How to Prepare for a DIP Meeting in Victoria When You Have Less Than a Week

Your child's Disability Inclusion Profile meeting is scheduled for next week, the facilitator is someone who has never met your child, and the meeting outcome will determine whether your child receives individualised Tier 3 funding or gets grouped into general Tier 2 school-level support. You have days, not weeks. Here's the exact preparation sequence that maximises your child's profile outcome — starting tonight.

The DIP meeting is not a conversation. It is a structured assessment of functional needs across six domains, conducted by an independent DET-contracted facilitator who scores evidence against a standard framework. If you arrive unprepared, the facilitator works with whatever information the school has gathered — which may understate your child's needs because schools are incentivised to demonstrate existing capability rather than unmet need.

Day 1 (Tonight): Gather Your Evidence Dossier

The facilitator assesses functional needs, not diagnosis severity. A diagnosis letter alone is insufficient. You need evidence that demonstrates the intensity and frequency of your child's difficulties across daily school life.

Collect these documents:

Critical: Email the school tonight requesting any documents you don't have. Use this framing: "I am preparing for [child's] Disability Inclusion Profile meeting on [date] and require copies of their attendance record, any behaviour incident reports from this year, and their current learning plan. Please provide these by [two days before meeting]."

Day 2: Write Your Parent Voice Statement

The DIP process includes a "parent voice" component. This is your opportunity to provide evidence the school may not have or may understate. Write 1-2 pages covering:

Morning routine (functional impact):

• How long does it take your child to get ready vs typical peers?
• Are there daily meltdowns, refusals, or anxiety related to attending school?
• Does your child need physical assistance, verbal prompting, or visual schedules?

School day (functional impact):

• What does your child report about classroom difficulties?
• How often are they overwhelmed, unable to complete work, or withdrawn?
• What happens during transitions (between classes, activities, or locations)?

After school (recovery burden):

• Does your child crash after school (exhaustion, meltdowns, shutdown)?
• How much of the evening is consumed by managing dysregulation?
• Can they complete homework independently or does it require full support?

Social functioning:

• Does your child maintain friendships at school?
• Are they excluded from activities, excursions, or group work?
• How do they manage unstructured times (recess, lunch)?

Write in concrete, specific terms: "Takes 45 minutes to dress each morning with verbal prompting at every step" rather than "struggles with morning routine."

Day 3: Translate Clinical Language to Functional Language

This is the step most parents miss, and it's the one that determines DIP outcomes. The facilitator scores functional needs using educational language across six ICF-based domains. Clinical reports use medical language. You need to bridge the two.

The six DIP assessment domains:

1. Learning and applying knowledge — reading, writing, numeracy, problem-solving, acquiring new skills
2. General tasks and demands — managing routines, handling stress, organisation, following multi-step instructions
3. Communication — receptive language, expressive language, conversation, non-verbal communication
4. Self-care — toileting, eating, dressing, personal hygiene, safety awareness
5. Interpersonal interactions — relationships with peers, relationships with adults, managing conflict
6. Mobility — fine motor, gross motor, navigating the school environment, sensory processing affecting movement

Translation examples:

The Victoria Disability Support Blueprint includes a complete Translation Matrix covering 12 common diagnoses mapped to all six DIP domains with ready-to-use functional language.

Day 4: Prepare Your Meeting Questions

You cannot direct the facilitator's assessment, but you can ensure they hear the full picture. Prepare these questions to raise during the meeting:

Questions for the facilitator:

• "How will you capture the intensity of support required, not just whether support exists?"
• "My parent voice statement covers [specific domain]. Will you reference it when scoring that domain?"
• "If I disagree with the preliminary outcome, what is the review process?"

Questions for the school:

• "What evidence are you presenting about adjustments currently in place?"
• "Are you presenting this as the adjustments being sufficient or insufficient?"
• "Have you documented the adjustments that have been tried and failed?"

If the school presents your child as coping well:

• "Can you clarify — are you describing [child's] presentation when adjustments are in place, or their functional capacity without support?"
• "The evidence shows [specific examples from your parent voice statement]. Can we ensure the facilitator has this information?"

