Early Intervention Key to Supporting Aboriginal Children and Families
22 Jun 2026
General practitioners play an important role in recognising developmental concerns early and helping families access appropriate support through culturally safe services.
Building trust with families, listening respectfully, and recognising the strengths within Aboriginal communities are considered essential to effective care. Health experts also highlight that connection to culture, community, and family acts as a strong protective factor for children’s social, emotional, and developmental wellbeing.
When concerns are identified early, GPs are encouraged to seek consent before referring families to culturally responsive services. These may include Aboriginal community-controlled health services, speech therapy, parenting programs, and family support services aimed at strengthening long-term outcomes for children.
Early support is emphasised as a way to help children develop across social, emotional, cultural, and developmental domains.
Early intervention referral resources
GPs can access several services and referral pathways to support Aboriginal children and families, including:
- Early intervention: where and how to refer
- Kari Foundation
- Gandangara Health Services
- Greater Western Sydney Aboriginal Health Service
- AMS Redfern
- South Coast Medical Service
- Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Services
This article originally appeared in Practice Pulse on Wednesday, 24 June 2026.
Early Intervention Key to Supporting Aboriginal Children and Families
Source: Practice Pulse, South Western Sydney Local Health District