Assessment & Registration
To be registered with Better Start your child's eligibility needs to be assessed and confirmed by the Registration and Information Service.
Step 2 - Assessment and Registration
To be registered with Better Start, a child's eligibility needed to be assessed and confirmed by the Registration and Information Service. This restored page explains the information families were commonly asked to provide during that process.
The assessment could be completed face-to-face, by telephone, webcam, email, or video link. The child's parent or carer needed to show documents that helped confirm the child's age, diagnosis, residence, and registration details.
Documents commonly requested
- Proof of the child's age, preferably a birth certificate or passport.
- Written confirmation of diagnosis, including any required diagnostic threshold information.
- Proof of residential status, where applicable.
- Proof of residential address, where applicable, especially for outer-regional and remote access payment checks.
- The child's Centrelink-generated customer reference number, or CRN. Families could obtain a CRN by attending Centrelink or phoning Centrelink on 136 150.
After the assessment
If eligibility was confirmed, the child could be registered for Better Start as soon as possible. Families were then able to move to the referral stage and receive information about accessing early intervention services.
Related pages: Can I get Better Start?, Registration information, Referral, and Transitioning to the NDIS.
Why assessment evidence mattered
Better Start assessment relied on clear evidence because eligibility, diagnosis thresholds, age, residency, and service needs all affected the registration pathway. Keeping copies of these documents helps families understand old decisions and explain past support when speaking with current services.
After this step, read Referral. For broader historical context, read What is Better Start? and Booklet Update.