The Young Adults Transition Service (YATS) assists young people with chronic medical conditions and/or disabilities and their carers, to transition from paediatric healthcare to adult healthcare. This process takes place over several years and helps young people and parents to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and network to ensure a safe and supported transition.
The YATS team works in partnership with families, local and tertiary healthcare providers to coordinate care plans.
Support may include:
- Service navigation
- Health literacy and skill development
- Advocacy tools such as a health passport
Where appropriate, we work with the young person directly to:
- Understand more about their health
- Understand how care may be delivered differently in an adult setting
- Contribute to decision-making
- Develop practical skills for managing their own health and wellbeing
- Build confidence in managing their health condition
Conditions seen
Barwon Health offers the Young Adults Transition Service for:
- People aged 14 to 25 years
- With a Chronic health condition or disability
- Requiring a coordinated approach to health transition
- Residing in the Barwon Region
Conditions not seen
The Young Adult Transition Service does not provide support for guardianship and power of attorney matters. We encourage you to access this support via the Office of the Public Advocate.
How do I access this service
To be seen in this specialist clinic you need a referral. The referral can be from your GP, a specialist doctor, your Barwon Health doctor or from an allied health professional.
This service also accepts self-referrals from the young person and parents/carers. To self-refer, telephone the team on 03 4215 5314.
Wait time
All requests for specialist clinic appointments are scheduled according to the patient’s clinical need. Clinicians assess whether an appointment is urgent or routine, based on information provided in the referral.
Barwon Health aims to see all ‘urgent’ referrals within 30 days. Our wait times for patients who are categorised as ‘routine’ are more variable, depending on the demand for our services.
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For Health Professionals
State-referral criteria may apply for conditions under this specialty requiring further assessment and management. Referring clinicians are encouraged to utilise Western Victoria Community HealthPathways for referral guidelines and requirements for all conditions.
For urgent referral advice, please contact the specialty on-call registrar via Barwon Health switchboard on 03 4215 0000.
Complete the specialist clinics referral template and send via:
- ReferralNet (Geelong region only)
- Email: [email protected]
- Post: McKellar Kids Rehab 45-95 Ballarat Road, North Geelong 3215, PO Box 281, Geelong VIC 322
Please complete the YATS referral form, ensuring all required referral information is included.
If you need to contact us regarding the template, please contact the McKellar Kid’s Rehab Coordinator on 03 4215 5314 or [email protected].
For patients who require reassessment, a new referral should be sent through. To facilitate earlier access, the new referral must contain the following information:
- State the referral is an update for a current patient
- Date of original referral
- Reason for requesting a review of referral (e.g. deterioration in clinical condition, pathology)
The referrer will be notified of the outcome of the re-triage process.
GPs or referrers wishing to discuss the triage of their patient’s referral, or who require additional information, please ring the McKellar Kid’s Rehab Coordinator on 03 4215 5314.
Page last updated: September 12, 2025