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I really don’t want to say ‘it’s that time of year to focus on post-school transition planning,’ because planning works best when it is starts long before the middle of year 12. However, I do know that this is the time of year when many students, their families and other supports are thinking hard about ‘what comes next after school?’
This can be a time of uncertainty and stress, but it can also be a time of excitement and possibilities. Let’s take a look at some top things to consider when planning for a successful post-school transition.
Getting The Right NDIS Plan
It's important to get the right NDIS supports in place to enable a smooth post-school transition. However, it’s unlikely that a Year 12 student’s current NDIS plan reassessment date will line up neatly with the end of school.
Additionally, many plans are being extended at the moment, meaning the plan may not be fit-for-purpose for post-school. The plans of some year 12 students were created back in Year 7 or 8 and are well and truly out of date. A plan change is often necessary at this point as the student is going through a major life change. The NDIS rules say that this kind of life stage transition should be considered when reassessing plans. Specifically: The National Disability Insurance Scheme (Variation and Reassessment of Participants’ Plans) Rules 2025 lists ‘a major life stage change or transition, including starting or leaving school, tertiary education or employment’ as one of the ‘matters to which the CEO must have regard’ in part 3 of the Rules, relating to ‘Reassessments’.
Families often feel unsure about timing and when to ask for a plan change. On the one hand they want to avoid asking too early (where the post-school funding starts too early in the year) or too late, when there’s a gap in support. Given the delays in processing requests and the NDIA’s failure to consistently meet the Participant Service Guarantee, many families are choosing to submit a Change of Situation form early in Year 12. But it’s important to first have the right evidence to back up the plan change request. Let’s dive into what’s involved.
Supporting Evidence
Once you’ve decided to request a plan reassessment based on a change in situation, it is critical to collate related supporting evidence that will be submitted alongside the Change of Details or Change of Situation Form. The first hurdle that needs to be addressed is providing evidence of the actual change in situation. The ‘Individual Transition Plan’ document that is often provided by schools or related transition support roles can be a useful place to start. This demonstrates that school transition is imminent, identifying the person’s post-school support needs and goals from the school’s perspective.
With the aim of trying to secure a plan reassessment, the next hurdle is evidencing the support needs and goals that are being requested in the post-school plan.
Evidence will vary depending on each individual, but play close attention to the following:
- All recommended funding must justify the Reasonable and Necessary criteria in Section 34 of the NDIS Act 2013. Be sure to pay attention to the 2 new criteria introduced in October 2024: that the need for funded supports arises from impairment/s for which the person met NDIS Access (part (aa)), and that the requested supports are indeed NDIS Supports (part (f)) for the participant.
- The evidence is provided by the most appropriate professional. The NDIA has a downloadable document that provides guidance on who can provide evidence for different NDIS Supports.
- The evidence is current (within the last 12 months).
- Some goals require specific templates to be used. For example, participants who have post-school employment goals are encouraged to complete and submit the following documents: Let’s Talk About Work, My Work Goals workbook and the School Leaver Employment Goals Worksheet.
Post-School Goals
A school-leaver will need to review and update their NDIS Goal Statements, especially if their current plan is one that was built a number of years ago.
The NDIS factsheet ‘Creating Your Plan’ provides guidance on setting goals. Common goal areas include further learning, economic participation and work skills, transport and independent travel, social and community participation, relationships and friendships, independent living skills, self-management, and reducing dependence on informal supports. Be sure to think big and beyond replicating the familiar school routine of 9am-3pm, Monday to Friday.
Changing roles
When transitioning out of school, a participant and their supports may need to consider the impact of changing roles within the family. For example, a school leaver may need support to adjust to the responsibilities of becoming an adult, while informal supporters such as parents may need to adjust to the loss of the school community structure and the shift to parenting an adult. This may be the time to suggest that an informal support consider writing a carer impact statement, as what is reasonable to expect families, carers, informal networks and the community to provide might be different when supporting a young adult as opposed to a child.
Have High Expectations
One of my favourite videos of all time is the ‘Assume That I Can’ video released for World Down Syndrome Day in 2024, created by CoorDown in Italy. This video asks us to consider the impact of our assumptions, warning that our assumptions can become reality. The final words of the video, voiced by actor Madelin Tevlin are ‘Assume that I can so maybe I will’.
It is worth noticing if post-school assumptions and expectations are helping or hindering a person’s post-school transition pathway. It is OK if post-school goals don’t happen straight away. Some goals may take years to achieve, and people need the opportunity to try new things and change their minds.
Beyond the NDIS
The post-school world will ideally be one where the NDIS is only one piece of the puzzle. Be sure to consider what other opportunities may exist (or could be created), such as those offered by mainstream, community, and informal supports. Is there a community college course that looks interesting? Is there a local market that can be booked for selling a person’s creative works from their micro-enterprise? Is the student excited about the prospect of new relationships or planning some travel?
The post-school world can feel daunting and uncertain for many students and their supports. I have found that these feelings can be helped by solid organisation and transition-planning that starts well before year 12 even begins. Chat to service providers, request trial days, talk to the school and take the time to support participants to really think about what they want to do and try. You may also wish to join us at our Post-School Transition Planning Webinar where we will dive into the details of supporting someone with their chosen post-school life.
