The University is dedicated to ensuring that all students have equal access to learning. A range of services and adjustments are available to help students with disability achieve their academic goals and minimise the impact a disability can have on their experience at university. 

• Inclusion and Disability Services
• Finding out a student is registered with Inclusion and Disability Services
• Supporting students with an Academic Plan
• Engaging with students with disability
• Disability Academic Plans Portal
• Primary Academic Plan Champions
   

Need help with the new Disability Academic Plans portal or Access Management? 

Visit our Inclusion and Disability Services Academic Plans Portal support site to learn more.

Inclusion and Disability Services

Inclusion and Disability Services are the key point of contact for students with disability or carer responsibilities. They review the needs of students and help them access reasonable adjustments, such as assessment and exam adjustments, alternative formatting, timetable adjustments, access to assistive technology, lecture support and library assistance.

They also ensure that appropriate arrangements relating to teaching and assessment are made for students with disabilities or carer responsibilities, while maintaining the academic integrity and core requirements of individual courses.

Registering with Inclusion and Disability Services is voluntary, however it is required for students to access academic or environment related adjustments. Students cannot be required to register with Inclusion and Disability Services to fulfil the conditions of an appeal or show cause outcome.

Learn more about Inclusion and Disability Services and how students can register for assistance on the Disability Support webpage.

Finding out a student is registered with Inclusion and Disability Services

You may be teaching students with disability or carer responsibilities and not be aware of it as Inclusion and Disability Services does not automatically notify faculty or teaching staff when a student registers with this service.

Some students may not need direct assistance from their teachers and to maintain as much privacy as possible, awareness of a student's disability or carer responsibilities occurs only when direct support or an adjustment is required.

Ways you may become aware of a student's registration with Inclusion and Disability Services include:

• the student tells you directly, either in person or by email
• Inclusion and Disability Services sends you an Academic Plan
• Inclusion and Disability Services sends you a service referral (e.g. for library assistance)
• Inclusion and Disability Services contacts you for information about the learning materials you will be using
• the Exams Office sends you advice on adjustments being applied to a final exam
• you receive a call or email from an Inclusion and Disability Services Officer about a specific concern, or to request a specific service
• you see a note about the student's registration or there is additional supporting documentation about a disability attached to the student's special consideration or appeal application.

Ultimately, it is at the student's discretion whether notification occurs.

Supporting students with an Academic Plan

Academic Plans provide detailed information about adjustments and in-class participation support requirements. Each Faculty/University School has its own process to manage Academic Plans and works closely with Inclusion and Disability Services to provide a comprehensive support system to students with disability.

In general, when the Academic Plan is received by the Faculty/University school, the plan should be sent on to the student's direct teaching staff to be reviewed to familiarise themselves with:

• academic adjustments that will need to be provided for the student to manage their assignments and examinations
• any in-class participation support requirements that will need to be implemented in the learning environment.

This is to ensure that the student can access all learning opportunities and is not isolated or excluded. For more details view the Academic Plan User Guide for Staff (pdf, 1946KB).

Additional information regarding Exam Adjustments: The Academic Plan outlines the student's teaching and learning adjustments, and provides more specific details about each adjustment in Part 3 of the plan. To refine the amount of detail presented in Part 3, the specifics regarding Examination Adjustments are located: here.

Engaging with students with disability or carer responsibilities

The following tips may help you to feel more confident in your dealings with students with a disability or carer responsibilities.

• Communication is key - listen with an open mind.
• Understand that the student may not provide you with any or all details – they may be guarded, and are not required to disclose.
• Accept that you may never know the specifics of the student's disability or carer responsibilities.
• Don't make assumptions. Some disabilities are hidden, and the nature of the disability may not impact all aspects of their studies, so you may not be aware of a difficulty existing until you are approached by the student or Disability Services.
• Understand that some students may have difficulty communicating their concerns appropriately, as they may already be experiencing a heightened level of stress and anxiety about their studies – be patient, and consider that behavioural issues may be related to the disability.
• A student may not want help until it is too late, and they may not understand that academic concerns may not be able to be resolved retrospectively. Provide students with useful advice and guidance.
• Understand that the first suggestion or recommendation you make may not be the right one for the student and the situation – it can be trial and error.
• Approach each situation individually – what worked for one student may not work for the next.
• If you are not sure how to proceed, seek guidance from Inclusion and Disability Services.

Disability Academic Plans Portal

In January 2023, we launched a new Disability Academic Plans portal in Power Bi to securely manage coursework students’ academic plan information.

This replaces the emailed PDF’s that were emailed from the Inclusion and Disability Services team to relevant University staff.  Noting, research students’ academic plans will continue to be emailed as a PDF until further notice.

To learn more about the Academic Plans Portal, please refer to knowledge articles and staff resources.

DAP Access Management

Access to Academic Plan information in the Disability Academic Plan Portal will depend on your responsibilities.  Some people will require access to all the Academic Plan information for a Faculty or School. Some will only require access to the Academic Plan information for a specific Unit. 

Access will be managed by Unit of Study Coordinators, Academic Plan Champions or Inclusion and Disability Services through the DAP Access management.

To learn more about how access is managed, please refer to knowledge articles and staff resources.

Training and support

Between January and March 2023, we will be offering training and drop-in sessions to help support you use the Disability Academic Plan Portal.

To learn more about training and support please access the training site.  

Primary Academic Plan Champions

Contact your Primary Academic Plan Champion or Unit of Study Coordinator regarding the management of Academic Plans in your Faculty or School.

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Academic Plan Lead – Disability

The primary function of the Academic Plan Lead – Disability (APLD) role, is to provide leadership within the Faculty/University School in respect to matters relating to student with disability. The APLD is responsible for:

• providing leadership within the Faculty/University School in respect to matters relating to student disability
• providing faculty/school specific advice to Inclusion and Disability Services (IDS) regarding students with disability
• providing advice to staff on inclusive teaching practices and other matters related to student inclusion and disability
• providing a link between the IDS Office and the Faculty/University School.