Foundational Supports: What They Are and When They Start

What are foundational supports?

Foundational Supports are specific supports outside the NDIS, in addition to services already offered by mainstream systems such as education and health (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026). They are jointly funded and delivered by the Australian Government and the states and territories under the National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-2031, which commenced on 2 February 2026 and runs to 30 June 2031. Funding for the Agreement’s first five years is capped at $10 billion, split 50 per cent Commonwealth and 50 per cent between the states on a per capita basis (National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-2031). That figure is a cap on what governments may spend across all foundational supports, not a separate pot of new money for any one program, and the $4 billion committed to Thriving Kids sits inside it. The program does not replace the NDIS. It adds a layer of support alongside it and alongside mainstream services.

Nothing is available under this program yet. The rollout is phased, and the first phase is Thriving Kids, which begins from 1 October 2026 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026).

The two streams, as they are currently defined

Foundational Supports has two streams (National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-2031).

General supports are access to quality information, advice and services that build connection and capacity, and support participation. The Agreement describes them as covering all people with disability under the age of 65, children with additional developmental support needs, and their families, carers and kin. In practice this means evidence-based information, supports that build skills, confidence and independence, supports that develop peer and community connection, help to find other services, and advice that helps community organisations be more accessible (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026).

Targeted supports are positioned between mainstream services and the specialist supports accessed through the NDIS, for people who have extra support needs that do not need to be met through the NDIS (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026). The Agreement notes that the NDIS Review proposed these primarily for people under 65 who are not eligible for an individualised NDIS budget and are in most need of additional support, and that they may include home and community care-type supports, aids and equipment, early childhood supports, psychosocial supports and supports for adolescents and young adults. The Agreement states that this description is not binding, so treat it as the direction of travel rather than published eligibility rules. No eligibility criteria or support list for targeted supports has been published.

What has a date, and what does not

The only phase with published dates is Thriving Kids, which covers children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs, and their families, carers and kin. State services begin rolling out from 1 October 2026 and the program is expected to be at scale from 1 January 2028 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026).

For every other group, there is no published timeline. Under the Agreement, supports for future cohorts are to be negotiated between First Ministers and set out in separate bilateral agreements, with the Commonwealth to provide states the cohort definitions, estimated sizes, funding and preferred start timing (National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-2031). Until those bilaterals are signed and published, any date you see for adults, over-9s or psychosocial foundational supports is speculation.

How it will be delivered, and why you cannot choose a provider for it

Governments jointly fund and deliver foundational supports. States and territories deliver services within their jurisdiction and the Commonwealth delivers national elements such as awareness raising and national information and advice lines (National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-2031). Governments commission organisations to deliver defined supports. There is no individual budget to spend and no participant choice of a funded provider in the way an NDIS plan works.

Carevo does not list foundational supports and cannot connect you to them. When the program opens, access will be through the arrangements each government publishes.

Support you can arrange in Australia now

Carevo’s network lists more than 34,600 home, community and allied health providers who can be engaged today through the NDIS, aged care funding or private payment. These are separate from foundational supports, and engaging one does not affect any future eligibility. For a walkthrough of support available now, see disability services and funding pathways.

Foundational supports and the NDIS: how they are meant to fit

The reform is a tiering exercise. The NDIS was designed for people with permanent and significant disability, and over a decade it became the only substantial disability support system in Australia, so people whose needs sat below that threshold entered it because nothing else existed.

Foundational supports are meant to be that missing middle: a layer between mainstream services (schools, GPs, community health) and individually funded NDIS packages. General supports sit closest to mainstream; targeted supports sit closest to the NDIS.

What that means in practice for a family is that the question stops being “do we get an NDIS plan or nothing” and becomes “which tier matches this level of need”. Whether that works depends entirely on where the threshold is set, and that number has not been published.

Children with permanent and significant disability, and children aged 8 and under whose developmental delay or autism substantially reduces functional capacity, remain eligible for the NDIS under the usual arrangements (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026).

Why nobody can enrol you yet

Foundational Supports is a system being built, not a service you can access, and being precise about that saves people a lot of wasted effort.

Governments commission organisations to deliver defined supports in each region. Families will not hold an individual budget to spend with a provider of their choice, which is the fundamental difference from an NDIS plan. There is no register of foundational supports providers, no portal, and no phone line, because the commissioning has not been completed.

That has a direct consequence: no organisation, including Carevo, can enrol you, add you to a waitlist, or tell you whether you will qualify. Any provider advertising itself as a foundational supports provider in 2026 is ahead of the facts.

What is decided, and what is not

Decided. The National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-2031 commenced on 2 February 2026, jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the states and capped at $10 billion over the first five years. The two streams are set: general supports (information, advice, capacity building, peer connection) and targeted supports (sitting between mainstream services and the NDIS). Thriving Kids is the first phase, rolling out from 1 October 2026 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026).

Not decided or not published. Eligibility criteria and any assessment tool for targeted supports. The threshold separating needs met by foundational supports from needs met by the NDIS. Timelines for every cohort other than children aged 8 and under. Whether families will contribute to any cost. The commissioned organisations in any region.

The gap between those two lists is why the honest answer to “when can we access it” is still unknown for everyone except families of young children.

What to do in the meantime

Nothing about foundational supports requires you to wait, and waiting costs you support you are eligible for now.

If you are an NDIS participant, current access arrangements are unchanged. If you are not, the existing routes are unaffected: Support at Home or CHSP if you are 65 or over, DVA programs if you are a veteran, Medicare allied health through a GP plan, and private services at any age. The Disability Gateway on 1800 643 787 refers to community and state programs for people not on the NDIS.

Engaging a provider today does not affect any future foundational supports eligibility. The two systems are separate, and no decision has been announced that would penalise people already receiving support. Families of children aged 8 and under should read Thriving Kids, which is the only phase with published dates.

How this page is compiled

The provider rankings and figures on this page come from Carevo platform records, including provider registrations, measured response times and coverage, together with the cited official sources. Carevo is an Australian platform that connects families with NDIS and aged care providers. Carevo does not deliver care itself, and it does not deliver or arrange foundational supports.

Funding sources and checks

Check the current NDIA pricing arrangements and Support at Home program rules for the proposed service. Funding depends on the approved support and available budget; a Carevo listing is not approval. Confirm availability and a start date directly with the provider.