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Thriving Kids Programs Part 2: Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)

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Background:

In his National Press Club speech of 20 August 2025, Minister Mark Butler name-checked some specific programs that might be scaled up and block-funded under Thriving Kids.

This week, we’re looking at Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS).

Context:

Thriving Kids is intended to replace the NDIS early intervention pathway for most children, including children with mild and moderate autism and developmental delay. Families want to know about the support that might be available for their kids in mainstream settings.

Overview:

MHiPS is a program that upskills experienced teachers to become “Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders” (MHWLs*) within primary schools.  

Goals:

MHiPS is designed to help schools promote good mental health and to reduce mental health problems in students. 

Why is MHiPS relevant toThriving Kids? 

  • As a group, children with mild and moderate developmental delay or autism are at greater risk of mental health challenges than the general population.
  • MHiPS is an example of a program in which teachers in mainstream settings act as “bridges” between education and allied health services. It may become a model for how other mainstream supports are structured and delivered nationally under Thriving Kids.

Who “owns” MHiPS?

It’s a partnership between the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. 

Who funded MHiPS?

The Victorian Government, some prominent family trusts and foundations, and Bupa.

What do MHWLs do? 

  • Provide support to teaching staff to increase their knowledge, skills and confidence in supporting students’ mental health.
  • Improve care pathways between education and health sectors, including to identify and connect students that require mental health assessments and treatments to mental health professionals.

Are MHWLs mental health therapists?

No. They are experienced teachers who:

  • understand the realities of delivering support in busy classrooms; and
  • have knowledge of their local school, and relationships with school staff members, students and families.

Do MHWLs treat students’ mental health issues?

No: they are coordinators, not clinicians. MHWLs do not provide therapy to students. 

How are MHWLs trained?

They must be qualified teachers. They complete three, one-day, online training modules about mental health literacy, supporting needs, and building capacity, and attend ongoing “Communities of Practice sessions” with mental health experts.

Real World challenges: 

  • Teacher shortages: MHiPS requires an experienced teacher in each school to be trained and appointed as a full-time MHWL. In many parts of the country, we are experiencing a shortage of experienced classroom teachers.  
  • Mental health professional shortages: The model assumes MHWLs can connect at-risk students to mental health services. But, right now, there are lots of professional service and funding gaps in mental health systems for children.
  • Role clarity: Some teachers report confusion about the scope of the MHWL role and how it fits (or overlaps) with existing school wellness programs and the roles of other staff members, such as assistant principals and school counsellors.  
  • Different views on education priorities: Almost everyone agrees that students’ mental health in schools is important. But some teachers think that educators and primary schools should prioritise teaching kids to read, write, and to be numerate, which can also positively impact students’ mental health. 

Evidence:

Recent feasibility research suggests that, despite some of the challenges, the MHWL role is feasible, and has the potential to improve mental health and wellbeing in schools (see citation below).  

Roll-out status:

In Victoria, MHiPS is due to reach every government and low-fee non-government primary school in the state by 2026. In Queensland, the MHiPS team is adapting and evaluating the feasibility of a MHiPS in Mount Isa schools. In South Australia, the team is working with the government to run a pilot in South Australian primary schools.

Bottom line:

MHiPS shows promise. But, before it is rolled out nationally, it would be good to see high quality effectiveness studies showing positive downstream effects on student and family outcomes. Families of children with mild or moderate developmental delay or autism will want to understand how, exactly, the program will help connect their kids to evidence-based mental health professionals and services if they need them.

Go deeper:

Johnson, C., Dawson, G., Smith, R. et al. Feasibility and Acceptability of Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinators in Australian Primary Schools: A Mixed-Methods Study. School Mental Health 17, 674–684 (2025).

Read more:

Mental Health in Primary School (MHiPS)

*In the research, MHWLs are sometimes referred to as Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinators or MHWCs.

Thriving Kids Programs Part 1: Inklings

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In his National Press Club Address of 20 August 2025, Minister Mark Butler name-checked some programs that might be scaled up and block-funded under Thriving Kids. In this series, we’ll take a brief look at them. 

We’ll start with a program called Inklings.

Context:

Over time, Thriving Kids is intended to replace the NDIS early intervention pathway for children with mild and moderate autism and developmental delay. It’s meant to be funded 50:50 by the Federal Government and the States. (As of now, Thriving Kids has yet to be agreed with the States.) 

Overview:

Inklings is a very early parenting support program for children aged 6 months+ and in the first 2 years of life who are showing behavioural signs of possible autism.* 

History:

Inklings was adapted from a program called iBasis-VIPP, which was itself adapted from a Dutch program called Video Interaction to Promote Positive Parenting (VIPP). 

