To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
The petition of citizens of NSW draws attention to the need to include the full allied health workforce, including private community-based providers, in the design, commissioning and delivery of Thriving Kids.
Occupational Therapy Australia and the NSW Allied Health Providers Group support reforms that improve outcomes for children and families. Thriving Kids will succeed only if occupational therapists and allied health professionals delivering early childhood intervention and developmental supports across NSW are meaningfully involved.
This workforce is central to service capacity, family choice, timely access, regional and remote coverage, and clinical governance.
The undersigned petitioners ask the Legislative Assembly to call on the NSW Government to:
- Establish an Allied Health Reference Group with private provider, peak body and frontline clinician representation.
- Involve allied health professionals in co-designing panel arrangements, commissioning processes and service models.
- Adopt inclusive, community-need-based procurement that allows private providers to participate directly or through equitable long-term partnerships.
- Ensure subcontracting arrangements are genuine partnerships recognising existing expertise, infrastructure and workforce capacity.
- Fully fund supports for children aged 0-8 across the pathway, including targeted supports for children needing intensive intervention.
- Preserve family choice by enabling access to suitably qualified allied health professionals regardless of provider type.
- Develop a workforce strategy that retains the existing paediatric allied health workforce, particularly in regional, rural and remote communities.
We urge the NSW Government to place occupational therapists and the broader allied health workforce at the centre of Thriving Kids.
To sign the ePetition, confirm you are a resident of New South Wales and enter your title, first name and last name. Once you click ‘sign’ you will have signed the ePetition and will be re-directed to the Legislative Assembly’s ePetitions page