❓ Mr Staltari's question reveals significant waitlists for various child development services in WA, particularly for paediatricians in the metropolitan area. The response highlights data collection challenges and the exclusion of child health nursing from the reported services.
AnsweredQoN 1390Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Department of Health’s Child Development Service, and I ask: (a) As of this date, how many children were on the waitlist for 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
(a)-(b):
Metropolitan Child Development Service as at 27/11/2025
WA Country Health Service as at 30/11/2025
Total
(i) A paediatrician;
14,242
*
14,242
(ii) A speech pathologist;
4,916
916
5,832
(iii) An occupational therapist;
4,679
1,406
6,085
(iv) A physiotherapist;
864
385
1249
(v) A social worker;
2,039
181
2,220
(vi) A psychologist;
2,223
171
2,394
(vii) An audiologist; and
1,488
761
2,249
(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 number of children on the waitlist 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
Metropolitan Child Development Service as at 27/11/2025
WA Country Health Service as at 30/11/2025
Total
(i) A paediatrician;
14,242
*
14,242
(ii) A speech pathologist;
4,916
916
5,832
(iii) An occupational therapist;
4,679
1,406
6,085
(iv) A physiotherapist;
864
385
1249
(v) A social worker;
2,039
181
2,220
(vi) A psychologist;
2,223
171
2,394
(vii) An audiologist; and
1,488
761
2,249
(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 number of children on the waitlist 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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