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Your Child’s Plan Has Been Approved: What Happens Next?

Congratulations on having your child’s NDIS plan approved. This is an important milestone and the beginning of working towards the goals that matter most to your child and family. It is also completely normal to wonder, “What do we do now?”

By the time your child’s NDIS plan has been approved, you may already have been introduced to the early childhood key worker approach and how early childhood supports are typically delivered. However, many families are still unsure about how to get started, how to use their child’s funding, or what to expect next.

You do not need to work everything out on your own. This guide explains the next steps, from understanding your child’s plan to choosing an early childhood provider, and getting support underway.

A smiling woman and young girl reading a book together indoors, sharing a joyful moment.

Step 1: Understand your child’s goals and NDIS funding

Before organising support, take some time to read through your child’s plan. You do not need to understand every detail immediately, but it is helpful to identify:

The goals your child’s plan is designed to support:
The types of support included
How the funding is managed
When the plan starts and ends
Whether the funding is released in specific time periods

Your child’s goals are the most important place to start. They will help you choose supports that can make a meaningful difference to your child’s development, participation and everyday family life.

If anything is unclear, your early childhood partner, support coordinator, plan manager or early childhood provider can help you understand the plan and what you should check before using the funding.

Step 2: Think about what’s most important to your child and family

Start by considering what would make the biggest difference to your child and family right now.

Ask yourself:

What does my child enjoy and do well?
Which activities or routines are difficult?
What would we like our child to be able to do?
What would make everyday family life easier?
Where would greater confidence or independence make the biggest difference?
What support would help us feel more confident as a family?

Your priorities might include helping your child:

Communicate what they want and need
Play and connect with other children
Manage emotions and behaviour
Participate in family routines
Develop movement and coordination
Eat, sleep or complete personal-care activities
Prepare for childcare, kindergarten or school
Become more independent in everyday activities

Starting with what is important to your child and family helps ensure therapy is connected to meaningful changes in everyday life.

Step 3: Choose the right early childhood provider

Choosing a provider is about more than finding the first available occupational therapist or speech pathologist. Look for a provider that takes the time to understand your child as a whole and works alongside your family.

For children aged 0-8 years, support is typically delivered through an early childhood key worker approach. Rather than attending separate appointments with multiple practitioners, your family has one main practitioner who delivers most supports and helps build your child’s skills in everyday environments such as home, childcare, kindergarten and the community. Additional practitioners are involved when specific expertise is needed, ensuring everyone is working towards the same goals.

When comparing providers, consider asking:

How will you get to know my child and family?
How will our family be involved in setting goals and making decisions?
How will support fit into our everyday routines and activities?
Can support happen at home, childcare, kindergarten or in the community?
Who will be our main practitioner?
What happens if our child needs input from different practitioners?
How will practitioners work together to support our child?
How will progress towards our goals be measured and reviewed?
How will you involve us in decisions about our child’s support?

The right provider should listen to your priorities, explain their approach clearly and show how support will help your child participate more fully in everyday life.

For children aged 0-8 years, a key worker approach can provide greater consistency, reduce the number of separate appointments families need to manage, and help embed learning opportunities into daily routines, play and relationships. When additional expertise is needed, the key worker collaborates with other practitioners to ensure everyone is working towards the same goals.

Step 4 Get ready for your first appointment

Your first appointment is an opportunity for your early childhood key worker to learn about your child and family and begin building a shared understanding of what is most important to you.

They may ask about:

Your child’s strengths, interests and personality
Your family’s routines and priorities
What your child finds easy or difficult
What you would like your child to be able to do
Where challenges usually occur
What support you have already tried
The people and environments that are important to your child

You do not need to have all the answers or arrive with perfectly written goals. Your key worker will work alongside you to identify priorities, develop meaningful goals and create a plan for getting started.

How Everyday Independence can support your child and family

Our early childhood supports help children develop skills through the relationships, routines and activities that make up everyday life.

Your early childhood key worker works alongside your family and can draw on a broader team of practitioners and expertise when needed to support your child’s goals.

Support may include:

Occupational therapy
Speech pathology
Physiotherapy
Positive behaviour support
Habit coaching
Assistive technology
Functional assessments

Support can happen at home, childcare, kindergarten, school or in the community. This helps your child practise skills where they will use them most while building the confidence of the people who support them every day.

Frequently asked questions

Can we start using our child’s NDIS plan straight away?

Once the plan has started, you can begin accessing the funded supports included in it. Check the plan’s start date, available funding and whether funding is released in specific time periods before organising services.

Does my child need separate appointments with every therapist?

Not necessarily. At Everyday Independence, an early childhood key worker delivers most of your child’s support and brings in other practitioners for consultation, assessment or focused support when needed.

Where will my child receive support?

Support can take place at home, childcare, kindergarten, school or in the community. Working in familiar environments helps strategies become part of your child’s everyday routines and activities.

What if we do not understand our child’s plan?

Your early childhood partner, support coordinator, plan manager or provider can help explain the plan. Always check your child’s individual funding before agreeing to or purchasing support.

What happens if my goals change?

That’s expected. As children grow, develop new skills and reach important milestones, priorities and goals may change. Your child’s supports should evolve too, so it’s important to regularly review progress and ensure supports continue to focus on what matters most to your child and family.

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