Our Advocacy

A smiling family of four stands outdoors, surrounded by greenery. The father holds a laughing baby, and the mother holds a young girl with a medical patch on her arm. All are happy and casually dressed.

Families at the heart of our work

Belongside Families is the only independent, not-for-profit, family-led organisation in NSW dedicated to providing comprehensive peer support, capacity building, and system navigation for parents and carers of children with disability. Our work spans the education, health, disability, and community sectors.

We raise the stories, lessons, and ideas of families with decision-makers to highlight the value of family-led peer support and capacity building. With staff, board, and volunteers who have lived experience of disability parenting, we bring a deep understanding of the challenges families face and provide support that is relevant and meaningful.

Through free programs, trusted resources, and a supportive community, we empower more than 7,000 parents and carers each year to grow the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to help their children and families thrive.

Advocacy priorities

When a child is diagnosed with a disability or developmental delays, they and their family begin a complex journey that requires support, guidance and connection with others who understand their experience. These families need the right support to create the strong foundations necessary for children to reach their full potential.

Our advocacy focuses on:

Building government investment in peer support and family capacity building

Ensuring foundational supports meet family needs

Shaping the National Carers Strategy to reflect the voices of parent carers

Contributing to NDIS reforms that work for children and families

Consulting with families

Belongside Families regularly hosts consultations to elevate the voices of parents and carers of children with disability, developmental delay and Autism. We consult directly with families to inform our own advocacy work and also on behalf of government departments and sector partners, ensuring that policies, programs and reforms are shaped by the people they impact most.

Recent consultations include:

Western Sydney Family Consultations (2025)

Hosted consultation groups with families in Western Sydney to understand their experiences and priorities, and to inform our advocacy and the co-design of peer-based support models that reflect local community needs and strengthen early support pathways.

Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention (2024 & 2025)

Facilitated family consultation sessions to inform the national review of early childhood intervention, led by the Department of Social Services (University of Melbourne for DSS).

Foundational Supports (2024)

Co-hosted a family consultation group in Sydney and national online groups to inform DSS policy and foundational supports reform. (The Social Deck for DSS).

National Autism Strategy (2023)

Targeted consultations with families of young Autistic children with high support needs in NSW, exploring key themes including social inclusion, diagnosis, service access, and health and mental health. (The Social Deck for DSS).

NDIS Review – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families (2023)

Hosted targeted in-person consultations to explore how CALD families experience the NDIS, ensuring their voices informed the national review (NDIS Review Committee).

Our impact and partnerships

Belongside Families fills a vital gap in NSW by providing comprehensive peer support, capacity building, and navigation for parents and carers of children with disability. We walk with families through diagnosis, early intervention, school transitions, and healthcare, creating safe, welcoming spaces that reduce isolation and prevent burnout.

Through evidence-informed, innovative, and scalable programs, we help families become confident advocates for their children. Our approach fosters inclusivity, builds resilience, and creates pathways for children to lead thriving lives.

We work collaboratively across the early childhood, disability, and family sectors through partnerships including:

founding member of the Child and Family Disability Alliance (CaFDA), a national partnership with family-led organisations, ACD and Kiind
co-chair and founding member of the Child and Family Supports Alliance (CaFSA) NSW
co-chair and founding member of the Australian Child and Family Supports Alliance (ACaFSA).
Monash University, Australian Catholic University, and the Parenting Research Centre to deliver evidence-based parenting programs and peer groups for families raising children with disability.

Our submissions

We regularly contribute submissions to government inquiries, reviews, and consultations to ensure the voices of families are heard and reflected in policy and system reform.

Every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, and every family deserves the support they need along their journey. The 2025-26 Federal Budget presents a historic opportunity to transform how we support families raising children with developmental concerns, delay and disability.

Investing in families has never been more important. After decades of fragmented solutions, we are excited to see real appetite for change from government, families and across the community sector.

Our plan will help the Australian Government to:

Set families up for success from their child’s point of diagnosis
Deliver peer support and capacity building, designed by families for families
Support carers of children with disability, recognising their invaluable role in our society.

By adopting these recommendations, the Australian Government can significantly improve outcomes for thousands of children with developmental delays and disability and their families across NSW.

Read our submission

The NDIS Review was a critical opportunity to reshape the future of disability support for children and families—and to make sure the scheme delivers on its original promise. Through our submission and targeted consultations, Belongside Families, in partnership with CAFDA, advocated for a more inclusive, accessible, and family-responsive NDIS that recognises the unique role of parents and carers of children with disability.

We called for reforms that:

Recognise the value of early family support and capacity building
Embed peer support as a core component of the early childhood pathway
Improve access, communication, and cultural responsiveness for diverse families
Reduce complexity and administrative burden on parents navigating the scheme

Families want an NDIS that is easier to use and better connected to the everyday supports their children need to thrive.

Read our submission

Carers of children with disability play an invaluable role in our society, providing round-the-clock care and support that is often unrecognised and undervalued.

Parent carers face distinct challenges compared to other carer groups. The difference between parenting and caring can be indistinguishable for parents, meaning they do not advocate for themselves as carers to make the critical changes to paid work and health service interactions or seek access to carer focused support.

By targeting carers of children with disability, the Australian Government can identify new carers and link them to appropriate supports early in their carer journey.

This preventative strategy will maximise the value of the Australian Government’s investment in carers and decrease the need for more costly and complex support later in the family’s journey.

Read our submission