❓ WA Parliament Question on Notice regarding wait times for various child development services in both metropolitan and country areas. The answer provides median wait times, highlighting disparities and data limitations.
AnsweredQoN 1395Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Department of Health’s Child Development Service, and I ask: (a) As of this date, what is the average wait time for a child to access the following services via the Child Development Service in WA: (i) A paediatrician; (ii) A speech pathologist; (iii) An occupational therapist; (iv) A physiotherapist; (v) A social worker; (vi) A psychologist; (vii) An audiologist; and (viii) A child health nurse; and (b) Please provide a breakdown of (a)(i-viii), by services provided by the: (i) WA Country Health Service; and (ii) Metropolitan Child Development Service?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 February 2026
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
4 days
See below table addressing PQ LA 1395 (a) and (b), noting median wait time.
Median wait time in month is used, rather than average (mean) wait time, because the median provides a more accurate picture of a clients experience and is the standardised method for reporting wait times across CDS disciplines:
Metropolitan Child Development Service as at 29/11/2025
WA Country Health Service as at 30/11/2025
(i) A paediatrician;
16.8
*
(ii) A speech pathologist;
7
1.8
(iii) An occupational therapist;
8
1.7
(iv) A physiotherapist;
1.7
1.1
(v) A social worker;
12.9
1.5
(vi) A psychologist;
14.1
1.9
(vii) An audiologist; and
3.9
3.7
(viii) A child health nurse;
Child health nursing is not a Child Development Services service and thus there is no waitlist component to report.?
* Work is underway to enable accurate reporting on the median wait time for a WA Country Health Service developmental paediatrician.
Please note that due to the method by which the waitlists for each discipline are counted, individual clients may be counted more than once if they are waitlisted for more than one service.
Median wait time in month is used, rather than average (mean) wait time, because the median provides a more accurate picture of a clients experience and is the standardised method for reporting wait times across CDS disciplines:
Metropolitan Child Development Service as at 29/11/2025
WA Country Health Service as at 30/11/2025
(i) A paediatrician;
16.8
*
(ii) A speech pathologist;
7
1.8
(iii) An occupational therapist;
8
1.7
(iv) A physiotherapist;
1.7
1.1
(v) A social worker;
12.9
1.5
(vi) A psychologist;
14.1
1.9
(vii) An audiologist; and
3.9
3.7
(viii) A child health nurse;
Child health nursing is not a Child Development Services service and thus there is no waitlist component to report.?
* Work is underway to enable accurate reporting on the median wait time for a WA Country Health Service developmental paediatrician.
Please note that due to the method by which the waitlists for each discipline are counted, individual clients may be counted more than once if they are waitlisted for more than one service.
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