new compliance requirements, and additional red tape make things harder.

• many allied health providers manage clinics, which grew in response to surging demand from families of NDIS-funded children, and as state services dismantled services. Individualised funding models incentivised professionals to go into private practice and to offer clinic-based services. As policy settings have reversed to discourage clinical models of care, many clinic owners are at a crossroads. 

Why this matters: Private paediatric allied health clinic owners and professionals have some big decisions to make in the near future. And the clock’s ticking. 

Key challenges: 

• For providers: What’s already happening with the NDIS - and what is likely to happen with Thriving Kids - is that providers will feel pressured to allow governments to change their services to match government-dictated service delivery models, including assessment and therapy services. During the transition, providers may experience a “regulatory squeeze”, trapped between diminishing revenues, rising costs, limited autonomy over service design and delivery, and difficulties recruiting, supervising, training, and retaining staff. 

• For professionals/workers: Some allied health professionals may find themselves stranded in systems and workplaces that deliver limited, low-quality, and/ or non-evidence-based services and programs. Others may experience difficulties accessing sufficient supervision, training, and other opportunities for professional growth. Of course, these are issues that exist in the current system, too. (The Report authors recognise that investment in supervision, training, and governance will be essential for Thriving Kids workforce development, see p 8). 

C. With changes, come opportunities

• The overall demand for high quality paediatric allied healthcare remains high.

• We have valuable skills and an overall worker shortage. Few of us will struggle to find work.

• Some will relish the opportunities presented by Thriving Kids, either through employment within the public sector, or through lead provider and/or subcontractor roles in services commissioned by states. Across systems, there will be an urgent need for skilled professionals with years of experience supporting children with developmental delay and/or autism to train and supervise others.  

• Others may choose to move to a different part of the care economy, as is expected by the governments.

• Some clinic owners may shutter their clinics, take a job, or leave the sector altogether (again outcomes expected by governments). 

• Regardless of funding models, I remain committed to delivering high quality paediatric services to improve functional outcomes for children - both directly, and by supporting my team and other professionals to help clients and their families. 

• Thriving Kids and a smaller NDIS may improve access and outcomes for many children and families - and I hope it does! But Thriving Kids cannot and will not suit everyone, everywhere, all at once. 

• I expect there will be lots of “on the ground” access, system interface, and service gaps for families, e.g. in some schools. Some families will want more than what Thriving Kids can deliver. Others may want something different.

D. Bottom Line

Now we know what’s coming - and the risks of inaction - we should spend less time worrying and more time focused on identifying opportunities - ways to use our knowledge, skills, talents, and interests to:

• help more children and families achieve good outcomes; 

• keep learning and growing professionally; 

• support our colleagues, including early career allied health professionals; and 

• pursue our professional goals with people we respect, and people who respect us.

For those of us committed to paediatric allied health care for children with developmental delay and/or autism, let’s keep sight of our North Star: to deliver excellent services to the children and families - regardless of sector, setting, system, program, or funding model. 

As Thriving Kids rolls out, we’ll explore emerging challenges and opportunities in Banter Boosters.

E. Question for you!

What do you think about the challenges and opportunities presented by Thriving Kids? Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

Free, useful things!

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Helpful read or watch

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That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

Was this Booster forwarded to you? Thanks for reading! Sign up for free here.

Hi! I’m David. We’re back with a new look, but the same purpose: to make your SLP-life a bit easier.

Let’s start with breaking news that will affect lots of SLPs in Australia:

Thriving kids is now a real thing. Get ready!

In a nutshell

With governments finally signing up to the public hospital deal on 30 January, Thriving Kids will start rolling out in phases from October 2026. The plan is for Thriving Kids to be fully operational by January 2028.

• Mark Butler’s original announcement of 20 August 2025 seems a very long time ago. If you’ve forgotten all about it, check out our overview.  

• Last year, we looked at the evidence base for some of the programs name-checked in Butler’s announcement, including Inklings, MHiPS, and Positive Partnerships. We were underwhelmed! 

Why it matters

• Young kids, 0-8, with “mild and moderate developmental delays and autism” - yes I hate that term too - will be diverted from the NDIS, effectively “turning off” the early intervention NDIS pathway for thousands of kids currently seen by SLPs with NDIS funding. 

• Governments are working to reduce the NDIS’s annual growth rate growth to 6% or less (down from the current target of 8%). 

• Thriving Kids will have a big impact on referral pathways, service delivery models, and even demand for SLP and other allied health services for kids. Paediatric SLPs should prepare!

What to expect

In late December 2025, the Australian House of Representatives published its 248-page report into Thriving Kids. At the time, many of us deferred reading it (or ignored it!) because it was so close to Christmas and, in any event, we didn’t know if there would be a deal. It’s worth looking at now because it contains a useful recap of what to expect:

• Funding model changes: Significant departure from the current fee-for-service NDIS model towards commissioned service models for affected kids, including block-funding. Expect more focus on multidisciplinary models, programs, data collection, and outcome measurement.

• Referral pathway changes: Potentially one portal of entry for all children with developmental concerns, with multiple referral pathways. Kids may be referred to specific providers/programs - rather than having choice and control over their providers.

It might look a bit like this, but the details will matter and will vary by state!

