South Australia, through the Department for Education, was tasked with leading a national project to provide a comprehensive picture of the range of specific screening and assessment tools used across health, early childhood and education sectors to consider ways in which these tools can support practice, policy development and national research priorities. An initial state-specific review was undertaken by researchers at the Fraser Mustard Centre, which provided a foundation for this project.

The overall objectives of the review were to:

• consider what developmental domains (and influencing family factors) should be screened and assessed to best respond to learning and development needs
• determine when these measures would be best implemented taking into consideration sensitive periods in development
• develop current contact points for screening and assessment in South Australia.

The findings of the review informed a national review of screening and assessment practices in early childhood.