Early connections are for children with delays in their development or with disability. It’s all about giving quick access to supports that meet your child’s needs. Early connections can help you support your child’s development regardless of whether they’re eligible for the NDIS.
Some early connections are available to families living in Australia regardless of their citizenship or visa status. However, your child would need to meet the residency requirements to be eligible for the NDIS. To find out more about residence requirements to be eligible for the NDIS go to the Our Guideline - Applying to the NDIS guideline.
Early connections aim to build on your and your child’s strengths. They can help you support your child to develop the skills they need to take part in everyday activities. Supports and services are different for every child because they’re based on individual needs. If your child gets early connections they might not need long term support funded by the NDIS in the future.
We funded the development of the National Guidelines on Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention . These guidelines support early childhood intervention providers across Australia to apply best practice approaches to early childhood intervention. The early childhood partner will deliver early connections according to those guidelines.