• Service-delivery model changes: Thriving Kids to be delivered via “integrated, place-based services”, e.g. in community health centres, early childhood education centres, and schools. Expect a big increase in the use of telehealth, too, especially for rural and remote areas.

• New provider registration requirements: Unclear, but will probably go the same way as the broader NDIS registration debate. More on this in next week’s Booster!

• Key business implications: 

  • Thriving Kids will replace lots of services that are currently delivered in clinics.

  • Solo, single-discipline metropolitan-based providers - with high competition and low tender capacity - face the highest business risks. 

  • Practice owners should:

    • continue to foster partnerships and local alliances with other allied health practices, early childhood services, preschools and schools;  

    • keep a close eye on the service gaps that will emerge with the changes, including potential options to support children and families who will otherwise lose access to some or all of their current services; and

    • stay positive and measured, recognising that overall demand for SLP services remains high, and that many worried children and families are looking to us for solutions - not additional stress.

Go deeper

No child left behind – Parliament of Australia (Report)

Free, useful things!

Resource

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Learning opportunity

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Helpful read or watch

Treat your to-read pile like a river | Oliver Burkeman

www.oliverburkeman.com/river

SLP (and/or dad) joke

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Question for you!

How are you preparing for Thriving Kids? Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday!

See more from us on LinkedIn or Instagram, or book a
 1:1 Free Discovery Call with me

Have a great week - David.

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5-FINAL BOOSTS TO END THE SEASON!

👋🏻 I’m David, and I want to help you get to the end of the year! ⌚️ ⚡️ 

Thanks for supporting the Banter Booster, and for your feedback!

Last hours of our Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sale! 20% off all our resources!

1. 🆓 Resources

Identifying and supporting the needs of children with SEND in mainstream settings | Cecile De Cat

Understanding the language background of bilingual children and young people is key when assessing their language and communication support needs. This can be done effectively by Q-BEx (https://Q-BEx.org), a free, research-validated online questionnaire available in 33 languages. 💡 Q-BEx produces individual reports which include a Risk Factor index to flag children who may be at risk of language impairment, and would benefit from specialist referral for assessment by a speech and language therapist.

www.linkedin.com/posts/cecile-de-cat-43ba326a_identifying-and-supporting-the-needs-of-children-activity-7398758908607119360-AQRE?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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Measuring quality | Sharon Steele

The Disability Wellbeing Index, a new evidence-based tool aimed at measuring wellbeing across various life domains, was presented at the NDS Executive Leaders conference today. The presentation evoked a sense of déjà vu, reminding me of the Quality Framework for Disability Services in Victoria (2007). This framework was created for disability service providers to assess the quality of their practice by collecting data across 16 areas of life. These 16 areas of life (outcome standards) were integrated into service provision and audit processes at that time. It is unfortunate that a quality framework and outcome measures were not considered during the design of the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators. For those interested, here’s a link for a walk down memory lane: https://lnkd.in/gFVDwZ8x

www.linkedin.com/posts/sharon-steele-0156bb151_measuring-quality-activity-7398986711504084992-UWiQ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

Finding the Needle in the Haystack: A Quality Appraisal of Mobile Applications for Foundational Literacy Skills - Early Childhood Education Journal | Tanya Serry

Lisa Furlong "While a large number of apps were identified, relatively few demonstrated alignment with evidence-based principles of instruction, and only a small proportion were recommended by expert reviewers." In the important words of Troy Verey - "we cannot leave reading to chance." Thanks for the collaboration Meg Morris Shane Erickson Meryl L. Megan Gath Here’s the link: https://lnkd.in/g9DFM3Cm

www.linkedin.com/posts/tanya-serry-127b44229_finding-the-needle-in-the-haystack-a-quality-activity-7398971065449893888-QiqQ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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3. 🔓 Research

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

#ndis #ndispricing #ndia | Chantelle Robards

The 2025 - 2026 APR paper launched today and it's been very, very quiet. This document signals a major change to the way that the NDIA set pricing. I thought the prospect of differentiated / tiered pricing would have created some buzz - but if you are all as tired as I am maybe it's gone to the keeper. My vid is a bit quick and dirty this time around but I hope it lends some help in getting your head around what's ahead. #NDIS #NDISPricing #NDIA

www.linkedin.com/posts/chantellerobards_ndis-ndispricing-ndia-activity-7399699632194449408-OIG4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

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🙏🏻. We hope you enjoyed the Banter Booster this year. On behalf of the Banter Speech & Language team, we hope you have a relaxing break, and a great start to 2026! We’ll be back with a new Banter Booster series in February!

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David, and this is our second last Booster for 2025! ⚡️ 

Air-guitaring our way toward the end of another season.
We hope you’ve found the Boosters useful!

