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Continuity of Support

Continuity of Support helps families whose children are not eligible for the NDIS continue accessing disability services after Better Start funding ends.

What Continuity of Support means

Continuity of Support, often shortened to CoS, was created so existing clients of Commonwealth-funded disability programmes would not lose support simply because they were not eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It was designed to help families keep working toward similar outcomes to the ones they had before the NDIS rollout.

For Better Start families, this page preserves the restored programme information and sets it in context. Individualised funding under the HCWA and Better Start programmes transitioned to the NDIS and was due to cease on 31 March 2021. Continuity of Support was available for eligible children who had not met access to the NDIS.

Who the programme was for

Based on the restored programme guidance, a child generally needed to meet all of the following conditions:

  • Be a current HCWA or Better Start client and under the age of seven as at 31 March 2021.
  • Have residual HCWA or Better Start funding as at 31 March 2021.
  • Have tested their eligibility for the NDIS and been found ineligible.
  • Reside in Australia.

What families should do next

If you are checking old Better Start paperwork, provider invoices, or a past NDIS access decision, start by confirming whether your child had remaining Better Start or HCWA funding at the transition date. The next useful step is to gather any NDIS correspondence, provider reports, and funding statements before contacting the relevant service.

For current NDIS questions, read the transitioning to the NDIS guide or visit the official NDIS website. For local support, use the state and territory contacts page to find the Carers Association in your area.

Where to ask questions

For information on Continuity of Support, families were directed to contact the Department of Social Services Early Intervention Helpdesk on 1800 778 581 or email early.intervention@dss.gov.au. You can also review the restored Better Start frequently asked questions or send us a message if you need help finding the most relevant page.

The Department of Social Services also published FAQs about the early intervention transition to the NDIS: Early intervention transition FAQs.