Day 5 (Day Before): Final Preparation Checklist

• [ ] All evidence documents printed and organised in a folder (bring two copies — one for you, one to hand to the facilitator)
• [ ] Parent voice statement printed (2 copies)
• [ ] Translation notes prepared — key functional language for each domain where your child needs support
• [ ] Meeting questions written down (you will forget them under pressure if they're not on paper)
• [ ] Support person confirmed (you can bring someone — a partner, friend, advocate, or family member)
• [ ] Recording device or notepad ready (you are entitled to take notes; ask about recording at the start)
• [ ] Child's voice or wishes documented (the DIP includes student voice — if your child is too young or unable to participate, prepare their perspective in writing)

What Happens at the DIP Meeting

The meeting typically runs 60-90 minutes. The facilitator leads the discussion through each functional domain, gathering evidence from the school and from you. They may ask you to describe a "typical day" for your child.

Key things to know:

• The facilitator is independent — contracted by DET, not employed by the school
• They write the profile after the meeting based on evidence gathered
• You will not receive the outcome at the meeting itself
• The outcome determines whether your child qualifies for Tier 3 (individualised) funding or remains at Tier 2 (school-level) support
• You can request a review if you believe the outcome does not reflect your child's needs

The Single Most Important Thing to Get Right

The facilitator's job is to assess the gap between what your child can do independently and what is required for educational participation. If the school presents your child as "coping well with current support," the facilitator may conclude that existing adjustments are sufficient — scoring lower functional need.

Your job is to articulate what happens without the support. If your child is coping because they have a dedicated aide, removing the aide wouldn't mean they'd "cope slightly less" — it might mean they'd elope from the classroom, be unable to complete any written work, or have daily meltdowns.

Make the facilitator understand the counterfactual: what does your child's school day look like if all current adjustments were removed?

Who This Is For

• Parents who've just received notification of a DIP meeting with less than a week to prepare
• Parents whose child is transitioning from the old PSD model to the new Disability Inclusion model
• Parents whose child's school has just started the DI rollout and the first DIP meetings are being scheduled
• Parents who attended a previous DIP meeting unprepared and want to request a review with better evidence

Who This Is NOT For

• Parents whose child already has a Tier 3 funding outcome and the next step is writing IEP goals (see How to Write IEP Goals Aligned to the Victorian Curriculum)
• Parents who have more than a month before the meeting and can engage an advocate (see Disability Advocate Victoria)
• Parents in other states (the DIP is specific to Victoria's Disability Inclusion model)

What If the Outcome Is Wrong?

If the DIP outcome understates your child's functional needs:

1. Request the written profile — you are entitled to see what the facilitator recorded
2. Identify specific domains where evidence was missed — reference your parent voice statement
3. Submit a formal review request through the school principal, citing the specific evidence that was not captured
4. If the school won't initiate a review, escalate to the DET Regional Office with your documentation

The Victoria Disability Support Blueprint includes the complete DIP appeal pathway with email templates for each escalation step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I reschedule the DIP meeting if I'm not ready?

You can request a postponement, but the school and DET may push back — facilitators are booked weeks in advance and rescheduling bumps your child to the back of the queue. If Census Date (last school day in February for new students) is approaching, delay may mean delayed funding for an entire year. Prepare with whatever time you have rather than postponing.

Do I need a diagnosis before the DIP meeting?

No. The DIP assesses functional needs, not diagnosis. However, clinical reports strengthen your evidence significantly. If you have any documentation — even a GP letter stating "consistent with [condition], awaiting formal assessment" — bring it.

Can the school hold a DIP meeting without me?

The DIP process includes parent voice as a mandated component. If the school attempts to proceed without your participation, they are not following DET's procedural requirements. Raise this with the DET Regional Office.

What's the difference between a DIP meeting and an SSG meeting?

The DIP meeting determines your child's functional needs profile and funding tier. It happens once (or when needs significantly change). SSG meetings happen at least once per term to review the IEP and adjust support. The DIP sets the level of resources; the SSG decides how those resources are used.

Should I bring my child to the DIP meeting?

The DIP includes a "student voice" component, but attendance by the student is not mandatory — especially for younger children or those who would find the meeting distressing. If your child doesn't attend, prepare their perspective in writing: what they find hard at school, what helps, what they wish was different.

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