1. 🆓 Resources

Announcing the MiMo Language Analysis App

Delighted to share my language analysis app at https://docs.mimolanguageanalysis.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/announcing-mimo-language-analysis-app-nick-riches-gijoe/?trackingId=zaFFjjrYQMKzYzVuyB8kjQ%3D%3D

2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

What’s Got Us Talking: A UTS Speech Pathology Podcast | Bronwyn Hemsley

New!! Our podcast episode highlighting the importance of #Safeguarding the communication rights of minimally- or non-speaking individuals exposed to #FacilitatedCommunication #RapidPromptingMethod #SpellersMethod #S2C #SpellingToCommunicate https://lnkd.in/gtixZNzD Features Katharine Beals Jeffrey Chan Professor Karen Nankervis #Autism #AugComm #TelepathyTapes #TelepathyTapes2

www.linkedin.com/posts/bronwyn-hemsley-a333b6126_whats-got-us-talking-a-uts-speech-pathology-activity-7396287080479432704-ywVG?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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3. 🔓 Research

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Happy Thursday E-DLD followers! Today's research study aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between working memory and syntax in children with DLD.

Read the research summary on our website!
www.engage-dld.com/post/syntax-...

#DevLangDis#DLD#syntax#workingmemory

— EngagewithDLD (@edldproject.bsky.social)
8:01 PM • Nov 20, 2025

UK SLTs Prioritize Techniques for Communication Partner Training in ABI | Nicholas Behn posted on the topic | LinkedIn

🎉 TANGO Study – Week 2: What UK SLTs Say Matters Most in Communication Partner Training 🎉 This week, we're sharing findings from our national e-Delphi study, where UK speech and language therapists (SLTs) helped identify the most important techniques to include in communication partner training (CPT) for people with acquired brain injury (ABI).
 💡 Why these findings matter This is the first national e-Delphi exploring CPT techniques with UK SLTs working in ABI. The results highlight the complexity of CPT and provide strong foundations for developing programme theory and shaping future CPT interventions that are evidence-driven and clinically meaningful.
Carla Magdalani Katerina Hilari Madeline Cruice Leanne Togher Ian Kellar RCSLT Research

www.linkedin.com/posts/nicholasbehn_tangostudy-braininjury-sltresearch-activity-7396524754851008512-6Ld0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

I-CAN NDIS webinar 18/11/25 Information: 🚩 🚩 🚩   NDIS Participants are to be research subjects for the Melbourne University I-CAN NDIS version. | Shirley Humphri

I-CAN NDIS webinar 18/11/25 Information: 🚩 🚩 🚩    We have no information of ethics approval for this research or whether there is informed consent to participate. NDIA execs at the JSC hearing, said there is to be no Pilot and no opt out. This new I-CAN version is NOT using allied health as assessors. … Professor Jason Thompson was asked if Melbourne University endorses the use of non-allied health as assessors and said “Our job is not to decide on the delivery mechanism, its really to do the research … we don’t have an endorsement role” …The assessment has no appeal rights if it is wrong. This assessment must have a Joint Standing Committee Inquiry. Only 7 days left for the petition please sign and share https://lnkd.in/g8Re_y6n

www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7397069937652998144-eRS9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. 🧠 Things to ponder!

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If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

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Checking my to-do list…

1. 🆓 Resources

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2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

#dlddownload #newpodcast #devlangdis #comingsoon | Moor House Research and Training Institute

Something exciting is coming soon… We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a brand-new DLD DownLoaD Podcast, and the teaser is already live! Hosted by the Moor House Research & Training Institute, we'll discover what DLD is, how it affects both children and adults, and why awareness matters, with the help of lots of great guests. Listen to the teaser now https://lnkd.in/eWB6xg4Q Stay tuned and follow for updates! #DLDdownload #newpodcast #devlangdis #comingsoon

www.linkedin.com/posts/moor-house-research-and-training-institute_dlddownload-newpodcast-devlangdis-activity-7393689359012540418-oHUb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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3. 🔓 Research

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

NDIA Support Needs Assessments: A Concern for Allied Health Professionals | Sarah Collison - Verve OT posted on the topic | LinkedIn

Nothing says “person-centred” quite like being assessed by someone who isn’t qualified to understand your needs… The proposed Support Needs Assessments by the NDIA won’t be completed by your trusted allied health professional — in fact, they won’t even be completed by an allied health professional at all. Instead, these assessments could be carried out by anyone who completes the NDIA training and becomes "accredited". Training is not the same as qualification. You can’t condense four years of university study, clinical placement, and professional registration into a couple of weeks of training. Allied health professionals spend years learning to assess functional capacity, interpret complex health information, and understand the interplay between disability, environment, and participation. These skills aren’t “optional extras” — they’re essential for ensuring fair, accurate, and person-centred decisions about supports. If this concerns you as much as it does the rest of us, it’s worth paying attention to what’s being proposed. 👉 Read more about it and sign the parliamentary petition here: https://lnkd.in/gXZRd7wD | 12 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/posts/sarah-collison-verve-ot_nothing-says-person-centred-quite-like-activity-7394116718266183680-_Q5B?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. ❣️ Client views & things for SLPs to think about!

