Reasonable Adjustments in Victorian Schools: Your Rights Under DSE 2005

Victorian parents regularly hear some version of this: "We'd love to help, but we don't have the funding to provide an aide for your child." Or: "Without a Disability Inclusion Profile outcome, we can't justify the extra support."

Both statements misrepresent how the law works. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (DSE 2005) is a federal instrument that operates entirely independently of what funding tier your child holds. Understanding this distinction is one of the most practically useful things a Victorian parent can know.

What the DSE 2005 Actually Requires

The Disability Standards for Education 2005 are the subordinate standards made under the federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992. They impose legally binding obligations on every education provider in Australia — government schools, Catholic schools, and independent schools alike.

The core requirement is that schools must make "reasonable adjustments" so that students with disabilities can access, participate in, and benefit from education on the same basis as students without disabilities. This obligation covers enrolment, participation in curriculum, access to support services, and participation in school activities. It applies regardless of whether the student has received Disability Inclusion Tier 3 funding, a Disability Inclusion Profile outcome, or any formal diagnosis.

The DET's own policy is explicit on this point: the additional resources provided to a school through funding programs do not define or limit the scope of support the school is legally required to provide. Tier 2 and Tier 3 funding are tools for building capacity. They do not set a ceiling on the school's obligations.

What Counts as a "Reasonable Adjustment"

The DSE 2005 doesn't provide an exhaustive list. Whether an adjustment is "reasonable" is assessed based on the circumstances: the student's needs, the nature of the education setting, and whether providing the adjustment would impose an unjustifiable hardship on the school.

Practically speaking, adjustments that Victorian schools are typically expected to provide include:

For students with ASD: Visual schedules and First/Then boards, advance warning of routine changes, access to a designated quiet space, noise-cancelling headphones for sensory management, and explicit social instruction structured into the school day.

For students with ADHD: Preferential seating near the teacher, movement breaks built into the timetable, instructions provided one step at a time, extended time on assessments, and access to organisational tools such as visual planners.

For students with specific learning disabilities: Text-to-speech software or audiobooks, modified assessment formats (e.g., oral responses instead of written), access to teacher notes before class, and explicit phonics instruction where relevant.

For students with intellectual disability: Curriculum delivered at Towards Foundation Levels A–D of the Victorian Curriculum, integration aide support for targeted tasks, and functional skills incorporated into academic learning.

For students with anxiety: Graduated return-to-school plans, trusted adult check-ins at the start of the day, flexible attendance arrangements, and alternative assessment formats.

These adjustments are documented in the IEP and reviewed at SSG meetings. They are not gifts from the school — they are legal obligations. The NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability) requires schools to record and report on the adjustments they're providing each year.

How to Request Reasonable Adjustments

The most effective way to request adjustments is in writing before or at an SSG meeting. Come with specific requests linked to your child's documented needs, not general concerns.

Reference the source of the need: "The occupational therapy report from [date] recommends X adjustment. I'm requesting this be formally included in the IEP." Or: "Under the DSE 2005, the school is required to provide reasonable adjustments to support [child's name]'s access to curriculum. I'm requesting the following adjustments be documented in the IEP."

Being specific matters. "More support in class" gives the school nowhere to go. "Daily access to text-to-speech software for all written tasks, assigned to the classroom teacher to implement" is an adjustment that can be agreed, documented, and reviewed.

When a School Refuses Reasonable Adjustments

Schools sometimes argue they cannot provide an adjustment because they lack funding for an aide. This reasoning fails legally. A school that cannot afford a dedicated aide is still obligated to provide reasonable alternatives: assistive technology, curriculum modifications, co-teaching arrangements, or environmental changes. The school cannot simply do nothing and point to a lack of individualised funding as the explanation.

If a school refuses to provide or document reasonable adjustments, the escalation pathway follows the same structure as IEP non-compliance:

1. Put the request in writing and reference the DSE 2005 explicitly.
2. Escalate to the principal if the classroom teacher isn't responsive.
3. Contact the DET Regional Office if the principal doesn't act.
4. Lodge a formal complaint with the DET Complaints and Improvement Unit or the Independent Office for School Dispute Resolution.
5. Lodge a complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), or with the Australian Human Rights Commission under the DDA 1992 and DSE 2005.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has jurisdiction over DSE 2005 complaints. Victorian parents can also approach the VEOHRC for state-level discrimination claims. ACD Victoria (Association for Children with Disability) provides free guidance on which pathway fits a specific situation and can assist with drafting a complaint.

The "Unjustifiable Hardship" Defence

Schools can argue that an adjustment would impose "unjustifiable hardship" — but this defence is narrowly interpreted and rarely succeeds when reasonable, cost-effective alternatives exist. The hardship must genuinely be unjustifiable given all circumstances, not merely inconvenient or budget-constrained. A school in a state education system with access to Equipment Boost for Schools funding, Student Support Services, and Tier 2 school-level Disability Inclusion funding is rarely in a position to argue that all forms of adjustment are beyond its capacity.

If a school invokes unjustifiable hardship, ask them to document what adjustments they evaluated and why each was rejected. This moves the conversation from assertion to evidence.

Catholic and Independent Schools

The DSE 2005 applies to Catholic and independent schools in Victoria just as it does to government schools. Catholic schools in Victoria operate through the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) and use Program Support Groups (PSGs) rather than SSGs, accessing their own sector-specific funding streams. Independent schools are governed by Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) and have significant internal autonomy, but they cannot opt out of DSE 2005 obligations.

If you're in a non-government school and experiencing difficulty with adjustments, the escalation pathways differ. For Catholic schools, the CECV is the relevant authority. For independent schools, the school's Board of Governance is the first escalation point, with the Victoria Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) having oversight beyond that. The VEOHRC and AHRC pathways remain available regardless of school sector.

Knowing your rights is the first step. The Victoria Disability Support Blueprint includes specific written request templates for reasonable adjustments, escalation scripts grounded in DSE 2005 language, and a guide to documenting adjustments in a way that creates an enforceable paper trail.

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