❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding waitlist numbers for various child development services as of July 2025, with a comparison request to 2017 data.
AnsweredQoN 719Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Department of Health’s Child Development Service, and I ask: (a) As at 1 July 2025, how many children were on the waitlist to 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; (b) As at 1 July 2025, what was the total waitlist for children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA; and (c) As at 1 July 2017, what was the total waitlist for children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 October 2025
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
7 days
(a) As at 31 July 2025, the following number of children were on the WA Child Development Service waitlist for the following clinical areas:
(i) A paediatrician;
· 13,233 (metropolitan area)
(ii) A speech pathologist
· 6,306
(iii) An occupational therapist
· 5,780
(iv) A physiotherapist
· 1,075
(v) A social worker
· 2,168
(vi) A psychologist
· 2,316
(vii) An audiologist
· 1,954
(viii) A child health nurse
· Child health nursing is not a Child Development Services (CDS) service and thus there is no waitlist component to report.
(b) As at 1 July 2025, what was the total waitlist for children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA; and
· As at 31 July 2025, there were 25,320 children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA.
(c) As at 1 July 2017, what was the total waitlist for children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA?
· Comparable data from 2017 is not available.
(i) A paediatrician;
· 13,233 (metropolitan area)
(ii) A speech pathologist
· 6,306
(iii) An occupational therapist
· 5,780
(iv) A physiotherapist
· 1,075
(v) A social worker
· 2,168
(vi) A psychologist
· 2,316
(vii) An audiologist
· 1,954
(viii) A child health nurse
· Child health nursing is not a Child Development Services (CDS) service and thus there is no waitlist component to report.
(b) As at 1 July 2025, what was the total waitlist for children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA; and
· As at 31 July 2025, there were 25,320 children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA.
(c) As at 1 July 2017, what was the total waitlist for children waiting to access a service via the Child Development Service in WA?
· Comparable data from 2017 is not available.
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