Beautiful poster for Alzheimer’s by Cossette, an ad agency in Montréal. | Jade Trott and Lee Trott

The post-it notes are a great way to pixelate his daughter's face, and what's written on them is a fantastic way to integrate what would be the body copy in to the visual. Source: https://lnkd.in/eW2bH8Gs | 51 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/posts/jadetrottandleetrott_beautiful-poster-for-alzheimers-by-cossette-activity-7392506600030101504-OHfs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXghttps://x.com/Beanie0597/status/1988707785991946746?s=20

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6-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David, and I want to help you stay up-to-speed ⌚️ ⚡️

Me reading about more NDIS reform proposals and AI developments…

1. 🆓 Resources

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#speechpathology #speechtherapy #slp #childdevelopment #edtech #digitalhealth #earlyintervention #speechling | Speechling

Is your child's speech unclear? Try our new, free speech-sound screener app! We're excited to launch the Speechling Soundcheck. It's a quick, easy way to check for common speech sound patterns. You'll get instant, easy-to-understand results right on our website. Give it a try! 💬  https://lnkd.in/gP6XJrqV #SpeechPathology #SpeechTherapy #SLP #ChildDevelopment #EdTech #DigitalHealth #EarlyIntervention #Speechling

www.linkedin.com/posts/speechling-au_speechpathology-speechtherapy-slp-ugcPost-7391955246417305600-AjL1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

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#autism | CliniKids

✨ ONE WEEK COUNTDOWN! Have you registered for our FREE online autism seminar — Advances in Autism: Your Questions Answered — next Thursday, November 13? In this seminar, Professor Andrew Whitehouse (Deputy Director Research and CliniKids Director, The Kids Research Institute Australia) and Professor David Trembath (Head of Autism Research, Senior Principal Research Fellow, CliniKids) will answer questions from the community about advances in #autism research and practice. 👤The seminar is designed for parents and family members but will be relevant to professionals who work with autistic children and their families. Register ➡: bit.ly/43j4sAh 💡Please note, registration for the seminar is necessary to obtain the webinar link and access to the Q&A. A link of the recording will be provided to those who register.

www.linkedin.com/posts/clinikids-thekids_autism-activity-7392048087856369664-e1ND?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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3. 🔓 Research

Article summary: www.engage-dld.com/post/academi...
YouTube summary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzZ1...  
Original article: doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...

#DevLangDis#DLD#bilingual#processingskills#academicachievement#rapidnaming#phonologicalawareness

— EngagewithDLD (@edldproject.bsky.social)
8:00 PM • Nov 2, 2025

Stuttering stigma affects quality of life worldwide | Mark Onslow posted on the topic | LinkedIn

Those who stutter live in a society that marginalises them with stigma. They can be affected by social anxiety and not getting the best from their education and not doing all they could do in the workplace. These quality-of-life issues are obviously related to social stigma about the condition—negative generalisations. This is shown with stuttering usually being depicted negatively in works of fiction, particularly in movies. The most obvious display of this widespread stigma is the POSHA-S data base, with tens of thousands of people in 45 countries. https://lnkd.in/dVPf7VSR

www.linkedin.com/posts/mark-onslow-42305a206_those-who-stutter-live-in-a-society-that-activity-7382164719303819264-pElx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

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NDIS Code of Conduct: Integrity, Honesty, Transparency Video | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission posted on the topic | LinkedIn

All providers, registered or not, must act with integrity, honesty and transparency under the NDIS Code of Conduct. This includes declaring any real or perceived conflicts of interest. Our new educational video demonstrates how transparency and open communication build trust with participants. It also walks you through practical steps you can take to deliver supports and services with integrity and honesty – and uphold the Code of Conduct in the process. ▶️ Watch the full video: https://lnkd.in/gQCqpBve #NDISProviders #NDISWorkers #NDISParticipants

www.linkedin.com/posts/ndiscommission_ndisproviders-ndisworkers-ndisparticipants-activity-7390945890812928001-ZFUK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. 🧠 Things to watch & 😍 for speech pathology!

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🙏🏻. If you enjoyed this week’s Booster, please help me spread the word by sharing it with a colleague!

If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

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Me reading reports that our Disability Ministers won’t even meet to discuss Thriving Kids…

1. 🆓 Resources

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2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

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3. 🔓 Research

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Monica Melby-Lervåg

⸻ 💬 If a child still struggles with speech at age 7 or 8, it’s not just a phase. We have published a new study where we looked at 250 children with reading difficulties in 2nd and 3rd grade. Those who had speech difficulties at ages 4–5 — and still did at 7–8 — had smaller vocabularies and more language challenges than peers without speech issues. 👉 The takeaway: Persistent speech difficulties should be taken seriously. They may point to an underlying language disorder that affects learning and communication. 🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dF39Zx88 #SpeechTherapy #LanguageDevelopment #ChildDevelopment #EducationResearch #EarlyIntervention

www.linkedin.com/posts/monica-melby-lerv%C3%A5g-61647a111_speechtherapy-languagedevelopment-childdevelopment-activity-7388671093848555520-uvji?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

NDIS report reveals hidden barriers for vulnerable Australians with psychosocial disability | Kathi Boorman posted on the topic | LinkedIn

A new report shows the alarming impact of hidden changes at the NDIS, which are creating invisible barriers and growing inequity for some of Australia’s most vulnerable people.   The Australian Psychosocial Alliance’s Access Denied: Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS report draws on first-hand insights from consumers, participants, carers and others involved in the system, NDIS statistics and organisational data. It offers clear recommendations to ensure people with psychosocial disability have access to the support they need, when they need it.   Read more: https://lnkd.in/gPvQQNgH #AccessDenied #NDIS #ndisaustralia #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters  Mind Australia One Door Mental Health Wellways Australia Flourish Australia Neami National Stride Mental Health Open Minds Ruah Community Services

www.linkedin.com/posts/kathi-boorman-330469145_accessdenied-ndis-ndisaustralia-activity-7389047867887292416-8iFc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

