Children BORN in Australia to parents who are NZ citizens are not able to access the NDIS which provides them with funded therapy for their disability. Their parents cannot access the carer allowance, the child cannot get a healthcare card, they have NO support. 

They cannot receive a disability payment from NZ either. The families are left to deal with the financial burden on their own despite working hard and paying their taxes as permanent residents of Australia. 

Early intervention is paramount for these children to ensure they have the best possible start in life and the access to the help they need. The cost of therapy is upwards of $200 per appointment, some children needing multiple per week which is jus not manageable for most families. Especially with the cost of living rising substantially. 

These families work hard, have set up their lives here and these children that were BORN here should absolutely be eligible for assistance. 

A child born in Australia to NZ parents is eligible to apply for citizenship when they turn 10 years old provided they have lived here all their life. Being told to wait until your child turns 10 before they have access to help is disgusting especially when an Australian citizen moving to NZ to live is eligible for all support there regardless of their citizenship status.

There is supposed to be a reciprocal agreement in place between NZ and Australia and clearly this just isn’t the case. 

I am wanting to raise awareness of this and evoke change. Not only for my son whom this affects but for all the other children and families in the same position as well. 

This petition was originally started by Julian Ryan and was transferred to Toni-Maree Tino.