We accept referrals for children up to 16 years of age, who reside within the West Moreton Health catchment area. This catchment area includes Ipswich, Gatton, Springfield, Ripley, Laidley, Boonah and Esk. 
Referrals to West Moreton Child Development Service can be made by:

• Medical professionals (GP, Paediatrician or other medical specialists) 
• Children’s Health Queensland 
• Child and Youth Mental Health Services. 

Our service is appropriate for children who have developmental concerns which are impacting on daily life in a number of areas. It is open to new patients under 16 years of age (prior to 16th birthday) or continuing patients under 18 years of age (or until discharged from paediatric care) who our eligibility criteria.

Your child’s GP can make a referral to West Moreton Child Development Service via Smart Referrals to Specialty Paediatrics.

Eligible referrals 

Infants, Children and Adolescents 0 – 18 years

• Children are eligible to access services if they have moderate developmental delay in two or more domains (functional areas) and require input from two or more allied health therapists for diagnostic assessment and formulation: 
  • posture and large movements 
  • fine motor/visual motor 
  • communication (receptive and expressive) 
  • cognition and learning 
  • social behaviour/play 
  • adaptive (feeding, sleeping, regulation and sensory organisation).
• In line with other West Moreton Health services, referrals will be accepted until a child’s 16th birthday and children are eligible for assessment until their 18th birthday. 

Ineligible referrals 

• Universal service requests, such as developmental monitoring or screening (See your GP or your Child Health Nurse). 
• Questions or concerns not of a developmental or behavioural nature.  
• Allied Health intervention beyond the assessment, diagnostic process and brief intervention – long term therapy is not provided by this service. 
• The child referred has been seen by West Moreton Health Child Development Service within the last 12 months without any change in presenting concerns/psychosocial risk factors. 
• Children with single functional domain delays. 

To make an appointment with Child Development Services, a referral will first need to be accepted. All referrals go through an intake process before being accepted. If the referral is not suitable, advice is given on alternative services. Depending on what category of service your child is, wait times can range up to 12 months.

EACH ECEI 

If your child is aged 0 - 6 and has a disability, or if there are concerns with their development, they may be eligible to receive support from the NDIS through the ECEI program. Providing quality intervention early in your child’s life reduces the possible need for longer-term intervention and will support them over time to lead an ordinary life.

As the NDIS Partner delivering ECEI services, EACH will be the first point of contact for parents and carers who have a baby or young child with developmental delay or disability.

Private Providers

Some families may choose to access private practitioners and not-for-profit organizations for assistance. This will depend on your child’s needs and whether they have been accepted by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Private services are provided on a fee for service basis from a health professional working in private practice. If you have private health insurance, rebates may be available for allied health services. Please contact your private health insurer for further information.

Some children may also be eligible to receive a Medicare rebate for a limited number of private Allied Health service appointments. For you to get Medicare rebates, your doctor must prepare a ‘care plan’, such as a chronic disease management plan or a mental health treatment plan. Please discuss eligibility with your GP, who will provide a referral if your child is eligible. 

For contact information for private therapists, please visit the following websites:

• Speech Pathology Australia
• Occupational Therapy Australia
• Australian Physiotherapy Association 
• Australian Psychological Society
• Australian Association of Social Workers

Locations, transport and parking

• Ipswich Health Plaza
• Goodna Community Health Centre

Before your appointment, it may be helpful to think about the following questions:

• What are your concerns with your child’s development?
• What would you like help with?
• What questions would you like to ask?

Please visit the following website resources for some more helpful information.

• Raising Children Network
• EACH 
• Centre on the Developing Child
• Triple P – Positive Parenting Program
• Circle of Security
• Zero to Three  
• First 5 Forever
• Ngala Parenting with Confidence
• Autism Spectrum Australia
• Beyond Blue
• The Hanen Centre
• Parenting seminars and videos

We want to give you the best service possible. Listening to your ideas and feedback lets us know what is working well and what can be improved. Please talk to our team about the many ways you can tell us about our service.

If you have more questions, please call (07) 3817 2324.