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#ndis #disabilityrights #truecodesign #inclusion #therapymatters #alliedhealth #advocacyinaction #nothingaboutuswithoutus | Tania Teitzel

SPEAKING UP IN CANBERRA This week, I travelled to Canberra to meet with my local member, Leon Rebello MP and to stand alongside disabled people and allied health professionals from across Australia in protest against the NDIS cuts. It was a powerful opportunity to listen and amplify the voices of disabled children and adults who bravely shared how these changes would impact their daily lives, their independence, and their futures. In a historic moment, the street in front of Parliament House was closed to support the right of disabled people to protest, a powerful symbol of unity and advocacy. … We stand in solidarity with the disability community in calling for genuine partnership, protection of rights, and a future where every person can thrive with the support they deserve. #NDIS #DisabilityRights #TrueCoDesign #Inclusion #TherapyMatters #AlliedHealth #AdvocacyInAction #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

www.linkedin.com/posts/tania-teitzel-9b5a762a_ndis-disabilityrights-truecodesign-activity-7389231177796214785-RuiW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

🙏🏻. If you enjoyed this week’s Booster, please help me spread the word by sharing it with a colleague!

If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David. For many SLPs, there’s a lot going on, so let’s get straight into it! ⌚️ ⚡️ 

Me attempting to “Observe, Wait, and Listen” to NDIS announcements this week…

1. 🆓 Resources

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#easyenglish #communityengagement #inclusion #dropthejargonday #hiddendisabilitiesweek | Cathy Basterfield

Halloween is not far away. #EasyEnglish to support inclusion and participation in your community. https://lnkd.in/gzFrwja9 www.linkedin.com/posts/cathy-basterfield-a5698749_easyenglish-communityengagement-inclusion-activity-7386635635312246784-aPpn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

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3. 🔓 Research & guidelines

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4. 🔥 NDIS & provider updates 🔧🔨 

What qualifications will needs assessors have? It’s a question that we’ve had for months now. And yesterday, at a hearing of parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, we got a little closer… | DSC | 39 comments

What qualifications will needs assessors have? It’s a question that we’ve had for months now. And yesterday, at a hearing of parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, we got a little closer to the answer. In response to questions from Green’s Senator Jordan Steele-John, NDIA Deputy CEO Aaron Verlin said: 1️⃣They will be hiring 80 allied health professionals to train and accredit needs assessors. 2️⃣The needs assessors themselves will *not* necessarily be allied health professionals. Instead, the NDIA spoke of hiring people on the basis of soft skills, like the ability to engage with people with disability. Some assessors may have a background in allied health, but it won’t be a requirement. Interestingly, this is quite different to the eligibility criteria on the Centre for Disability Studies’ I-CAN website, which says assessors must be an allied health professional, nurse, behaviour support practitioner or hold an education degree. There is a note that people who don’t meet these requirements can contact the team to discuss their experience, but this will be reviewed ‘on a case-by-case basis’. 3️⃣The NDIA is working with the University of Melbourne to develop training for accrediting needs assessors. | 39 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/posts/teamdsc_what-qualifications-will-needs-assessors-activity-7386938036753928193-UgUu?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

#isad2025 #stuttering #stutteringawareness | UTS: Australian Stuttering Research Centre

International Stuttering Awareness Day 2025 A Diverse Stuttering Community – Meeting Challenges With Strengths Today, we join people across the globe in celebrating the diversity, resilience, and strength of those who stutter…This year’s ISAD theme reminds us that the stuttering community is made up of people with unique voices, experiences, and strengths — and that diversity is what drives progress. Let’s continue to listen, learn, and advocate for inclusion, understanding, and empowerment for everyone who stutters. #ISAD2025 #stuttering #stutteringawareness

www.linkedin.com/posts/australian-stuttering-research-centre_isad2025-stuttering-stutteringawareness-activity-7386597296592957440-0_ji/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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🙏🏻. If you enjoyed this week’s Booster, please help me spread the word by sharing it with a colleague!

If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David, and I hope everyone had a great #DLDday last Friday 🙌 

Great to see more SLPs every year advocating for increased DLD awareness and services!

1. 🆓 Resources

We hope you find it useful!

Resources

Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder

radld.org/dld-awareness-day/resources-media-ideas

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2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

🚨 It’s DLD Day TOMORROW! 💜💛

To celebrate #DLDday, we're giving away FREE access to our popular CPD webinar: "Supporting children with #DLD to access the maths curriculum"(usually £20).

🕒 Watch until 17th November

👉 training.moorhouseinstitute.com/course/index...