Who ‘owns’ it?

The Kids Research Institute Australia and the University of Manchester co-own the intellectual property in the iBASIS manual (2023). 

Goals:

Inklings supports (amongst other things):

  • social interaction and communication development for babies with early developmental delays; and
  • parents’ communication with their baby.

What does it involve?

  • It takes 5 months.
  • A trained therapist delivers Inklings directly to parents and their infant. 
  • It’s delivered in family homes.
  • It’s 10-12 therapy sessions long:
    • The first two sessions focus on baby behaviour.
    • The 3rd and 4th sessions, look at parent behaviour. 
    • The 5th and 6th sessions focus on more complex chains of social interactions.
    • The program is rounded out with 5 or so ‘booster’ sessions to consolidate learning.

Core features:

  • Child-led, helping parents learn to follow their baby’s natural interests. 
  • A focus on social interactions and communication between the baby and the parents.
  • In each session, parent-baby interactions are videoed and reviewed, with therapist feedback, including on positive examples of sensitive interactions.
  • Therapist observations, supporting parents’ self-reflection, and focusing on behavioural changes.
  • 15 minutes of daily home practice interacting with their infant in natural situations (e.g. play, mealtimes) using newly-learned skills. 

Evidence:

Inklings has been shown to be effective by two randomised controlled trials involving more than 150 babies (see below). At the age of 3 years, children who received the treatment as 9-month+ aged babies showed a statistically significant reduction in the severity of their autistic behaviours, and were less likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for an autism diagnosis.

Controversy:

Some autistic adults have concerns about some aspects of the treatment and point out that autism cannot be prevented or cured. In recent years, Inklings researchers have actively consulted with autistic adults to understand different perspectives on acceptable supports for babies and toddlers (see below), and to embrace neuroaffirming language (e.g. in the 2023 iBasis manual and other program materials). 

Bottom line:

Inklings is an evidence-based, very early family support program for children from age 6 months in their first 2 years of life who are showing early signs of autism. Compared to some other autism therapies, it’s a relatively ‘low dose’ and low cost program, making it appealing for governments looking to fund a program to help families at scale.

Further reading:

*Important note: When looking for very early signs of possible autism, researchers and health professionals look at multiple behaviours, including spontaneous eye contact, so-called “protodeclarative pointing” (where the child points to an object or event to direct another person’s attention to it), social gestures, imitation, and response to name. A lack of one or more of these behaviours does not of itself mean a child is autistic. If you are concerned about your child, speak with a health professional.

Breaking news: “Thriving Kids” – more than just a new name for Foundational Supports for children?

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“Thriving Kids”, announced by Minister Mark Butler on 20 August 2025, is the snappy new name for Foundational Supports for children.

But is it more than that?

We don’t have a lot of details right now. But it sounds different from the original proposal for Targeted Foundational supports (discussed in 2024), and a lot more like what the Grattan Institute recommended (back in June 2025 – see below):

  • The Federal Government to take leadership of the new national system (to avoid eight different State systems).
  • Limiting NDIS access for children to only those children with significant and permanent disability (i.e. children who are likely to need lifelong support).
  • Funded programs, like Inklings, MHiPS and Positive Partnerships for children with mild and moderate developmental delay or autism to be delivered in mainstream settings, like community health centres, supported playgroups, and schools. 
  • Increased scrutiny over consistent pricing and value for money of allied health and other services across disability, health and aged-care sectors.

If this is right, the new system may mean:

  • the end of the early intervention NDIS pathway and individualised supports for most children who would otherwise qualify for the NDIS under current rules; and 
  • the creation of new (block-funded?) programmed services to be delivered in mainstream settings, like early community childcare settings and schools.

There was also talk of creating a new Medicare bulk-billed item for GPs to check 3-year-olds for developmental issues, and providing access to new Medicare allied health items.

Of course, we’re yet to hear from the States, who will be paying for half of it. (Some States like NSW have been working and consulting on the earlier Foundational Supports proposal.)

This new system is due to start rolling out from 1 July 2026, with major NDIS access changes flagged for sometime in 2027.

We await more details! 

But, in the meantime, there is already a lot for us all to work through as we think about choice and control and service delivery models for children with developmental delay or disability and their families. 

Related reading:

In deep water: paediatric allied health NDIS providers should read the Grattan Report

Targeted Foundational Supports consultations: an “idea salad” with more questions than answers for allied health providers?

