Disability Support and Complaints in ACT Catholic and Independent Schools

Many parents in the ACT send their children to Catholic or independent schools — but they often don't realise that navigating a disability support dispute in these schools requires a different approach to the public system. The law is the same. The escalation pathway is not.

Here's what parents need to know to effectively advocate within CECG and AISACT schools.

The Law Applies Equally to All Sectors

The most important thing to establish upfront: the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (DSE 2005) are federal laws. They apply to every Australian school — public, Catholic, or independent — without exception.

A Catholic school cannot tell you that "government rules don't apply here." An independent school cannot cite its autonomy as a reason to avoid providing reasonable adjustments. Both sectors are legally obligated to:

1. Consult with parents and students about the impact of the student's disability
2. Make reasonable adjustments to ensure the student can participate in learning on the same basis as students without disability
3. Review those adjustments regularly

The ACT also adds territory-level protections under the ACT Human Rights Act 2004 (Section 27A, right to education without discrimination) and the Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT) — these apply to non-government schools operating in the ACT as well.

How CECG Manages Disability Support

The Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn (CECG) operates 56 schools across the ACT and parts of NSW, educating more than 21,000 students. It has its own Supporting Students with Additional Needs Policy and relies on Student Support Groups (SSGs) — equivalent to the ACT public system's SSG framework — to develop and review Individual Learning Plans (ILPs).

Within the Catholic system, the key internal bodies for disability support are:

The Student Services team at CECG: The central resource for systemic disability policy and complex casework. Individual schools with difficult cases can access support from the central team. For parents whose school-level advocacy has stalled, the CECG Student Services team is the escalation point above the school principal.

The school principal: In the Catholic system, principals hold significant authority over how support is allocated and prioritised within their school. Unlike the public system — where specialist placements are managed centrally by the Directorate — Catholic schools exercise more autonomy over what support looks like in practice.

The school's learning support coordinator or DECO equivalent: Each CECG school has staff responsible for coordinating student support. Their title and remit vary by school. Ask specifically who coordinates disability support and who oversees ILP development.

A critical limitation of the Catholic system: The CECG has formally submitted to the federal government that the NCCD data collection places a massive compliance burden on teachers without providing proportionate flexible resourcing — particularly for secondary students requiring substantial adjustments. CECG leadership has noted that the funding model can make it difficult for individual schools to resource complex needs adequately.

What this means for parents: Catholic schools may be under genuine resourcing pressure. This does not change their legal obligations. The DSE 2005 standard for "unjustifiable hardship" is assessed against the entire CECG system's resources — not the individual school's budget. A well-resourced archdiocese cannot plead poverty at the school level.

How AISACT Governs Independent Schools

The Association of Independent Schools of the ACT (AISACT) operates as the peak body for independent schools in the territory. Unlike the CECG, which operates as a systemic diocese, AISACT schools are individually governed — each independent school has its own board and operates with significant autonomy.

AISACT has published guidelines on managing NDIS external service providers in schools — a highly specific area of policy that matters for families trying to bring private therapists into the school environment. Beyond this, AISACT does not set a standardised disability policy across its member schools; each school sets its own.

This autonomy has important implications for parents:

• There is no single AISACT escalation pathway for disability disputes. Escalation goes from the classroom teacher to the school's learning support coordinator, then to the principal, then to the school board.
• If the board does not resolve the issue, the next step is external: the ACT Human Rights Commission.
• AISACT schools can theoretically exercise more selectivity in enrolment decisions. However, once a student is enrolled, the DDA and DSE 2005 apply fully — the school cannot provide materially inferior support to students with disability.

Making a Disability Complaint in a Catholic School

If your child's needs are not being met at a CECG school, the formal internal complaint pathway is:

Step 1: Raise the concern in writing with the classroom teacher and learning support coordinator. Document this in a written email so there is a record.

Step 2: If unresolved, request a formal SSG meeting to review the ILP. State your specific concerns in the meeting request letter. Bring supporting clinical documentation.

Step 3: Escalate to the school principal in writing, citing the DSE 2005 obligations the school has failed to meet.

Step 4: Escalate to the CECG Student Services team at the central CECG office. This is the diocesan-level escalation point and carries authority over individual schools.

Step 5: If internal escalation within CECG fails, file a complaint with the ACT Human Rights Commission under the Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT). The HRC's conciliation process applies to non-government schools. Alternatively, lodge a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission under the federal DDA.

Making a Disability Complaint in an Independent School

Step 1: Classroom teacher and learning support coordinator, in writing.

Step 2: Formal SSG meeting request, in writing, with clinical documentation.

Step 3: School principal, in writing. Reference DSE 2005 specifically.

Step 4: School board. For independent schools, this is the highest internal escalation point.

Step 5: ACT Human Rights Commission or Australian Human Rights Commission. Federal and territory law apply equally to independent schools.

A Key Point on Documentation

In both Catholic and independent schools, the absence of a central government bureaucracy means the paper trail you create is even more important than in the public system. In the public system, a complaint to the ACT Education Directorate triggers a formal investigation. In non-government schools, the internal process is largely self-regulated until you reach an external body.

Every written request, every email summary after a meeting, every SSG minute — these form your evidence base if the situation escalates to the HRC. Don't rely on verbal agreements. Don't rely on the school's goodwill to document outcomes. Create the record yourself.

The NCCD Question — It Works in Non-Government Schools Too

One of the most effective advocacy tools available to parents — the NCCD classification question — works across all sectors. Catholic and independent schools are required to submit NCCD data annually, just like public schools. The federal government provides loading funding per student classified at Supplementary ($6,076), Substantial ($21,122), or Extensive ($45,137) levels.

Ask the school in writing: "What NCCD adjustment level has my child been classified at, and what specific adjustments are being documented as evidence for that classification?"

If a school is claiming federal loading for your child, it is obligated to be delivering — and documenting — the adjustments that justify that loading. This question works as effectively in a Catholic or independent school as it does in a public school.

Getting Help

Advocacy for Inclusion (02 6257 4005; [email protected]) provides free independent disability advocacy in the ACT and can assist with complaints across all school sectors. If your dispute has escalated beyond internal school processes, they can help you navigate the HRC or other external pathways.

The ACT Disability Advocacy Playbook includes templates calibrated for non-government school escalation — including CECG-specific and AISACT-specific letter frameworks, and guidance on using the NCCD question across all sectors.

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