#DevLangDis@radld.bsky.social

— Moor House Research & Training Institute (@moorhouseinstitute.com)
3:16 PM • Oct 16, 2025

Preparing and serving a meal: A metaphor for allied health reports | Harmony Turnbull

A new blog post about allied health report writing and I'm interested in your thoughts: Writing an allied health report is like preparing and serving a meal. My research has focused on understanding the experiences of the readers and the writers of allied health reports written for and about people with lifelong communication disability. I'm doing this to find ways for reports to be easier to read and understand, and possibly easier to write too. Writing reports is a core part of allied health practice. It’s also a skill that takes time, reflection, and feedback to learn. While working on this research, I’ve found this metaphor to be a helpful tool in trying to translate the results into something meaningful. https://lnkd.in/gn5H5cyr

www.linkedin.com/posts/harmony-turnbull-22a46aa1_preparing-and-serving-a-meal-a-metaphor-activity-7384540743392137216-Zuvr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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3. 🔓 Research

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We're highlighting some of our trending resources on Developmental Language Disorder #DevLangDis ahead of DLD Awareness Day. Check out these articles from across our journals! https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2025/10/you-cant-see-dld-asha-journals-honors-dld-awareness-day/#DLDday

— ASHA Journals (@ashajournals.bsky.social)
1:32 PM • Oct 16, 2025

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

NDIS Price Guide Update – What’s changing and why it’s causing a little confusion

The NDIA has released a new round of updates to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, effective 24 November 2025. While most are minor, they’ve still sparked a bit of confusion on social media.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/ndis-price-guide-update-whats-changing-why-its-causing-verve-ot-i5efc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

Plan Managers are relying on this document more and more to determine whether a support can legitimately be paid for. This document no longer only applies to registered providers (if you want to be… | Chantelle Robards

Plan Managers are relying on this document more and more to determine whether a support can legitimately be paid for. This document no longer only applies to registered providers (if you want to be paid for the work that you do).

www.linkedin.com/posts/chantellerobards_have-you-noticed-the-quiet-rebrand-activity-7384501712314867712-ervL?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

You can't see DLD so let Julianne show you.
#DLDday
#DevLangDis

— RADLD-Raising Awareness for Developmental Language Disorder (@radld.bsky.social)
1:01 AM • Oct 16, 2025

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David, and we’re back for term 4 with our final Booster series for 2025!  🟠 

Stay strong & hopeful hearted!

1. 🆓 Resources

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Pleased, and a little surprised, that this book has been downloaded over 200,000 times as a free PDF.

That's just a number. What matters is how colleagues are using these ideas to make a difference for children and families. Thank you for reading, sharing and discussing.

development-matters.org.uk

— Dr Julian Grenier CBE (@juliangrenier.bsky.social)
6:36 AM • Sep 27, 2025

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2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

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3. 🔓 Research

🧩Learning to talk & read isn’t just about effort or teaching—it’s shaped by biology, experience & context

🧠Our new review links genetics, neuroscience, psychology & education to show why some children find language or reading easier.

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🖼️genes→brain→cognition→behaviour 🧵👇

— Dr Elsje van Bergen (@drelsje.bsky.social)
10:03 AM • Oct 6, 2025

“I Just Want Him to Be Understood”: Parent Perspectives of the Long-Term Desired Outcomes and Experiences of Early Intervention for Children With Childhood Apraxia of Speech | Tricia McCabe

We talked to parents of children with childhood #apraxia of speech in two countries about early intervention. … Here's what the parents said #OpenAccess: https://lnkd.in/g2ATmWmA

www.linkedin.com/posts/tricia-mccabe-apraxia_i-just-want-him-to-be-understood-parent-activity-7381847799430250496-7AoZ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

In reporting this piece on the new trial for a Huntington's treatment, I was struck by one thing in particular:

The joy.

One of my sources wept for joy. He has spent his entire career studying this disease, he said it was the happiest day. www.sciencenews.org/article/hunt...

— Bethany Brookshire (@beebrookshire.bsky.social)
5:58 PM • Sep 26, 2025

4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

Speech pathology regulation in Australia: progress, but more work to be done |

Back in the news: On 12 September 2025, Health Ministers released a communique, rekindling conversations about speech pathology regulation in Australia. Here’s what I think about it.

speechiesinbusiness.com/business-tips/speech-pathology-regulation-in-australia-progress-but-more-work-to-be-done

APA putting their (not insignificant) money where their mouth is. More of this from the Peaks. Please. | Chantelle Robards

www.linkedin.com/posts/chantellerobards_physiotherapy-practices-are-under-growing-activity-7381585278307659776-_vaU?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

So what fresh hell is being unleashed on us all this morning?

Well first we have Rick Morton’s take on the…needs assessment and selection of the I-CAN tool. …But secondly the article also references the final therapy supports operational guideline and I quote “The announcement of the new assessment tool comes as the National Disability Insurance Agency is expected to release its new therapy support guideline. The guideline, seen by The Saturday Paper, will now prevent participants from using NDIS funds to gather reports from treating therapists – an expensive exercise – by making these funds “stated” amounts in their plans. Under the NDIS legislative reform, stated supports can only be spent as directed by the agency.”

www.linkedin.com/posts/sarah-collison-verve-ot_so-what-fresh-hell-is-being-unleashed-on-activity-7380024056781209600-XCgc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

Even if a classic children’s book is considered ‘problematic’ by some, I think it’s a terrible idea to rewrite the ending! What do you think?

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6-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David, and I want to help you save time & energy ⌚️ ⚡️ 

What to say to our mirrors on Mondays!

