Dietitians Australia is calling for nutrition and dietetics to be explicitly included in the design and delivery of foundational supports for children and young people in NSW.
Our latest submission to the NSW Parliament’s Select Committee on Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales focuses on practical steps to improve access to nutrition and feeding care, including through Thriving Kids.
Our central recommendation is that every child with identified nutrition, growth or feeding needs has a funded pathway to assessment and intervention by an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). This requires nutrition and dietetics to be named in service specifications, intake and referral criteria, multidisciplinary service models and commissioning arrangements.
The submission recommends:
- Support matched to individual needs, from early identification and family education through to individual APD intervention and specialist multidisciplinary care.
- Clear referral pathways and funding responsibilities across foundational supports, health services and the NDIS, including for clinically required oral nutrition supplements and enteral nutrition support.
- Commissioning arrangements that draw on APDs across public, community and private services, including sole traders and small local practices.
- Investment in paediatric and disability dietetic workforce capacity, training, placements and supervision.
- Involvement of APDs, children, families and carers in service design and evaluation.
We also highlight the need for continued access to nutrition and feeding support for older children and young people beyond the Thriving Kids age range.
The submission draws on evidence and member experiences to show why identifying a nutrition concern must lead to timely, funded care.
Read Dietitians Australia’s full submission.