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Student Disability Support Procedure

This is not a current document. It has been repealed and is no longer in force.

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) To outline the responsibilities and actions required to enable students with a Disability or a student Associate of a person with a Disability (both hence referred to as ‘student’) to access services and support in accordance with the Student Disability Support Policy.

Scope

(2) This Procedure applies to all staff and students of the University.

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Section 2 - Policy

(3) Refer to the Student Disability Support Policy.

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Section 3 - Procedures

Responsibilities and Required Actions

Student

(4) In order to obtain Reasonable Adjustments, student(s) must first register with the Disability Service. A student is under no obligation to register, however the University may be unable to provide services if registration does not occur.

Register with the Disability Service

(5) Complete the Disability Services Registration Form, and agree to any Terms of Service.

(6) Attach to the registration form supporting document(s) as outlined below. Supporting document(s) must be attached to the registration form before it can be submitted.

(7) Meet with a Disability Service Practitioner who will assess the information, discuss relevant Reasonable Adjustments and their implementation.

(8) Note: These steps may occur concurrently or individually and may vary in the order in which they occur, but all must be completed in order to consider registration complete.

Supporting Document(s) (‘evidence’)

(9) Any supporting document must comply with the evidence requirements as follows:

  1. The preferred type of evidence (supporting document) is that of a ‘Health Practitioners Report’, contained within Schedule 2 Student Disability Support Health Practitioners Report of this Procedure.
  2. Where evidence does not comply with the requirements, the Disability Service will require new or additional documentation to satisfy these requirements.
  3. The Disability Service may request updated or new documentation to support the current status of the health condition.
  4. The Disability Service or delegate may refer any documentation for verification as part of the University’s fraud prevention measures.

Communicate with the Disability Service and Staff Generally

(10) Raise any questions or concerns related to this Procedure and the related processes in a timely manner with the Disability Service.

(11) Raise any questions or concerns relating to Reasonable Adjustments with both academic staff and the Disability Service concurrently.

(12) Raise any questions or concerns relating to Reasonable Adjustments of a non-academic nature with the relevant staff member / unit (e.g. Security Services, Library) and the Disability Service concurrently.

Complaints

(13) Refer to the Complaints Resolution Policy for Students and Members of the Public to complain about any aspect of the University’s approach to Disability Support.

(14) Seek advice and support from the Disability Service or the Student Equity and Diversity, in addition to those mentioned in the Complaints Resolution Policy for Students and Members of the Public, in an effort to resolve any concerns.

(15) Engage in any dispute resolution internal to the University in good faith so that a resolution can be achieved in a timely and fair manner.

(16) Nothing in this Procedure shall limit a Student or Associate’s right to engage in dispute resolution bodies external to the University.

Disability Service

(17) Upon receipt of a Disability Services Registration Form and supporting document(s):

  1. Consultation with and assessment of student:
    1. Meet with a Student who has completed a registration form and accepted the Terms of Service.
    2. Explain to the Student via an appropriate modality the management of their health information, including confidentiality and limitations of confidentiality. This should include an explanation of potential stakeholders who will be required to receive information about the Student in order to implement their Reasonable Adjustments.
    3. Assess the Student’s health condition(s) / situation and discuss Reasonable Adjustments and how they might be implemented. During this assessment set reasonable expectations of the Disability Service and the Reasonable Adjustments in the context of Inherent Requirements of their studies.

Individual Educational Access Plan (IEAP)

(18) Prepare an Individual Educational Access Plan (IEAP) which outlines the agreement between the student and the Disability Service with relation to Reasonable Adjustments.

(19) Obtain acceptance and agreement of the IEAP from the Student in writing.

(20) Consultation with other stakeholders:

  1. Liaise with all and only relevant staff to:
    1. effect implementation of the IEAP. This may include academic staff, administrative staff, examinations staff, Security Services staff, library staff, etc. This may also include the engagement of other specialist staff or contractors engaged for specific purposes related to the IEAP; and
    2. discuss any difficulties which may arise concerning implementation of the IEAP.
  2. Document any difficulties that arise and consult with the relevant stakeholder(s) to identify alternatives or otherwise options to address such difficulties.
  3. Where a difficulty results in a change to the Reasonable Adjustment able to be offered, consult with the Student.
  4. Continue consultation with relevant staff and the Student until a satisfactory resolution / satisfactory Reasonable Adjustments are achieved.
  5. This tripartite consultation regarding the IEAP must be concluded within five (5) working days to avoid any detriment to the Student’s studies, academic standards, or otherwise.
  6. Where a satisfactory resolution cannot be achieved within five (5) working days, engage the assistance of the Disability Support Lead and relevant academic Head of Department or Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching.

(21) Following the completion of these steps, the IEAP shall be considered finalised as an agreement.

(22) Implement the agreed Reasonable Adjustments per the timeframes in the IEAP; should a timeframe not be stipulated, within five (5) working days.

