Best ILP Resource for Defence Families Relocating to Canberra

If you've been posted to Canberra and your child has an existing IEP, support plan, or disability accommodations from another state or territory, the ACT school system will not automatically transfer those supports. You'll need to navigate the ACT's Individual Learning Plan (ILP) process from scratch — and the terminology, funding model, and assessment framework are all different from what you had before. The best resource for this transition is one that explains the ACT-specific system clearly enough that you can walk into your first Student Support Group meeting prepared, rather than spending the first term trying to figure out who to talk to.

What Changes When You Move to the ACT

Every Australian state and territory uses different terminology and processes for disability education support, despite all operating under the same federal laws (Disability Standards for Education 2005 and Disability Discrimination Act 1992). Here's what shifts when you arrive in the ACT:

The terminology difference isn't cosmetic. Using terms from your previous state signals to the school that you don't understand the local system, which reduces your negotiating position in meetings. Understanding ACT-specific language from your first interaction changes how the school engages with you.

The Three Things That Don't Transfer Automatically

1. Your child's support plan

The IEP or support plan from your previous state is useful as background documentation, but the ACT school will create a new ILP from scratch. They are not legally obligated to replicate the same accommodations, though they are legally obligated to provide reasonable adjustments under the DSE 2005. Bring your previous plan to the first meeting and use it as the basis for discussion, but expect to negotiate each adjustment individually.

2. The funding allocation

If your child had specific funding attached to their disability support in the previous state (e.g., through the state's disability loading or a similar mechanism), that funding does not follow them to the ACT. The ACT uses the SCAN process to determine resourcing bands, and your child will need to go through SCAN to access centralised Directorate resources. This can take weeks to schedule.

In the interim, the school is still legally required to provide reasonable adjustments under the DSE 2005 — with or without SCAN funding. Don't accept "we're waiting for the SCAN assessment" as a reason for zero support.

3. The professional relationships

Your child's previous school may have had an established relationship with their therapists, a teacher who understood their needs, and a support plan that evolved over years. None of this transfers. You're starting from zero with staff who don't know your child. This is why bringing comprehensive documentation — diagnostic reports, therapy progress notes, previous IEP/support plan, behaviour incident records — is critical for the first meeting.

What to Do in the First Two Weeks

Week 1: Before enrolment is finalised

• Contact the new school's front office and ask for the name of the Disability Education Coordinator (DECO) or Inclusion Coach
• Email the DECO requesting a Student Support Group meeting within the first two weeks of your child's enrolment
• Send copies of your child's previous IEP/support plan, diagnostic reports, and any allied health reports with the email
• If your child is on the NDIS, confirm with the school that your external therapists can attend the meeting and deliver therapy on school premises (this requires the principal's approval and formal consent for information sharing)

Week 2: First Student Support Group meeting

• Bring printed copies of all documentation, including your child's previous support plan
• Walk through each accommodation from the previous plan and ask the school to confirm whether it will continue, be modified, or be replaced
• For any accommodation the school cannot immediately provide, ask for the timeline and the interim adjustment
• Ensure every agreed adjustment is documented in the new ILP with a named staff member responsible for implementation
• Send a follow-up email within 24 hours summarising what was agreed

The Resource That Covers the ACT System

The ACT Disability Support Blueprint is built specifically for the ACT's ILP process, SCAN assessment, NCCD funding model, and complaints pathway. For defence families, it eliminates the weeks of confusion that typically come with learning a new state's system:

• The ACT Legal Framework section explains the three layers of law (federal DDA, DSE 2005, ACT Human Rights Act 2004) and how they apply to your child's right to adjustments from day one — not after a SCAN assessment
• The ILP Quality System shows you what a good ILP looks like in the ACT and how to evaluate the plan the school proposes for your child
• The SCAN Preparation Checklist prepares you for the assessment that determines your child's centralised resourcing band
• The Email Templates give you ready-to-send scripts for requesting the first meeting, documenting verbal promises, and escalating if the school delays

The Blueprint costs . For defence families who have navigated disability support systems in other states, it translates what you already know into ACT-specific terms, contacts, and processes.

Who This Is For

• ADF families posted to Canberra whose child has existing disability supports that need to be transferred to the ACT system
• Defence families whose child was receiving an IEP, support plan, or funded accommodations in another state or territory
• Parents who have been through the IEP process before in another jurisdiction and want to understand how the ACT system differs
• Families arriving mid-year who need to establish supports quickly before the end-of-term review cycle

Who This Is NOT For

• Defence families posted out of Canberra — the Blueprint is specific to the ACT Education Directorate's systems and doesn't cover other states
• Parents whose child has no prior disability supports — start with the Blueprint's chapter on getting an assessment and requesting an ILP from scratch
• Families seeking support for the interstate transfer of NDIS plans — that's a separate process managed through your NDIS planner

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the ACT school honour my child's previous IEP from another state?

Not automatically. The school will review your child's documentation and create a new ILP under the ACT framework. However, the DSE 2005 requires the school to provide reasonable adjustments from the first day of enrolment. Your previous IEP is valuable evidence of what adjustments have been effective — bring it to the first meeting and use it as the baseline for discussion.

How long does it take to get a SCAN assessment after relocating?

SCAN is typically held in conjunction with a mid-year ILP review, so timing depends on when you arrive. If you enrol mid-term, the school may need several weeks to schedule a SCAN meeting with a departmental moderator. During this waiting period, the school is still legally obligated to provide reasonable adjustments — the SCAN process determines centralised funding, not the legal obligation to support your child.

What if the ACT school offers fewer supports than our previous school?

Raise this in the Student Support Group meeting and ask the school to explain the specific basis for each reduction. If the school claims a reduction is necessary due to resource constraints, ask them to put the "unjustifiable hardship" defence in writing. Under the DSE 2005, this defence is extremely difficult for a government school system to establish. The Blueprint includes the exact email template for this situation.

Can my child's NDIS therapists attend school meetings in the ACT?

Yes, with the principal's approval and your written consent for information sharing between the school and the therapist. The ACT Education Directorate explicitly encourages this collaboration. Your external therapists can deliver therapy on school premises during school hours, and their clinical recommendations should inform the ILP goals. Request this in your first email to the school.

Should I contact AFI or ADACAS when we arrive?

If your child's needs are complex and you anticipate significant resistance from the school, contacting Advocacy for Inclusion (AFI) early is wise — but be aware that their intake is triaged by crisis priority and the wait can be weeks. For the first ILP meeting, a self-advocacy toolkit like the Blueprint gives you immediate preparation support while you establish longer-term advocacy connections in Canberra.

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