No Child Left Out: Designing Thriving Kids for a Diverse Australia (2026)
This report highlights the urgent need to embed CALD voices, expertise and leadership at the centre of Thriving Kids reform.
The National Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Disability Reform Committee
Embedding and elevating multicultural perspectives in disability policy
The National Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Disability Reform Committee (NCDRC) brings together a network of services, peak bodies and community organisations across Australia to provide input to inclusive disability reform and advocate for multicultural communities.
The NCDRC’s initial focus is on the Thriving Kids program, where there is a risk that culturally diverse children and families will experience barriers to accessing the scheme.
We are recommending a focus on three immediate strategies to ensure that Thriving Kids leaves no child out:
- Establish CALD Advisory Committees to guide the program’s governance, design, implementation and evaluation
- Commission culturally diverse organisations in the service mix
- Invest in program infrastructure for culturally inclusive service delivery
By embedding multicultural voices, expertise and leadership in disability policy and reform, we can build a fair and effective system that meets real needs and delivers stronger outcomes for families and communities nationwide.
Downloads
No Child Left Out: Designing Thriving Kids for a Diverse Australia Factsheet
This factsheet breaks down what’s at risk for CALD children and what’s needed for earlier identification and support for children.
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The NCDRC is comprised of the following organisations:
- Australian Multicultural Action Network
- Autism Community Network
- Early Years Intercultural Association
- Ethnic Community Services
- Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland
- Illawarra Multicultural Services
- Koorana
- National Disability Services
- Playgroup NSW
- Queanbeyan Multilingual Centre
- Settlement Council of Australia
- SSI
- SydWest Multicultural Services
- Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre