Innovative Solution Support
Your childcare centre may be eligible for government-funded inclusion projects
The Inclusion Development Fund — Innovative Solutions Support (ISS) is a government funding stream that, if approved, pays for practitioner-led coaching, training and in-room practice support to help your whole team include children with additional needs. No additional educator required. No diagnosis required for this stream.
About ISS funding
~$10k
Typical project value
GST exclusive. Subject to annual availability and IDFM approval.
3
Disciplines available
Occupational Therapy · Speech Pathology · Psychology
CCS
Approved services eligible
Centre-based day care, OSHC and family day care.
What is Innovative Solutions Support?
ISS is one stream of the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) — part of the Australian Government’s Inclusion Support Program (ISP). Unlike the IDF streams that fund additional educators, ISS funds the capability-building work that helps your team include children more effectively, now and in the future.
Common misconception: Most centre directors believe the Inclusion Support Program only pays for an extra educator when a child has a diagnosed need. ISS is different — it funds practitioner-led coaching, training and guided practice for your educators, for identified barriers to participation that cannot be fully addressed through your Inclusion Agency’s support alone.
The funding journey
1
Strategic Inclusion Plan
You work with your Inclusion Agency to identify inclusion barriers and develop a SIP. If you don't have one yet, we can help you understand what's needed.
2
Project design
We help you shape a clear, fundable project tied to the barriers in your SIP.
3
Application
You submit through the Inclusion Support Portal after endorsement from your Inclusion Agency. Legal responsibility stays with your service.
4
Delivery
If approved, we deliver the project. Payment flows to your service as approved project services, not a cash grant.
What ISS funds
- Practitioner-led advice and consultation
- Educator coaching and guided practice
- In-room coaching for educators
- Professional learning tailored to your centre
- Whole-team inclusion capacity building
What it doesn't fund
- Individual therapy or assessment
- One-to-one child support
- Equipment (Specialist Equipment Library is separate)
- Additional educator wages
Is Your Centre Eligible?
Your service must be approved by the Department of Education for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Eligible service types include:
Centre-based day care
Long day care, sessional care, and preschool programs in CCS-approved CBDC services.
Outside school hours care
Before school, after school and vacation care services.
Family day care
CCS-approved family day care services and coordination units.
Children who may have barriers to participation include those who:
Have a disability or developmental delay (including awaiting diagnosis)
Are presenting with challenging or trauma-related behaviours
Have a serious medical or mental health condition
Are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
What could a project look like?
ISS projects are tailored to the specific barriers identified in your centre’s Strategic Inclusion Plan. Below are examples of the types of projects Prosper Kids can help design and deliver.
Behaviour and emotional regulation coaching
A psychologist works alongside educators, observing real scenarios and co-developing strategies for de-escalation, co-regulation and environment modification. Scope is tailored to the barriers identified in your Strategic Inclusion Plan.
Positive behaviour support planning
Developing centre-wide positive behaviour frameworks with your team, including setting clear expectations, visual supports, and consistent team responses to challenging behaviour.
Sensory-friendly environment audit and redesign
An OT works with educators to audit the care environment, identify sensory barriers and implement practical modifications across rooms, routines and transitions.
Regulation strategies for educators
Practical sensory-based regulation strategies modelled and embedded in the care environment, including sensory breaks, movement supports and calming strategies educators can implement.
Communication-friendly classroom project
A speech pathologist coaches educators to review and improve the communication environment — introducing visual schedules, AAC supports and language-rich strategies into daily practice.
Educator communication coaching
In-room coaching for educators on modifying language, modelling communication, and supporting children with limited verbal communication across everyday interactions.
Trauma-informed practice training
Whole-team professional learning on trauma-responsive approaches, co-regulation, attachment-informed interactions, and how trauma typically presents in early childhood settings.
Challenging behaviour through a trauma lens
In-room coaching to help educators reframe challenging behaviour, build relational safety and develop consistent trauma-responsive approaches across the team.
Autism inclusion project
A project supporting educators to include autistic children and children awaiting assessment — covering predictability, sensory considerations, communication strategies and social participation, drawing on Psychology and OT expertise as relevant to the centre's identified barriers.
ADHD and executive functioning support
Practical strategies for educators to support children with attention, impulse control and regulation challenges, embedded through in-room coaching and environment design.
Behaviour and emotional regulation coaching
A psychologist works alongside educators, observing real scenarios and co-developing strategies for de-escalation, co-regulation and environment modification. Scope is tailored to the barriers identified in your Strategic Inclusion Plan.
Positive behaviour support planning
Developing centre-wide positive behaviour frameworks with your team, including setting clear expectations, visual supports, and consistent team responses to challenging behaviour.
Sensory-friendly environment audit and redesign
An OT works with educators to audit the care environment, identify sensory barriers and implement practical modifications across rooms, routines and transitions.
Regulation strategies for educators
Practical sensory-based regulation strategies modelled and embedded in the care environment, including sensory breaks, movement supports and calming strategies educators can implement.
Communication-friendly classroom project
A speech pathologist coaches educators to review and improve the communication environment — introducing visual schedules, AAC supports and language-rich strategies into daily practice.
Educator communication coaching
In-room coaching for educators on modifying language, modelling communication, and supporting children with limited verbal communication across everyday interactions.
Trauma-informed practice training
Whole-team professional learning on trauma-responsive approaches, co-regulation, attachment-informed interactions, and how trauma typically presents in early childhood settings.
Challenging behaviour through a trauma lens
In-room coaching to help educators reframe challenging behaviour, build relational safety and develop consistent trauma-responsive approaches across the team.
