00:02It might look like child's play, but this new Medicare-subsidised health check for three-year-olds
00:10is designed to spot developmental concerns early.
00:15GPs will assess everything from medical history to behaviour, relationships, toileting and
00:21sleep.
00:22Often kids get all their checks and immunisation is up until 18 months and then they get sort
00:27of forgotten until they're at school, so this is quite a timely opportunity to bring kids
00:32in and do a once-over.
00:34The screening is part of Thriving Kids, a new programme for children under nine with developmental
00:38delay or autism with low to moderate support needs.
00:42It's key to the government's plan to cut spending on the NDIS, which cost more than
00:47$50 billion last financial year.
00:50Doctors say it's a critical time in a child's development.
00:53We are approaching in some communities close to two in five children needing some form
01:00of extra support, but a lot of that support is simpler support than what the NDIS was designed
01:07to provide.
01:08If the screening identifies a delay, families will be connected to specific supports, including
01:13new ones to be created under the Thriving Kids programme.
01:16But with many of those services not ready until 2028, questions remain about where families
01:22will go for help in the meantime.
01:23There's a risk that we'll be identifying children but not matching them with timely intervention.
01:29Where a family lives, their income, their ability to navigate the system, as well as to potentially
01:35pay out-of-pocket costs to access this healthy child check are all critical factors for us.
01:41Arms out like this.
01:42A balancing act to make sure no child falls through the cracks.
