Internationally recognised best practice guidelines recommend the provision of a minimum of 20 hours per week of evidence-based early intervention (eg. ABA and ESDM) for children with autism spectrum disorders, in order for the child to attain best possible outcomes (Prior and Roberts, 2012).

The NDIS currently caps early intervention funding at $16,000 per annum, which provides approximately 6 hours per week of therapy, far short of the recommended 20 hours per week minimum.

Unlike children in several other socio-economically comparable countries, Australian children with autism are currently missing out on best practice early intervention due to a lack of adequate Government funding.

Senator Mitch Fifield, the minister responsible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, has encouraged families with concerns about how the NDIS is working to speak up.

''Now is the time for parents who have concerns about the operation of early intervention to make sure that those are heard,'' he said.

We, the undersigned, strongly request that the NDIS fund a minimum of 20 hours per week of evidence-based early intervention (eg. ABA and ESDM) for all children with autism under the NDIS, as recommended by Australian Guidelines for Good Practice (Prior and Roberts, 2012).

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