Autism inclusion project
A project supporting educators to include autistic children and children awaiting assessment — covering predictability, sensory considerations, communication strategies and social participation, drawing on Psychology and OT expertise as relevant to the centre’s identified barriers.
ADHD and executive functioning support
Practical strategies for educators to support children with attention, impulse control and regulation challenges, embedded through in-room coaching and environment design.
From enquiry to delivery
We act as your inclusion project partner — not just a training provider. Our role is to reduce the burden on your team while making the strongest possible case for funding.
1
No-obligation consultation
A service planning discussion (not a clinical service) to understand your team's challenges and whether ISS may be suitable. No cost, no commitment.
2
We design the project
We help translate your inclusion challenges into a clear, fundable project tied to your Strategic Inclusion Plan. If you don't yet have a SIP, the first step is connecting with your Inclusion Agency — we can help you understand what's involved and who your local agency is.
3
We support the application
We prepare the project proposal and budget alongside you, ready for your Inclusion Agency's endorsement. Your centre reviews, signs and submits — legal responsibility stays with your service.
4
We deliver, in your centre
If the application is approved, we deliver through in-room coaching, guided practice and professional learning — designed to build lasting educator capability.
Our Three Disciplines
Psychology
- Behaviour and emotional regulation
- Trauma-informed and trauma-responsive practice
- Positive behaviour support
- Educator confidence and reflective practice
- Anxiety and co-regulation support
Occupational Therapy
- Sensory environment audits and modifications
- Participation and transition support
- Routine and schedule adaptations
- Neurodiversity inclusion strategies
- Supporting educators to embed fine motor and self-care strategies in daily routines
Speech Pathology
- Communication-friendly environment design
- Visual supports and AAC implementation
- Educator communication coaching
- Social participation strategies
- Language-rich learning environments
What we bring to an ISS project
ISS applications can name any suitably qualified provider. Here is what directors should know when considering whether Prosper Kids is the right fit for their centre.
An established practice, not a sole trader
Prosper Health Collective has been operating since 2014. We are a structured multidisciplinary practice with over 20 registered clinicians across psychology, occupational therapy and speech pathology, three locations across Perth, and dedicated clinical leadership and governance. Practitioners are AHPRA-registered, professionally supervised, and work within a clinical framework — not as independent contractors operating in isolation.
Genuinely multidisciplinary — and that matters for ISS
Most ISS providers work from a single discipline. Because Prosper Kids draws on psychology, OT and speech pathology within one practice, we can design projects that address the real complexity of inclusion barriers — where a child's behaviour, sensory profile and communication needs intersect. We consult internally across disciplines when designing a project, not just deliver what one professional can offer.
Evidence-based practice with clinical accountability
Our approach is grounded in evidence-based practice across all three disciplines, with ongoing clinical supervision and quality review built into how we work. We hold ourselves to the same standard of accountability in educator-facing work as we do in direct clinical care — which means projects are structured, outcomes are monitored, and you are not left with a one-off training day and no follow-through.
Continuity beyond the project
ISS projects have a defined scope and end date. In practice, the needs of children and families often continue beyond a funded project. Because Prosper Kids is part of Prosper Health Collective, families of children whose inclusion your ISS project supports can access ongoing clinical services — psychology, OT, speech pathology — through the same practice. For centre directors, this means the relationship does not have to end when the funding does.
Our approach to working with your team
We work alongside educators — not in front of them. ISS projects are not training events delivered to a passive audience. Our practitioners observe your care environment, model strategies in real interactions, and build reflective practice with your team over time. We are guided by a values-driven approach: we see your educators as capable professionals who need the right tools and support, not a deficit to be corrected.
Questions from centre directors
Does my centre need a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) already?
Not necessarily — but a SIP is required before an ISS application can be submitted. If your centre doesn’t yet have one, the first step is making contact with your Inclusion Agency. We can help you understand what’s involved. In urgent cases, a SIP is not required at time of application but must be completed afterward.
Does a child need a diagnosis for ISS funding?
No — not for this stream. ISS funds capability-building for your educator team in response to identified inclusion barriers. A diagnosis is not required. Other IDF streams have different requirements.
How much funding is typically available?
There is no fixed maximum for ISS, but the Department of Education guidelines encourage applicants to consider projects costing $10,000 (GST exclusive) or less. The IDF is capped annually — availability is not guaranteed. Funding is delivered as approved project services, not a cash payment to your centre.
Can we choose our own provider?
Yes. You are always free to engage any suitably qualified provider. Prosper Kids acts as the intended delivery partner when we assist with your application, but the choice is yours. Applications typically identify the intended provider and describe their role in the project.
What is the role of the Inclusion Agency?
Your Inclusion Agency (IA) is a government-funded body that supports your service to build inclusion capability. They help develop your SIP and must endorse your ISS application before it is submitted. Prosper Kids works alongside your Inclusion Agency — we do not replace them.
How long does the application process take?
Routine ISS applications are typically assessed within 15 business days of a complete application. Urgent applications are assessed within 5 business days. Incomplete applications will be returned for more information.
Can we apply more than once?
There is no explicit limit on the number of ISS applications a service can make. However, the IDFM may prioritise services that have not yet accessed the stream over those with previous support.
What if our application is declined?
The IDFM will send a written explanation of the reason for decline. An appeals process is available through the IDFM — details are on the IDFM’s website, accessible through the Department of Education.
Is Prosper Kids available to work in our centre directly?
Yes. ISS-funded projects typically involve in-room work alongside educators — observation, coaching, modelling, and reflective conversations. Our practitioners come to your centre across the Perth metropolitan area. Services located outside metro Perth are welcome to contact us to discuss feasibility, as ISS can cover travel costs in some circumstances.