All schools and approved authorities for schools in Australia participate in the national data collection annually. This project collects data on a vast range of disabilities from very mild, such as asthma and attentional deficits, to severe, such as full physical incapacitation, and the adjustments we are making in schools to accommodate them. Through this collection, data is collected about students with disability across Australia in a consistent, reliable and systematic way. This collection is based on the professional judgement of teachers about their students and the level of reasonable adjustments they are provided with to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students, consistent with the obligations of all schools under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005.
The national data collection provides Australian schools, education authorities and the community with information about:
- the number of school students receiving educational adjustments because of disability
- the broad level of reasonable education adjustment provided for students with disability to access and participate in education
- each student’s broad category of disability
- the distribution of school students with disability
This data will inform better targeting of resources to support students with disability, including Commonwealth funding for students with disability.
For further information regarding the data collection, disabilities standards and the disability Discrimination Act, please use the following links:
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability webpage