Speech from Minister Butler, National Press Club – 20 August 2025

Allied Health Providers: The NDIA Just Told Us the Truth (Again)

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What They Said

“The NDIA does not directly fund providers, but allocates funding to NDIS participants and business decisions, including whether to continue offering services through the NDIS, are a matter for individual organisations.”

(NDIA spokesperson, quoted in “NDIS providers evacuate market after pricing review,” by Sarah Ison, The Australian, 10 August 2025)

In plain English: The NDIS pricing decision was not an accident. It was designed to restructure the market. No one is coming to save providers who won’t or can’t adapt.    

So, we have a choice.

Low Agency Responses

  • Complain
  • Wait for better conditions (they’re not coming)
  • Accept razor-thin margins or losses
  • Blame the NDIA when things get worse

High Agency Responses

Ask different questions:

  • How do we build a business that thrives regardless of – or despite – the NDIA?
  • How can we turn constraints and gaps into a competitive advantage?
  • What would we do if failure literally wasn’t an option?
  • How would someone from a completely different industry solve this challenge?
  • How would we handle this if no government funding existed at all?
  • What are participants begging us NOT to change about our services? 
  • What’s the smallest step we could take today that moves us toward sustainability?
  • If we only had 6 months of funding left, what would we prioritise?
  • What would we regret not trying if we looked back in 5 years?
  • If we locked our three smartest colleagues in a room for 2 hours to work on this problem, what would they come up with?

Take small actions now:

  1. Map dependencies – Where are you most vulnerable?
  2. Diversify revenue – Who else needs the value you provide?
  3. Build efficiencies – How can we deliver better outcomes, more quickly?
  4. Create loyalty – How do we make ourselves less generic, more useful, and more sought after?
  5. Add to choice and control – Can we deliver more and better services in different ways to increase participant choice?

Bottom line:

The NDIA’s statement isn’t a threat – it’s another reminder that things have changed. They’ve just told us exactly where we stand.

The truth is hard to take, but we can do it: 

  • Our opportunity: Providers who adapt to reality > providers waiting for rescue.
  • Our choice: Victim of policy or architect of our own solutions?

Need a 30-minute pep talk to get the creative juices going? Check out this terrific essay by George Mack.

Curious about how to actually apply high-agency principles in your practice or workplace? On 25 August, we’re releasing our Courage Playbook – available only for our Banter Booster Premium subscribers. Sign up here.

‘NDIS Supports’ definition: who’s confused?

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On 30 July 2025, the Government published its report on the August 2024 ‘Consultation on Draft Lists of NDIS Supports’.

The report is very late.

The report and its timing may confuse some participants and providers.

Here is a quick recap:

The Government published its draft “in” and “out” lists to define NDIS Supports on 4 August 2024 – almost a year ago.

The consultation period was very short: 4-to-25 August 2024.

Participants, providers, advocates and others found the time to respond to the consultation: the Government received more than 7,000 responses and submissions.

The Government imposed its transitional rules for NDIS Supports on everyone on 3 October 2024 – almost 10 months ago.

Until 30 July 2025:

  • it was unclear whether the Government had listened to anyone who responded or made submissions;
  • some participants and providers thought that:
    • they had wasted their time responding to the consultation paper; and/or
    • the Government had ignored their submissions; and/or
    • there was no real consultation about the NDIS support lists – the Government had already ‘made up its mind’ when it published the lists.

As predicted by many people who responded to the consultation, the “in” and “out” lists have been difficult to apply in practice.

The report shows that the Government knew about many of the problems with the lists, including:

  • the application of black-and-white inclusion and exclusion rules to “grey areas” at the intersection between disability-related supports and mainstream health care and mental health care (e.g., pp 13, 29-32);
  • the practical effects of excluding particular supports for a person with disability when there are well-known, significant gaps in early childhood, health, education, aged-care and other mainstream supports and systems for people with disabilities (e.g., pp 10, 13, 33-35);
  • the practical challenges of establishing whether an individual’s specific need in a given case may relate to their disability, healthcare, educational attainment, or employment (e.g., pp 10, 33-34);
  • the meaning and scope of ‘evidence-based’ therapeutic supports (e.g., pp 17-18); and
  • confusion about how the rules apply to the funding of various specialist and standard products and equipment, and different assistive technologies, and communication devices and information equipment (e.g., pp 11, 20, 25).

On 16 June 2025, the Government launched another consultation on the definition of NDIS Supports – this time to replace the transitional rules with a “final definition”.

This second consultation closed on 27 July 2025.

We look forward to reading the next consultation report.

Hopefully, this time the Government will give participants, providers and other stakeholders an opportunity to see and comment on the proposed new definition well before the new definition comes into effect.

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