1. 🆓 Resources

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#enjoysafemeals #dysphagia #mealtimesafety #safeandenjoyablemeals | Bronwyn Hemsley

Do you work with people who have swallowing difficulty and their families and support workers? Do you teach speech pathologists about swallowing? Here's an animation of the swallow (how we swallow) that you can use when training support workers and people with swallowing difficulty about the sequence of the swallow in a simple way. It's from our #EnjoySafeMeals project so email me if you are training people about swallowing and would like it to be used (funding courtesy of NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission 2020-22). #Dysphagia #MealtimeSafety #SafeAndEnjoyableMeals

www.linkedin.com/posts/bronwyn-hemsley-a333b6126_enjoysafemeals-dysphagia-mealtimesafety-activity-7374155340101144577-olrz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

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Why I’m not a neuro-affirmative professional. Dr Naomi Fisher

I’m often told I’m neuro-affirmative and it has never quite sat right with me. So this weekend I have done a deep dive into neuro-affirmative assessment and therapy. I’ve read all the books which Amazon could provide when I searched for ‘neuro-affirmative’ and ‘psychology’ and now I can say for sure, I’m not a neuro-affirmative psychologist….

www.linkedin.com/posts/naomi-fisher-psychologist_why-im-not-a-neuro-affirmative-professional-activity-7373989197726269440-RF24?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

3. 🔓 Research

🆓🔓 Conlon, C., & Zupan, B. (2025). The training of speech-language pathologists in augmentative and alternative communication: A scoping review. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1–15. doi.org/10.1080/1754...#AugComm

🦋 #bskySPEECHIES

— Caroline Bowen, Speech-Language Pathologist 🇦🇺🇳🇿🌻 (@carolinebowen.bsky.social)
11:44 PM • Sep 16, 2025

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

Recent changes to the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Framework: Join Allied Health Professions Australia for a webinar to unpack what this means for allied health professionals. |

www.linkedin.com/posts/speech-pathology-australia_alliedhealthprofessional-alliedhealth-chronicdiseasemanagement-activity-7371771769424326656-6ad-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

A tool for managers who supervise senior SLPs.

5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

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🙏🏻. If you enjoyed this week’s Booster, please help me spread the word by sharing it with a colleague!

If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David, and I want to help you save time & energy. ⌚️ ⚡️ Thanks for all your lovely feedback on our 100th issue last week! ❤️‍🔥 

How I imagine I look as I doomscroll social media searching for positive posts…

1. 🆓 Resources

WORD CONNECTIONS | Jessica Toste PhD

www.jessicatoste.com/wordconnections

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2. 🤓 Technical Skills, & Training

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University of Sydney Speech Pathology Research Symposium 2025 | Emma Campbell

🎓✨ 2025 Communication Sciences and Disorders Research Symposium ✨🎓 We’re excited to invite you to the 2025 Communication Sciences and Disorders Research Symposium, proudly sponsored by the ACT/NSW Branch of Speech Pathology Australia. 📅 Date: Tuesday 21 October 2025 🕐 Time: 1:00 – 6:00 pm (followed by networking & nibbles) 📍 Venue: Susan Wakil Health Building, University of Sydney This year’s program features a range of thought-provoking presentations and discussions—don’t miss the chance to connect with researchers, clinicians, and students across our field. 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/g-96SEHQ 📄 Program attached Please share with your networks—we can’t wait to see you there!

www.linkedin.com/posts/emma-campbell-94231093_university-of-sydney-speech-pathology-research-activity-7371142903936696321-fTTL/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

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3. 🔓 Research

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

Eat Speak Learn on Thriving Kids Podcast | Chris MacDonald posted on the topic | LinkedIn

✨ Thriving Kids, Thriving Clinics ✨ Navigating the NDIS has never been easy for families or providers — and with the new Thriving Kids Program rolling out, the questions are coming thick and fast. That’s why it was so encouraging to hear Eat Speak Learn mentioned in the latest Grow Your Clinic Podcast (episode #314). Ben Lynch, Jack and Hannah Dunn did a brilliant job unpacking the challenges families and clinics are facing right now. At Eat Speak Learn, we’ve been leaning into these changes by: 🌱 Building clarity for families with a structured intake process. 🌱 Offering coordinated care pathways led by practitioners who know the value of teamwork. 🌱 Prioritising evidence-based practice and outcome measures to show real progress. 🌱 Balancing NDIS with private and Medicare clients so families have choice and stability. The heart of it? Staying centred on children and families, while making sure our clinic remains financially fit and ready to adapt. If you’re working with kids or supporting families through the NDIS, I’d highly recommend giving this episode a listen. 🎧

www.linkedin.com/posts/chris-macdonald-43b41438_thriving-kids-thriving-clinics-navigating-activity-7369497378858463233-MFg5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

| Mumi H.

