Autism diagnosis for children in Australia: a guide for parents

Who can diagnose autism in Australia?

In Australia, autism in young children is usually diagnosed by multidisciplinary teams. Teams might include doctors and allied health professionals.

Sometimes autism is diagnosed by a single doctor or health professional.

If you think your child might be autistic, it’s good to act early and make an appointment with your child and family health nurse, your GP or a paediatrician.

How is autism diagnosed in Australia?

Diagnosis of autism is based on:

watching how your child plays and interacts with others – that is, how your child is developing now
interviewing or doing questionnaires with you or other people who know how your child interacts and behaves
reviewing your child’s developmental history – that is, how your child has developed in the past.

The National guideline for the assessment and diagnosis of autism in Australia recommends that autism diagnosis should include a:

comprehensive needs assessment
diagnostic evaluation.

Comprehensive needs assessment

A comprehensive needs assessment has 2 parts:

assessment of functioning
medical evaluation.

Assessment of functioning

This part of the assessment looks at your child’s characteristics, strengths and skills in areas like:

daily living skills
communication
thinking.

To better understand your child’s daily support needs, it also looks at your child’s everyday environment, including who they live with and whether they go to child care or school.

This assessment can be done by:

a doctor, like a GP or paediatrician
an allied health professional like a psychologist, a speech pathologist or an occupational therapist.

Medical evaluation

This is a physical examination of your child, including a review of their medical history. It might also include tests to see whether your child’s characteristics and behaviour have a medical cause.

This part of the assessment is usually done by a:

GP
paediatrician
psychiatrist.

Diagnostic evaluation

If the results from the comprehensive needs assessment suggest your child is autistic, the National guideline recommends a diagnostic evaluation to confirm that autism is the best explanation for your child’s characteristics and behaviour.

As part of a diagnostic evaluation, health professionals might want to see you and your child several times to:

assess your child’s strengths, differences and difficulties in areas like thinking, learning and communicating
ask you questions
review the information from the comprehensive needs assessment.

There are 2 approaches to diagnostic evaluation:

lead practitioner diagnostic evaluation
consensus team diagnostic evaluation.

The approach that’s best for your child will depend on their needs and the information that health professionals need to make a confident diagnosis.

Lead practitioner diagnostic evaluation

This approach is best when your child’s autism signs or characteristics are clear and another explanation is very unlikely.

This assessment is completed by a:

specialist medical practitioner, like a paediatrician or psychiatrist
psychologist with expertise in autism.

The professional leads the process and makes the decision, but they’ll get information from other sources and professionals if they need it.

If a lead practitioner thinks they can’t make a confident diagnosis, they’ll refer the evaluation to a consensus team diagnostic evaluation.

Consensus team diagnostic evaluation

This approach is recommended when signs or characteristics of autism are less clear or the signs might be explained by something else, like intellectual or learning disability. This assessment is completed by a team of professionals with a range of backgrounds.

Tests and tools for diagnosing autism

When health professionals are doing comprehensive needs assessments and diagnostic evaluations, they use a range of tools.

These tools include the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5-TR). DSM-5-TR uses the term ‘autism spectrum disorder’. It lists signs and characteristics and states how many of these must be present to confirm a diagnosis of autism.

Health professionals also use the following screening and diagnostic tools.

Screening tools

Professionals use screening tools to decide whether your child has enough signs of autism to go on to a full assessment. Some professionals use these screening tools together with their own professional judgment.

Australian screening tools include:

Diagnostic tools

Some professionals use tools that are specifically developed for detailed autism diagnosis. Diagnostic tools include:

Other tools

Sometimes professionals use other tools to find out about your child’s strengths, differences and difficulties.

These other tools include:

How to prepare for your child’s autism assessment

You can prepare for your child’s autism assessment by writing down your questions or concerns about your child, along with your observations.

Things to note in your preparation

What you’ve noticed about your child, with specific examples
How old your child was when you noticed the things
How long you’ve noticed these things

It’s also good to include any observations, differences or concerns that your child’s early childhood education service, preschool or school has raised.

Examples

‘Ayub doesn’t respond to his name, even when I call him many times. I’ve noticed this for the last 3 months.’ (Write date and child’s age.)
‘Stacey lines up her blocks in a very long line. She gets upset when her brother messes up the line. I’ve noticed this for the past few weeks.’ (Write date and child’s age.)
‘Sienna gets upset when we go a different way to child care. She cries and says, “This isn’t the way to child care!” I’ve noticed this for the last 6 months.’ (Write date and child’s age.)
‘Luca’s teacher has noticed that he often plays by himself at school and finds it hard to join in games with other children. The teacher has noticed this since the start of the year.’ (Write date and child’s age).

How to prepare your child for an autism assessment

Depending on your child’s age and language skills, you might also be able to prepare them for the assessment by telling them what to expect.

For example, ‘You’ll be meeting some new people today. You’ll be doing some fun activities and playing with different toys. I’ll be there with you’.

You can also prepare your child for the appointment by using pictures or social stories.

What to do while you’re waiting for an autism diagnosis

You might be put on a waiting list for assessment.

Or your child might have an assessment and professionals will decide to observe your child for a bit longer before they make a diagnosis, especially if your child is younger than 18 months. They might ask you to watch your child’s development and keep records. This is to see whether your child’s characteristics, skills and behaviour change with a few more months of development.

How to help your child’s development while you wait

Look into early support for your child’s development and wellbeing. You don’t need to wait for an autism assessment or diagnosis to get some supports or make changes at home, child care or school. For advice, call the Thriving Kids national phoneline on 1800 882 436, 7 days, 7 am-midnight.
For autism-specific advice, call the Thriving Kids Autism Helpline on 1300 654 789, Monday-Friday, 8 am-7 pm.
Explore information on child development, developmental delay and autism on the Thriving Kids Information and Resources Hub.
Contact the NDIS. The NDIS supports children with developmental concerns, regardless of whether they’re diagnosed with autism. Children with developmental delay or autism with low to moderate support needs can continue to access the NDIS until 1 January 2028.
Make another appointment with your child and family health nurse or your GP if things change and you feel more concerned about your child’s development. This can be an important way to add more information to your child’s referral.
Seek a second or even third opinion if you feel you want one.

Talking to your child about their autism diagnosis can help them feel positive about themselves and their autistic identity.

How much does autism assessment and diagnosis cost?

The cost of autism assessment and diagnosis depends on whether you have your child assessed through the public or the private health system.

Public assessment

Public assessment services are offered at no cost to families, but many have long waiting lists.

They’re funded through state and territory governments and are often run through hospitals or health services.

Private assessment

A private assessment can be expensive, and there might also be a waiting list.

You can claim a rebate from Medicare to help with some of the costs of the assessment sessions, but there are still extra expenses. You might also be able to claim some of the fees through your private health fund, if you have one.

How to decide on public versus private assessment

These questions can help:

Is there a waiting list? How long will it take before you get your first appointment?
How long will it take until the assessment is finished and you get the results?
How many sessions will the health professionals need with you and your child?
Can you claim anything back from Medicare?
Can the health professionals give you an estimate of extra expenses?
Does it cost extra for the report about your child’s results?