Special Education in New South Wales

Step-by-step guides and toolkits for families of children with disabilities in New South Wales, Australia.

New South Wales Guides

New South Wales Disability Support Blueprint

Complete guide to NSW ILPs, IFS funding, NESA pathways, support class placement, HSC disability provisions, SLSO advocacy, and DSE 2005 rights with meeting templates

New South Wales Disability Advocacy Playbook

Dispute letter templates, IFS appeal processes, SLSO hour disputes, Anti-Discrimination Act complaints, and escalation paths to NSW DoE for parents fighting inadequate disability support

Australia-Wide Guides

These apply to all families of children with disabilities in Australia:

Australia Disability Education Parent Rights Compass

Comprehensive guide to disability education parent rights across Australian states and territories covering Disability Discrimination Act, state education laws, NDIS/NDIA processes, and advocacy pathways

Australia Disability Assessment Decoder

Complete guide to disability assessments in Australia covering school-based assessments, NDIS Access Requests, medical assessment pathways, assessment letter templates, and state-by-state processes

Australia Post-Secondary Transition Roadmap

Complete guide covering post-secondary education pathways, employment planning, NDIS transition planning, SLES/School Leaver Employment Services, and year-by-year transition planning checklists

General Resources

These guides work no matter where you live:

Autism IEP & Accommodation Toolkit

Complete toolkit with sensory accommodation banks, communication goal examples, social skills and executive function IEP objectives by autism level, meeting advocacy scripts for common school pushback ('too high-functioning for support'), and dispute templates for denied accommodations.

ADHD Advocacy & Accommodation Playbook

Complete playbook with accommodation menus by ADHD subtype, IEP goal banks for executive function and attention, 504 Plan vs IEP decision tree, meeting advocacy scripts for common school dismissal ('he doesn't have ADHD, he's just not trying'), and dispute templates for denied accommodations or failed evaluations.

Behavior Support & FBA/BIP Toolkit

Complete toolkit with parent-friendly FBA evaluation checklist, how to read and critique a BIP for function alignment, manifestation determination preparation guide, restraint and seclusion documentation templates, discipline rights by jurisdiction, and scripts for shifting school mindset from punishment to understanding function and building support.

Dyslexia Support & Reading Intervention Kit

Complete kit with intervention comparison chart (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Barton, Lindamood-Bell with evidence ratings), IEP goals specifying intervention methodology, accommodation banks, scripts for fighting 'not low enough to qualify' dismissal, and templates for building the case that your school's current program is failing your child.

Articles for New South Wales