Applications for membership of the Early Intervention Service Provider Panel are now open to organisations wishing to deliver eligible early interventions under the Helping Children with Autism package.
The closing date of 1 October 2009 for applications that was previously announced on this site has been waived with effect Monday 21 September 2009. Panel Providers and interested organisations should monitor this site for more information about provider eligibility in coming weeks.
Helping Children with Autism - background information
FaHCSIA has established a panel of evidence-based early intervention service providers to deliver services to eligible children as part of the Helping Children with Autism package. Eligible interventions under the package have a multidisciplinary focus. FaHCSIA is now seeking further applications from eligible organisations and sole providers who wish to apply for membership of the panel.
The early intervention component of the package provides funding to ensure that children up to their sixth birthday diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have greater access to a range of early intervention services, including packages of individual assistance.
Families and carers of eligible children will be able to access a funding package of up to $12,000 (up to $6,000 per child per financial year) to assist with the financial cost of accessing early intervention services.
Providers will be eligible for inclusion on the Panel if they meet the eligibility requirements in the Helping Children with Autism Early Intervention Operational Guidelines and satisfactorily meet the selection criteria. This will be assessed by FaHCSIA based on the information provided by applicants.
Sole Providers can apply from 19 October 2009.
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Eligibility to Apply
FaHCSIA will accept applications from individual organisations or from consortia of individual providers, providing they meet the requirements outlined below. Each consortium must include a lead agency.
Organisations/lead agencies eligible to apply include:
- Incorporated Associations
- Incorporated Cooperatives
- Partnerships
- Sole Providers
- Aboriginal Corporations
- Organisations established through specific Commonwealth or State/Territory legislation (e.g. universities)
- Companies (incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001)
Organisations/lead agencies not eligible to apply include:
- Trustee on behalf of a Trust
- Local Governments
- State/Territory Governments
- Overseas Entities
To be eligible for membership of the Panel, organisations must be:
- A multidisciplinary early intervention provider; or
- A consortium of early intervention providers that collectively and collaboratively provide multidisciplinary services; or
- Sole Providers (speech pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists) subject to quality requirements.
Individual practitioners, including early intervention providers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and child psychologists, can form consortia to deliver services through membership of the Panel. A consortium must include a lead agency. The lead agency must be an eligible organisation (as per the list above) and is the organisation the Department will enter into a Deed of Agreement with. FaHCSIA is able to assist sole providers to:
- Form a consortium with another sole provider, or with other sole providers, to apply for membership; or
- Form a consortium with an existing eligible incorporated organisation to apply for membership; or
- Approach an existing Panel member, including lead agencies of consortia, to discuss either forming a consortium or joining an existing consortium.
Note: If a consortium arrangement is agreed to with an existing member of the Panel, the Panel member must notify FaHCSIA to have the changes ratified.
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Eligible interventions under the early intervention component of the package include one or more of the following:
- Behavioural interventions - application of learning theory and skill development
- Developmental and social learning interventions - building relationships and development of social emotional capacities
- Therapy-based interventions - communication and social development or sensory motor development
- Family-based interventions - working with families to develop skills in working with their children
More information on eligible interventions can be found on the Department of Health and Ageing's website.
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How to Apply
Organisations interested in applying for membership of the Panel should download the attached documents:
After reading these documents, organisations wishing to apply for membership of the Panel should email ASD panel (asdpanel@fahcsia.gov.au) to request an Application Form. The Application Form will then be emailed to you. FaHCSIA is unable to send out hard copies of the documents to be downloaded or the Application Form.
Any queries you have about the application or selection process should be directed via email to ASD panel (asdpanel@fahcsia.gov.au).
Further information relevant to the application process will also be placed on this website. Organisations that have not requested an Application Form are advised to monitor this website regularly for any updates.
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Eligibility Criteria for Sole Providers
Before submitting an application to join the Panel as a sole provider, the Department will firstly endeavour to see if any of our current Panel providers are interested in having you join their existing consortium. For further information please see the Sole Provider Expression of Interest Form - PDF [68kB] [RTF 57kB]
- Occupational Therapists in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory must be registered with the Occupational Therapists Board in the State or Territory in which they are practising; in other States and the Australian Capital Territory, they must be a ‘Full-time Member’ or ‘Part-time Member’ of OT AUSTRALIA, the national body of the Australian Association of Occupational Therapists.
- Psychologists must be registered, without limitation, with the Psychologists Registration Board in the State or Territory in which they are practising. Psychologists must identify themselves as providers of Autism services and be on the APS Autism and PDD Identified Practitioners List
- Speech Pathologists must be a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (under Speech Pathology Australia’s Professional Self Regulation program). Speech Pathologists practising in Queensland must be registered with the Speech Pathologist Board of Queensland. In all other States, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, you must be a ‘Practising Member’ of Speech Pathology Australia.