National Early Childhood Intervention Framework

The National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) published in May 2025, forms part of the Early Childhood Targeted Action Plan under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031.

The framework was developed to guide people working with or raising children to provide the best support for children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families.

The Framework sets out a series of aims, principles, practices and outcomes to guide best practice in early childhood intervention.

The Framework aims to ensure young children with disabilities and their families receive consistent, evidence-based support in their natural settings.

Reasonable adjustments

The National Quality Framework recognises all children’s capacity and right to succeed regardless of diverse circumstances, cultural background and abilities. As such, early learning services must implement responsive, equitable and individualised opportunities for children, including additional support and reasonable adjustments to learning environments and the educational program if barriers for children with disabilities are identified.

Some children may need changes in their early childhood setting so they can join in daily activities and routines on the same basis as their peers.

In fostering each child’s experience of learning and development, an individual learning plan (ILP) should be developed in partnership between families, carers, educators, and other relevant professionals. This plan should focus on the child’s individual skills, strengths, and interests while supporting collaboration and partnerships in the interest of shared goals and strategies for learning and development. An ILP may also look at what changes might need to occur within the child’s learning environment including routines, environments and pedagogical strategies and what these changes will involve or require from staff and/or a child’s family.

A reasonable adjustment could be:

• arranging tables in the playroom that enable a child in a wheelchair to move independently in the playroom
• the educator wearing an FM microphone to enable a child with a hearing impairment to hear in a busy and noisy environment
• installing lever taps and grab rails in a bathroom to promote independent self-care skills
• building ramps to enable access to the common building entrances.
• Arranging suitable quiet and comforting spaces to support a child with sensory need and their self-regulation.

Early childhood teachers and educators play an important role in working closely with children with disabilities and their families or carers, while developing trusting relationships that foster children’s access, participation and development in early learning settings. They help connect them with different agencies, such as early childhood intervention, assessment, and support services The Working Together Agreement  supports a coordinated approach to including children with disabilities or developmental delays in early childhood settings.

It is vital for services to ensure educational programs within an early learning setting are aligned with the goals and aspirations identified in each child's NDIS or support plan.

The NDIS does not change the obligations of early childhood providers and services under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Services and providers are required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure children with disability have the opportunity to access and participate fully in their education environments on the same basis as children without disability.

Working Together Agreement

The purpose of the Working Together Agreement is to ensure that members of a child's support team are able to maximise positive outcomes for young children with disability by delivering supports that are:

• agreed to and consistent, and
• facilitated by respectful relationships and effective communication.

Early learning services play an important role in supporting families and children with disabilities, and the Agreement helps all team members work in a clear, consistent, and collaborative way.

The 'Working Together' resources were developed by Reimagine Australia (formerly Early Childhood Intervention Australia (NSW/ACT), in collaboration with a working group of early childhood education and intervention experts and the NSW Government.