A south Brisbane initiative is changing the way families access early childhood health support by embedding allied health professionals directly inside the community spaces families already frequent — from kindergartens and daycare centres to local playgroups and community hubs.
The Thriving and On Track (TOTs) program, run through a collaboration led by the Primary Health Network (PHN) serving the region south of Brisbane, is designed to remove what organisers describe as the "burden" of accessing support — by bringing the services to families rather than requiring families to navigate complex referral pathways on their own.
How the early intervention program works
The core idea behind TOTs is straightforward: deliver early childhood developmental assessments and allied health services at the places families already visit. Child health nurses conduct assessments at kindergartens and early learning centres, while speech therapists and other allied health professionals operate from community hubs where families gather for activities such as playgroups.
For Suzie Felmingham, a mother of four-year-old Olivia, the program made an enormous difference. When Olivia started kindergarten earlier this year, her teachers noticed she had some difficulty focusing, sitting still and following instructions. They suggested an assessment with a child health nurse — and crucially, arranged it on-site.
"I'm very time poor, like we all are, and I guess things can be a little overwhelming when you have to look up the thing, organise it, drive there, get there," Ms Felmingham said. "This was all so easy and so seamless … and it's an environment we both feel comfortable in."
Ms Felmingham said it was something she would likely never have pursued on her own. The child health nurse provided practical strategies to support Olivia's focus at home, while also reassuring her mother that Olivia was on track to meet her developmental milestones. "Since speaking to the child health nurse, it's just relaxed me a little bit, which in turn relaxes her," she said.
Families struggling to access NDIS and private services finding relief
The program is also reaching families who have previously struggled to access support through other channels. In nearby Slacks Creek, Leilani Salesa has been taking her four-year-old son Frederick to weekly speech therapy sessions at the community hub where their family already attends playgroup.
Ms Salesa said she had concerns about Frederick's speech development but found private services and NDIS support options difficult to access, and often very clinical in feel. Since joining TOTs, the results have been significant.
"He's able to hold a conversation, and the back and forth is there now," she said. She also noted improvements in Frederick's ability to focus and sit still, which she attributes to the consistency of working with the same professional each week in a familiar, comfortable environment.
One in four Queensland children starting school with developmental delay
The program addresses a significant and well-documented challenge. Across Queensland, approximately one in four children begin school with some form of developmental delay. Census data cited by the PHN indicates that children in the south Brisbane region are even more likely than the state average to face this challenge.
Experts consistently point to early intervention as the most effective strategy for reducing those numbers — making timely identification of concerns critical. By meeting families where they already are, TOTs aims to shrink the gap between concern and action.
Parent response to the program has been described as overwhelmingly positive, with families highlighting the accessibility and comfort of receiving services in familiar surroundings as key factors in their willingness to engage.
For parents navigating the often complex intersection of child development, healthcare and education, programs like TOTs represent a practical shift — one that may also ease pressure on mental health and wellbeing for parents themselves, echoing broader efforts to support parents' mental health at crucial early stages of family life.
