The National Early Childhood Program: Thriving Kids – Autism Helpline and Information Supports aims to deliver a national autism helpline and information supports for families, carers, and kin of children aged 0–8 with autism or neuro-developmental concerns. The grant program is part of the Commonwealth’s Thriving Kids initiative under the National Early Childhood Program (NECP).

Overview

The program will focus on offering telephone-based supports, with information and resources provided through a digital hub as a secondary support. It seeks to improve early development outcomes by increasing access to evidence-based information, advice, and connection to community-based support. The initiative strengthens parents’ skills to support their children, including priority and vulnerable groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, culturally and linguistically diverse families, regional and remote families, and parents who may have a disability. Information provided through the helpline and information hub will also support professionals working with families of children with autism or neuro-developmental concerns.

Thriving Kids complements the program by promoting early identification of developmental needs, improving access to evidence-based supports, and empowering families through integrated national services. The approach emphasises child- and family-centred, culturally safe, and evidence-informed practices delivered in accessible settings.

Funding and Benefits

Total Amount Available (AUD): $24,420,000.00

Delivery will support value for money investment by leveraging existing community-based helpline and digital web-based infrastructure.

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must be one of the listed organisations and have received an invitation to apply from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. The eligible organisations are:

• AMAZE
• Autism Awareness Australia
• Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT)
• Autism South Australia
• kiind.
• Reframing Autism
• Yellow Ladybugs

The list of eligible organisations was determined based on their ability to deliver nationally or quickly scale to achieve this, as well as trust, experience, and specialist expertise and knowledge within the Autistic and autism community.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted via the GrantConnect portal. Instructions for submission:

• Submit the completed application form and all necessary attachments by the closing date and time using the Submit Application button on the GrantConnect opportunity page.
• Keep a copy of the application and any supporting documents.
• Registered users will receive an automated email notification acknowledging receipt of the submission. If no automated email is received within 24 hours of submission, contact Grant.ATM@health.gov.au.
• For technical assistance, contact the GrantConnect Helpdesk: phone 1300 484 145 or email GrantConnect@finance.gov.au.

Additional file submission instructions:

• Filenames must not exceed 100 characters.
• Any file type can be submitted.
• Do not use special characters (e.g., colon, forward/back slash, question marks, en or em dash).
• A maximum of five (5) separate files can be submitted at one time.
• Do not include macros or password-protect applications or attachments.

Deadline and Timeline

Close Date & Time: 6 July 2026 at 2:00 pm (ACT Local Time).

Publish Date: 9 June 2026.

Selection Process: Targeted or Restricted Competitive.

Contact Information

Health Grants Team
Email: Grant.ATM@health.gov.au

For grant opportunity documents, select the Grant Opportunity Documents button on the GrantConnect opportunity page. Applicants should refer to the most recent version of the FAQs (Version 2, published 15 June 2026).