Submission to the 2025 Review of the Disability Standards for Education
November 2025
This submission responds to Topic 1 and Topic 2 contained in the Discussion Paper. It draws upon the experience of Individual Advocates at PWDA. PWDA has also made a submission to the current Review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) which contains recommendations regarding positive duties and reasonable adjustments.
Our Individual Advocates identify that in general there is a strong awareness of the Disability Standards for Education (DSE) within the public primary and secondary school systems, and that this has improved since the 2020 Review and the Disability Royal Commission. However, four issues continue to persist.
- Awareness is not always uniform within a school. While a principal may have a good awareness, the teachers may not have a clear understanding of their intent and application in the classroom.
- Individual Advocates report that the actual application of the DSE can be 'patchy'. Not all schools understand the extent of their obligations in a practical sense, such as in the provision of all/certain reasonable adjustments for example.
- The burden of responsibility often falls on parents and carers. Parents and carers continue to report that the onus of raising questions about what reasonable adjustments are available and appropriate can continue to fall on them.
- While schools' efforts at collaboration on adjustments has improved, the experience of some parents and carers is that the process seemed to lack 'warmth' or 'good faith' or similar, and they felt like they were not welcome and a 'problem' in pushing for things the student was entitled to.
Our Individual Advocates continue to encounter instances of conduct/behavior by a school which could amount to actual discrimination. In such cases, matters which appear to breach the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) or other legislative provisions are referred to appropriate legal services.
Recommendations
- Recommendation 1: Continued training on the DSE for teachers
- Recommendation 2: Review resources for schools on obligations
- Recommendation 3: Work collaboratively with students with disability to find and implement reasonable adjustments
- Recommendation 4: Clear processes
- Recommendation 5: Information for parents and carers on the scope of the DSE
- Recommendation 6: Incorporate the Draft Principles into the Standards
