Family and Carer Online Workshop - Foundational Supports for Children

National workshop on Foundational Supports for children 

Join us for an online workshop to have your say on Foundational Supports for children aged under 9 with developmental concern, delay and/or disability and their families, carers and kin. 

This event is open to people across Australia and is for families, carers and kin only. 

There are limited tickets available.  

When tickets sell out, there will be a waitlist. Please note that the waitlist does not guarantee you will get a ticket.  

What is this workshop about?  

Governments are working together to design and deliver additional supports for people with disability in the community. These are known as Foundational Supports. Foundational Supports are specific supports that would be outside the NDIS to help people with disability, and their families and carers.  

This event is about Foundational Supports for children aged under 9 with developmental concern, delay and/or disability and their families, carers and kin. 

There are two types of Foundational Supports we have been talking to people in the community about so far:

General Foundational Supports for children and families could offer support like access to trusted, evidence-based information, resources and advice. This would help them to care for and raise their child/children, build their capability and skills, and connect them with networks to support their child’s development. 

Targeted Foundational Supports are for children aged under 9 with developmental delay and their families, carers and kin who need more assistance than mainstream services and General Foundational Supports. Targeted Foundational Supports are intended to: 

• help families better understand their child’s specific needs, how they understand their world and how to help their development 

• give more tailored, early intervention support to help the child develop in the area they are delayed. 

You can learn more about these supports by reading the consultation paper. There is also an Easy Read version available. 

How the event will run 

The workshop will be held via Zoom. It will go for 2 hours. A link to access the event will be emailed to you prior to the event. 

The event is for families, carers and kin only. You will be asked for your ideas about: 

• What’s working well to provide advice, information and capacity building for children, families, carers and kin 

• What are some of the barriers to getting supports and services for children with developmental concerns, delay and/or disability and their families 

• What can be done to help families find new and existing supports and services 

• Which services are most useful to support children aged under 9 with developmental delay and disability and their families 

• What supports are needed that aren’t currently available 

• How supports outside of the NDIS could work better together, including with mainstream settings like childcare and allied health. 

Feedback received through these engagement activities will inform thinking on the design of general and targeted supports for children aged under 9. 

The Department of Social Services is leading the consultations. For more information about Foundational Supports, please contact foundational.supports@dss.gov.au.  

Accessibility  

You don't need to do anything to prepare for the event. There is a 2-page information sheet available about Foundational Supports and the kinds of questions we will ask: https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-c...

If you have any accessibility requirements, please tell us when you register so we can make sure we can best support you to attend. This might include:  

• Live captioning  

• Auslan*  

*Because availability of Auslan interpreters is limited, requests for Auslan need to be made at least 5 days before the event. 

Support to register or attend  

The Social Deck is coordinating the events on behalf of the Department of Social Services.  

If you need help to register, please contact The Social Deck at email foundationalsupports@thesocialdeck.com or phone 0458 228 142 (business hours, AEST). 

Privacy  

Your personal information is protected by law, including under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).  

The way your data is collected, managed and stored is outlined in the Privacy Collection Notice Consultation Events | engage.dss.gov.au  

During the registration process, The Social Deck and/or the Department of Social Services may collect your name, contact information and name of your organisation.  

Your personal information will be shared with The Social Deck and other parties where the disclosure is required or authorised by law. It will not be shared with any other parties.  

The Department of Social Services' Privacy Policy, including information about how to make a complaint and access to and correction of your personal information, can be found on their website. The Social Deck’s privacy policy is also available on their website.