🚦 Navigators: The Future of Support in the NDIS? The NDIS Review has recommended phasing out Support Coordination and replacing it with a new Navigator model. In theory, Navigators offer universal access, independence from plan budgets and stronger links to mainstream services. But the big question is: who will deliver them and where from? … 🔧 What This Means for Allied Health Providers Referral pathways are shifting: At present, many allied health referrals come via Support Coordinators. In a Navigator model, referral power may sit with corporate or insurer-run hubs. That raises the risk participants will be steered to preferred networks instead of having genuine choice. Scale vs community: Larger, multi-disciplinary providers may be favoured as “one-stop shops.” But this shift threatens smaller practices that carry deep community trust and cultural ties. If commissioning rewards efficiency over diversity, participant choice will shrink. Strategic adaptation: Smaller providers may need to form alliances or networks to avoid exclusion. Larger organisations must balance efficiency with authentic, person-centred care….
 
The Navigator model is meant to empower participants. But if delivered poorly, it risks eroding independence, silencing community voices and narrowing provider choice. We need a system that protects diversity, fairness and cultural connection. A system that prioritises the people it is meant to serve. #NDIS #NDISReform #Navigators #SupportCoordination #AlliedHealth #DisabilitySupport

www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7371847261758070784-IedW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

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🙏🏻. If you enjoyed this week’s Booster, please help me spread the word by sharing it with a colleague!

If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

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5-BOOSTS TO START YOUR WEEK!

👋🏻 I’m David. Today, we’re thrilled to present our 100th 🆓 Booster!  

Thanks for subscribing. We hope the Banter Booster has helped you!

1. 🆓 Resources

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Welcome to the Aphasia Therapy Finder. | John Pierce

Aphasia Therapy Finder is a great website that summarises evidence based treatments for aphasia (and it's free 🤑)

www.linkedin.com/posts/johnepierce_welcome-to-the-aphasia-therapy-finder-activity-7367878473262039040-i4SB?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

2. 🤓 Free Training and Technical Tips

Check out these great free webinars from SPELD NSW!

For preschoolers with communication challenges, use category work to improve language and world knowledge at the same time | Banter Speech & Language

There seem to be important links between preschoolers’ knowledge about the world; oral language comprehension skills; and later reading comprehension skills.

www.banterspeech.com.au/for-preschoolers-with-communication-challenges-use-category-work-to-improve-language-and-world-knowledge-at-the-same-time

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This issue of sleep and stuttering keeps emerging with research. With 30 children who stuttered and 21 control children ages 7–12 years, two of eight sleep measures were significantly different… | UTS: Australian Stuttering Research Centre

This issue of sleep and stuttering keeps emerging with research. With 30 children who stuttered and 21 control children ages 7–12 years, two of eight sleep measures were significantly different between the groups. These were sleep latency (the time taken to fall asleep) and sleep efficiency (the percentage of time asleep in bed). That certainly bears thinking about for its clinical implications. A clue: is it related to anxiety?
Read here: https://lnkd.in/gwfv4YkN

www.linkedin.com/posts/australian-stuttering-research-centre_this-issue-of-sleep-and-stuttering-keeps-ugcPost-7368890616425975810-ZXGX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

3. 🔓 Research

For anyone interested in Gestalt Language Processing, give this a read. I have had a quick scan and I think it helps to sort some of the wood from the trees.

— Word Aware (@wordaware.bsky.social)
7:47 AM • Sep 3, 2025

Expanding the evidence base for the oral narrative inferential comprehension programme: a pilot within a speech-language pathology coaching model | Robert Wells

🔓 Professor Suze Leitao and I have published a new article on collaboration between education assistants and speech-language pathologists in the Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology 📃 🎊In celebration of Australian Teacher Aide Appreciation Week, we'd like to share free acccess to the article here ⬇️ Using a coaching model speech pathologists and education assistants within a WA public school delivered the Oral Narrative Inferential Comprehension (ONIC) programme to year 1 students who have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) This research showed that education assistants can deliver the ONIC with meaningful outcomes for Year 1 children with DLD. This article is gold open access (meaning it's free for everyone to access!), you can access it here: https://lnkd.in/gAigCP-d

www.linkedin.com/posts/robertpwells_expanding-the-evidence-base-for-the-oral-activity-7368536287810654208-CWjg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg https://x.com/ASHAWeb/status/1962991521138954582

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4. 🔥 NDIS and provider 🔧🔨 

What everyone gets wrong about the NDIS

The technical definition of the care industry as 'non-market' leaves economists confused and results in the NDIS constantly blamed for our productivity problem.

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/03/ndis-productivity-autism-market-industry

Thriving Kids: A Positive View on Paediatric Disability Service | Bec Morris posted on the topic | LinkedIn

Since the announcement of Thriving Kids, uncertainty has been rife in the paediatric disability sector, and rightly so, because the details are unknown. I'd like to join the conversation with some positivity about the strengths that may come from this proposed service delivery model. I'm drawing this from 15 years of my own experience working in a public sector early childhood therapy services team in Adelaide's south (from 2003-2018)….

www.linkedin.com/posts/bec-morris-337294169_since-the-announcement-of-thriving-kids-activity-7364591653061349376-4mhA?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAUfVMcB_XfNDd9z3ZMOsoQmEpXLDVpBBXg

5. ❣️ Client views & 😍 for speech pathology!

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🙏🏻. If you enjoyed this week’s Booster, please help me spread the word by sharing it with a colleague!

If you’d like to hear and see more from us, follow us on Instagram @banterspeech

Was this forwarded to you? Fantastic! 😎. Sign up for 🆓 here.