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Fighting for Students with Disability and their Families

The Fighting for Students with Disability and their Families package supports students living with disability, their carers and families.

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The Fighting for Students with Disability and their Families package provides $203 million to better support students living with disability, their carers and families.

This package ensures that students and children with disability continue to get the support they need to access their learning on the same basis as their peers, while also setting them up for the best possible future.

The initiatives under this package build on the government’s vision of excellence, equity and inclusion for all students regardless of their circumstances.

Outlined below are elements of the package that are being delivered by the Department of Education.

High Intensity Outside School Hours Care

High Intensity Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services provide dedicated after school and vacation care programs that cater to children who attend specialist schools, where OSHC services have traditionally not operated. The services are fully funded by the Victorian Government with no cost to families, so they provide vital support to families who have the most difficulty accessing and affording this care. The services operate with high educator to child ratios and offer programs and activities that are specifically tailored to the needs of children with disability.

The Victorian Government has allocated $121.7 million to increase the provision of OSHC in specialist schools. This has enabled the existing High Intensity OSHC Initiative to continue and increase from 5 to 20 specialist schools in 2024, 25 in 2025 and 30 in 2026.

Visit High Intensity Outside School Hours Care Initiative for students with disabilities for more information.

NDIS Navigators

Families often turn to schools for support to access a range of services for students in addition to education. This includes services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Under this initiative, specialist schools have been funded to employ a dedicated staff member to provide direct support to families and carers to help them to navigate and understand the NDIS, enabling them to get the most out of the supports available. They will also provide support for schools, families and carers to understand the NDIS education interface. These positions will also allow school staff to focus on their core education focused roles.

Read more about the NDIS and schools.

Therapy pools

Under this initiative, specialist schools can apply for a grant to fund the installation of a therapy pool at their school. Access to a therapy pool extends the range of supports available to students, while minimising the need for students to take time away from school to access them.

Hydrotherapy can offer a host of benefits for students with disability and complex needs, including improving physical health and wellbeing, which can assist with communication, engagement and learning outcomes.

Specialist school activity boost

Specialist schools can find it difficult to deliver activities that are tailored to the additional needs of children with disability given some of the additional costs involved. This initiative helps specialist schools to provide a greater range of inclusive, safe and accessible activities to their students, so they can participate in valuable arts, sports, cultural and social programs or experiences.

Read more about the Specialist School Activity Boost Program.

Augmentative and alternative communication software

During 2023-2024, grants were provided to schools to purchase augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) software for students with complex communication needs.

Review into current eligibility processes for specialist schools

The department reviewed whether current eligibility criteria and processes for specialist schools and settings are practical and based on contemporary best practice. The aim was to identify and make recommendations to address any unintended obstacles in eligibility requirements and processes so that eligible students do not face barriers to enrolling in their chosen school.

The review was supported by an external consultancy and guided by an expert advisory group including:

The review made 11 recommendations to improve the specialist school enrolment system. The recommendations aim to improve family experiences and better inform families about their choices when enrolling in specialist schools. The recommendations will also strengthen the department’s ability to manage enrolments.

The recommendations are grouped into 4 main themes:

Read more about the Specialist School Eligibility Review and the department’s response:

You can also read the full report (PDF, 6.69 MB)

Animal therapy training

Under this initiative more animal-assisted wellbeing and engagement programs, including school support animals and visiting therapy animals, are being integrated into government schools to help support students with additional needs to engage at school.

Education & training

Updated 26 March 2026

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