The ACT Greens have pitched free assessments and supports for people with autism and ADHD if they are elected in October's territory election.
The party wants to establish a neurodiversity centre to provide free support for people who are neurodiverse and would include allied health and psychology supports.
The centre is expected to cost $15 million to establish and cost about $5 million a year for staff such as psychiatrists, psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, counsellors and peer workers.
The centre would include supports such as assessment and diagnosis for people of all ages, early intervention supports, space for peer groups to meet and information and resources for neurodiverse people and their families and friends.
People are often forced to wait years to get an assessment for autism and ADHD. ACT Greens disability spokeswoman Emma Davidson, who is the territory's Minister for Mental Health, said people would not require a diagnosis to attend the centre planned by the Greens.
"We want to provide assessment and diagnosis for people who need that we also want to provide space for peer groups to meet and access allied health supports like speech therapy, occupational therapy or psychologists and counsellors and you shouldn't need a diagnosis to access supports," she said.
The centre would be somewhere central that is easily accessible by bus or light rail.
Ms Davidson said the centre would be the first of its kind in Australia and would also offer support to family and friends around how to better understand neurodivergence.
"At the moment, our systems of support for health care, education, employment, and social connections are built around neurotypical assumptions," she said.
"Many people living in the ACT are neurodiverse, or know someone who is neurodiverse, yet our systems don't support them and only change once someone has a diagnosis."
The Greens made their election announcement at Daydream Machine in Fyshwick, which is a business that works with young neurodiverse people to explore interests in music, science, the arts and technology.
Daydream Machine founder Luke Ferguson said a neurodiversity centre would be greatly welcomed, especially as parents struggled to access supports.
"It's a no-brainer, I hear from parents on a daily basis about how much red tape there is and how many hoops they have to jump through to access services or even to get basic information on some of these services," he said.
Mr Ferguson said there are 75 children and young people taking part in Daydream Machine and there was a waitlist of 20. The studio is expanding to keep up with the demand. He said a neurodiversity centre would work hand-in-hand with programs such as Daydream Machine.
He said it was important the Greens' proposal was co-designed with neurodiverse people.
"They've got to be involved in the development of the program [as] they'll get a sense of ownership over it and that's kind of when real changes happens," Mr Ferguson said.
Greens member for Brindabella Laura Nuttall also spoke about her experience in getting an ADHD diagnosis. She said it was a difficult pathway and it took several months, she said a centre would have helped her.
"To have the kind of centre that would provide support as soon as you think you might have ADHD would have been an absolute game changer," she said.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith, also Labor's health spokeswoman, said the Greens' proposal appeared to be "significantly under-costed" especially for the number of services planned.
She said an ACT neurodiversity policy was being developed.
"We have heard clearly from people with lived experience of neurodiversity about the challenges in accessing services and support," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"That is why we are committed to developing an ACT neurodiversity strategy, investing more in health services, and working with the Commonwealth government to deliver a strong foundational supports system, which will provide more support and services for neurodiverse people."
