Paediatricians warn too many children are being wrongly diagnosed with autism

Australia’s leading paediatricians say thousands of children with developmental delays are being wrongly diagnosed as autistic, putting extra pressure on the already stretched National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Experts are now pushing for a major overhaul to give families better support.

Paediatrician-turned-politician Dr Mike Freelander is leading a parliamentary review into the NDIS. He says the scheme was never set up to deal with mild developmental issues.

“Unfortunately, we’ve set up a model that didn’t work in the first place and we now have to reinvent it,” Dr Freelander said.

Health Minister Mark Butler recently announced that some children with autism will no longer receive NDIS support, instead moving to a new program called Thriving Kids.

While the decision has sparked anger from families, Dr Freelander insists it is necessary.

“I think there is pressure on to up-diagnose if you like or over-diagnose so that people can get access to a scheme that was not designed for people with mild or moderate developmental needs,” he said.

Dr Freelander and his committee will report to world-renowned paediatrician Professor Frank Oberklaid, who argues there has been an over-eagerness to label children as autistic.

“In some areas of the country, one in six 8-year-old boys is in the NDIS. There’s no way that all of these children need intensive therapy.”

“The diagnosis become sort of diluted, so any child with a delay in language, a little bit quirky or energetic, gets a diagnosis.”

Both Dr Freelander and Professor Oberklaid agree that parents need earlier access to evidence-based advice, child development checks and timely intervention — without having to rely on an autism diagnosis to unlock help.

Professor Oberklaid said the aim should be prevention and early intervention.

“If you can intervene early, put scaffolding around some of these children, you prevent these problems later on. So it’s cheaper, it’s far more efficient, it’s evidence-based, and it’s the right thing to do for kids,” he said.

Dr Freelander says states and territories must step up with funding for community child development programs, so families aren’t left facing long waiting lists or out-of-pocket costs.

“We’re hopeful the states will come on board and I’m pretty sure they will,” he said.

“We need to make the NDIS sustainable.”

Paediatricians say that unless the system is fixed, children with severe disabilities risk missing out on the support they desperately need.

Thriving Kids inquiry

The final design will be settled between the Australian Government and state and territory governments and the Thriving Kids Advisory Group that will be co-chaired by the Health Minister the Hon Mark Butler MP and Professor Frank Oberklaid AM.

The Committee welcomes the views of parents and families; Disability Representative Organisations; Disabled People’s Organisations; Disability Representative and Carer Organisations; health care professionals (GPs and other medical specialists, nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals); early childhood, preschool and primary school educators; and service providers.

The Committee invites interested individuals and organisations to make submissions by Friday, 3 October 2025.