Transitioning from your Early Childhood partner
Welcome to Carers Queensland!
We are really pleased that you are joining Carers Queensland LAC PITC for the next part of your child’s NDIS journey.
As your child is soon to turn nine years old, or has already turned nine, they will transition from the Early Childhood partner that you have been working with to being supported by Carers Queensland.
You will soon receive a welcome pack in the mail, with useful resources and information to help you understand the transition process and what you can expect from Carers Queensland.
In the meantime, we have answered some of the most common questions from families who are moving from their Early Childhood partner to Carers Queensland.
Go to our events page by clicking on the above button and click on ‘Event Category: ECA Transition'
Frequently Asked Questions
Carers Queensland has been working with families and people with disability for more than 30 years.
Carers Queensland has been working as the Local Area Coordinator Partner since 2017, with three regions commencing in Ipswich, Toowoomba and Rockhampton of that year. In 2018, we commenced delivery of services to Brisbane North and South, Beenleigh, Robina, Caboolture/Strathpine and Maroochydore service areas.
We have teams who access the community who share information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and provide linking and referrals to community and mainstream services and support. We support people with disability to access the NDIS and also those who may not want to access the NDIS or who are not eligible. Our teams also work in these local areas to support creating more accessible and inclusive communities for people living with disability.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) delivers support to assist people with disability to work towards their goals and be more included within their community. The Local Area Coordinator (LAC) work in partnership with the National Disability Insurance Agency to deliver the NDIS.
For most people over the age of nine (9), your LAC will be your main point of contact for the NDIS. The role of the LAC is to support people with disability who have been approved access to the NDIS, develop a plan that best suits their needs, and connect with services and support to assist in working towards their goals.
If your child is coming across to Carers Queensland with a current plan, our team may be able to help you with suggestions of other community supports to link with, as well as assisting you in making the most of your child’s plan. The team of experienced LACs can help you understand the plan, what it means and explore/link you with community and mainstream options.
We are your contact in discussing your child’s NDIS plan and answering any questions you may have, and the team will help you evaluate current supports during the next stage of a plan review.
When you transition to Carers Queensland, you can continue to use the current plan however one of our experienced team will be in contact with you in case you have any questions.
Prior to your child turning nine, your Early Childhood Approach (ECA) provider will work with Carers Queensland to make sure we have all the information about your child’s current plan, point of process and any information or reports we will need to best support the move.
Carers Queensland and your ECA provider work closely to ensure that all information is passed to our team to ensure a smooth transition for future communication or plan reviews.
Once your child turns nine (9), Carers Queensland will be your Local Area Coordinator (LAC). You can contact your local office or our Enquiries Line on 1300 999 636.
We will be available to answer any question you have about your child’s current plan and can assist you to get connected within your community.
There is the possibility that Carers Queensland may contact you prior to your child turning nine (9). This will only be if your child is due for an upcoming review of their current plan. At that point, our team will introduce themselves, discuss options moving forward and direct you to services you are currently using for updated reports from the last year. This would normally be your allied health professionals such as OT, speech therapist or physiotherapist etc.
The Carers Queensland website also contains information, resources and links to useful podcasts and local community events to support your journey within the NDIS.
Your child's plan review will start with a check-in phone call from one of our team. This contact will be close to your child’s current plan end date, and we will book in a time for the plan review meeting.
This meeting is offered in a variety of ways including face-to-face via MS Teams as a video call, phone meeting or face-to-face in one of our offices. Please discuss what would work best for you at the time of booking the meeting. Please note that health considerations (e.g. COVID) may be in place at the time of booking a meeting which may reduce the availability of face-to-face in the office.
As part of this call, we will chat with you and see how you are going with your child's current National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan, so please let us know if there are changes to your circumstances that directly impact your child or their plan. This will ensure we have as much information as possible to prepare for the meeting with you and your child.
We are fully supportive of bringing along or having a support person (family member or friend) with you for the meeting. Depending on your child (and you know them best), if the meeting is going to cause high levels of distress or anxiety, we will not require your child to attend the meeting, or they can pop in and out of a video call to say ‘hi’.
Prior to your review meeting, we encourage you to provide assessments or reports from some of the service providers you currently access. These reports show how these supports, therapies and services are helping work towards your child’s plan goals. These reports can also make recommendations for supports and services you might need in the future.
We understand that you are also thinking about your child’s goals moving forward. There may be differences in what has been developed with the Early Childhood Approach, compared to the Local Area Coordination program. One difference is our focus on Short-term and Long-term goals. Short-term goals can usually be completed in under 12 months with Long-term goals potentially taking several years to achieve, but are still important to you and your child.
For further handy tools to support you in planning for your review please look on the NDIS website for Booklet 2 – Planning and Booklet 3 – Using your NDIS Plan.
As your child turns nine and transitions over to Carers Queensland and the full scheme, the focus in any new plan may change. Turning nine means that your child will be supported by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – this is a scheme designed as a lifelong approach. While your funding may differ from the Early Childhood Approach, it takes into consideration your child’s age, other informal, community or mainstream supports your child may have and a focus on building capacity over time.
You may have an idea around what the supports or equipment your child will require when it is time to review their plan, so we want to remind that all support funded is in relation to your child’s disability and won’t include day-to-day living costs that are not related to your child’s disability support needs. An example of day-to-day living costs is childcare or paid support while the child is in school.
You may have heard the term Reasonable and Necessary. These are supports based on many different factors including your child’s disability support needs, living arrangements and supports you receive from family, friends, and carers. Each of these factors is individual to your child and will be different to other children or families living with the same or similar disabilities.
If your child has a condition that your Early Childhood Approach (ECA) provider along with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has already identified as resulting in permanent and lifelong impairment, we do not require any further information unless your circumstances or additional disabilities are identified.
If your child has been supported by an ECA provider as a participant under the early intervention requirements, the LAC and NDIA will reassess your child’s circumstances when reviewing their plan. The purpose of this reassessment is to ensure that early intervention supports continue to provide a benefit to your child.
If your child no longer meets the early intervention requirements, the NDIA will consider whether your child can continue to access the NDIS under the disabilities listed on their website. If further information is required, an NDIA staff member will be in contact to explain the process and support you in getting the appropriate evidence to continue on the scheme. In some circumstances, a child's access to the NDIS may be revoked if they do not meet either the disability or early intervention requirements.
If your child has a developmental delay, their information will be reassessed at the next plan review and their current plan will remain until a decision by the NDIA has been made regarding eligibility status. The outcome of this process will be communicated directly from the NDIA and not Carers Queensland.
If the decision is made that your child is no longer eligible for access to the scheme a member of our team will be able to assist in providing your next steps, which could be accessing mainstream and community options or supporting you if you wish to reapply for access.
Carers Queensland offers multiple ways to get in touch including local office contacts and our 1300 Enquiries Line.
A number of local offices offer information sessions and ‘Welcome to Carers Queensland’ activities to support new families joining us. This information is designed to support your move from an Early Childhood Partner to the Local Area Coordinator Partner Carers Queensland.
Keep an eye on our website for more information and upcoming events and information sessions and workshops. This is also where you can register for any upcoming community or virtual sessions that might be of interest, such as Using Your NDIS Plan or Introduction to Self-Management workshops.
Subscribe to our monthly NDIS Newsletter and receive news and updates direct to your inbox.
Contact us
To get started and to discuss how the NDIS can work for you contact us on 1300 999 636 or cq.enquiries@ndis.gov.au.
You can also submit your enquiry online using our contact form below.
