Program for Students with Disabilities guidelines

The Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD) provides funding to assist schools to support eligible students with disability and high needs who attend government schools.

The funding is provided directly to schools through the Student Resource Package.

Eligibility for PSD

Visit PSD guidelines for 2023 applications (docx - 3mb) for full details before submitting an application

Students must meet the eligibility criteria for one of seven categories. In some PSD categories, eligibility guidelines require administration of standardised assessments. It's expected that assessments for the purpose of establishing eligibility for the Program for Students with Disabilities. will be conducted using standardised face to face administration. Where this is not possible, it may be necessary to delay these assessments.

The Disability Standards for Education 2005 apply to all students with disability, regardless of eligibility under the Program for Students with Disabilities, and it is essential that effective educational planning and support be undertaken for every student with disability.

A student support group (SSG) is mandatory for students in the PSD, and strongly encouraged for any students with additional learning needs.

PSD categories

There are seven categories of eligibility criteria:

Physical disability
  1. a significant physical disability and/or
  2. a significant health impairment, and
  3. requires regular paramedical support.
                       
Visual impairment
  1. visual acuity less than 6/60 with corrected vision, or
  2. that visual fields are reduced to a measured arc of less than 10 degrees.
                       
Hearing impairment
  1. a bilateral sensory-neural hearing loss that is moderate/severe/profound, and
  2. the child needs intervention or assistance to communicate.
                       
Severe behaviour disorder
  1. displays disturbed behaviour to a point where special support in a withdrawal group or special class/unit is required, and
  2. displays behaviour so deviant and with such frequency and severity that they require regular psychological or psychiatric treatment, and
  3. severe behaviour that cannot be accounted for by  intellectual disability, sensory (vision, hearing), physical and/or health issues, autism spectrum disorder or severe language disorder, and
  4. a history and evidence of an ongoing problem with an expectation of continuation during the school years.
                       
Intellectual disability
  1. sub-average general intellectual functioning demonstrated which is demonstrated by a full-scale score of two standard deviations or more below the mean score on a standardised individual test of general intelligence, and
  2. significant deficits in adaptive behaviour established by a composite score of two standard deviations or more below the mean on an approved standardised test of adaptive behaviour, and
  3. a history and evidence of an ongoing problem with an expectation of continuation during the school years.
                       
Autism Spectrum Disorder
  1. a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, and
  2. significant deficits in adaptive behaviour established at a composite score of two standard deviations or more below the mean on an approved standardised test of adaptive behaviours, and
  3. significant deficits in language skills established by a comprehensive speech pathology assessment demonstrating a composite score of two standard deviations or more below the mean.
                       
Severe language difficulties with critical educational needs
  1. a score of three or more standard deviations below the mean for the child’s age in expressive and/or receptive language skills on two of the recommended tests, and
  2. the severity of the disorder cannot be accounted for by hearing impairment, social emotional factors, low intellectual functioning or cultural factors, and
  3. a history and evidence of an on-going problem with the expectation of continuation during school years, and
  4. a non-verbal score not lower than one standard deviation below the mean on one comprehensive intellectual test, with a significant (p‹0.05) difference between verbal (VCI) and non-verbal (VSI/PRI) functioning (VCI‹VSI/PRI), and
  5. demonstrated critical educational needs equating to Program for Students with Disabilities funding levels three and above as determined by the validated results of the Educational Needs Questionnaire.
                       

Students who need assessment for the categories of intellectual disability and severe language disorder with critical educational needs must be referred for assessment, to Assessments Australia, the department’s assessment service provider.

Types of applications

There are three types of PSD applications:

    1. new applications – for students who are not currently in the PSD
    2. Reviews (Year 6-7, Short Term) - for students already in the PSD who are:
      • Year 6-7 Reviews for students enrolled in mainstream schools in Year 6, or in in specialist schools who are turning 12 between 1 May and 30 April.
      • Short Term Reviews
    3. Reappraisals – if the school believes the student’s educational needs have increased, the school can submit a reappraisal.

Timelines

Schools are responsible for submitting PSD applications. One application can be made per year.

To better support schools, supplementary PSD application dates have been established and are outlined with notification timelines in section 3 of the Program for Students with Disabilities operational guidelines for schools.

Please note that notification dates are based on current service capacity and may need to be adjusted as required.

Operational guidelines and forms

  • Student learning and support statement - Goals and strategies form (docx - 53kb)
    • summary of the application process (see section 4)
    • timelines for the application process (see section 3)
    • information on how to make an application for the PSD, including online registration and required documents (see section 4)
    • links to support materials and templates (see Appendices)
    • key contact numbers and websites (see Appendix H).

Students turning 19 or 20 in 2023 in the Program for Students with Disabilities

In considering enrolment arrangements for students who are turning 19 or 20 in 2023, schools should refer to the age eligibility and approval requirements for government schools in the Enrolment section of the Policy and Advice Library, available at:

Policy and Advice Guide – Enrolment (school age requirements)

For students who are turning 19 or 20 in 2023 and who in the Program for Students with Disabilities, documentation is required to confirm that the enrolment complies with the enrolment policy, to enable the continuation of existing funding arrangements.

Schools are referred to the guidelines, form and timelines for this group of students available at:

Program for Students with Disabilities - students turning 19 or 20 in 2023  (docx - 424kb)

Disability Inclusion

A new world leading reform package for students with disability in Victorian government schools. The Victorian Government is investing nearly $1.6 billion in Disability Inclusion. Disability Inclusion will change the way students with disability are supported in government schools, to ensure every student at every ability can thrive at school and in life.

Disability Inclusion with its new tiered funding model and Disability Inclusion Profile will be introduced through staged roll-out over the next 5 years.