(23) Receive, record, store any and all documents tendered by a Student as part of their registration. Such documents should be handled in accordance with the University’s privacy requirements, and stored within the designated secured electronic record and information management system of the Disability Service.

(24) Maintain records of all interactions between the Student and Disability Service staff.  Records must be held securely but quickly accessed by authorised staff. Records are not to be held solely in private systems, e.g. email.

Non-Registration or Non-Disclosure

(25) Where a Student chooses to not register with the Disability Service, the University will not be in a position to provide any Reasonable Adjustments. Reasonable Adjustments can only be provided after assessment of information obtained through the registration process.

(26) Where a Student chooses to not provide supporting documentation, or otherwise does not provide required documentation, the University will not be in a position to provide any Reasonable Adjustments. Reasonable Adjustments can only be provided after assessment of information obtained through the registration process.

(27) This Procedure does not limit any Student’s ability to engage the use of other policy areas such as Special Consideration. It is however noted that other policy areas such as Special Consideration may impose eligibility criteria which must be complied with.

(28) This Procedure and any steps herein do not modify nor affect any other policy or procedure’s operation or requirements.

Academic Staff / Professional Staff

Reasonable Adjustments

(29) Receive notification from the Disability Service that a Student has an IEAP.

(30) Where appropriate and necessary, discuss the relevant Reasonable Adjustments from the IEAP with the relevant Disability Service staff member.

(31) Consult with the relevant Disability Service staff member regarding any questions or concerns relating to the implementation of the IEAP.

(32) Where issues arise with respect to the implementation of the IEAP, engage with the relevant Disability Service staff member and Student per the process described above until a satisfactory resolution can be achieved.

(33) Implement the relevant Reasonable Adjustments from the IEAP within a timely manner.

(34) Do not implement a Reasonable Adjustment if it would compromise academic standards or otherwise create a situation where Inherent Requirements of a course or unit would not be met.  Liaise with the Disability Service as soon as possible.

(35) Document the implementation of Reasonable Adjustments via the designated system to evidence what has been done. This documentation may be batched if there are multiple Reasonable Adjustments being implemented, to ensure evidence is available without creating additional workloads.

(36) Review effectiveness of the Reasonable Adjustments and liaise with the Disability Service if there is any concern.

(37) Where appropriate, receive or request training to become familiar with the University’s obligations to provide Reasonable Adjustments as set out in the Student Disability Support Policy.

Placement Provider / Professional Staff

(38) Receive notification from the University that a Student has an IEAP.

(39) Implement the relevant Reasonable Adjustments from the IEAP within a timely manner.

(40) Consult with the Disability Service regarding any questions or concerns relating to the implementation of the IEAP.

(41) Document the implementation of Reasonable Adjustments via the designated system to evidence what has been done. This documentation may be batched if there are multiple Reasonable Adjustments being implemented, to ensure evidence is available without creating additional workloads.

(42) Review effectiveness of the Reasonable Adjustments and liaise with the Disability Service if there is any concern.

University Librarian / Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) / Chief Information and Digital Officer

(43) Ensure educational resources are available in an accessible format. Educational resources may include (but not limited to): hard and soft copy journals, books, etc provided by the Library; student administration systems (such as iLearn, eStudent, AskMQ, etc); course documents.

(44) Ensure professional assistance is available to students if required when accessing educational resources.

(45) Ensure all website content produced after the date of this Procedure’s approval is compliant with W3C Guidelinesto AA level or above.

Exceptions

(46) Disability legislation and the Student Disability Support Policy outline exceptions to the implementation of the above procedures for specific reasons. Any invocation of an exception must be documented and clearly communicated to the Student who is affected by such an exception.

(47) The University will not provide an Adjustment where it would impose an Unjustifiable Hardship on the University or on a Placement provider.

(48) The University will not alter or otherwise compromise academic standards which are inherent or essential to the nature of the unit, program, or other required component of study.

(49) The University will, where it is reasonably necessary to protect the health or welfare of the Student or other people, implement appropriate safety measures which may include the isolation or discrimination of the student.

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Section 4 - Guidelines

(50) Nil.

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Section 5 - Definitions

(51) In the event of an inconsistency of definitions, this Procedure will yield to definitions in the Student Disability Support Policy, followed by University Rules.

  1. Disability Service Practitioner means is a staff member who works for Student Wellbeing, and, has an employment title specified in Schedule 1 Student Disability Support Disability Service Practitioner Roles.

    In this specific context, Student Wellbeing is limited to including: The Disability Service and Counselling and Psychologist Services (CAPS). It does not include other departments / business units.

    A person who bears an employment title not listed in Schedule 1 Student Disability Support Disability Service Practitioner Roles, or is employed in a department / business unit which is not Student Wellbeing, shall not constitute a Disability Service Practitioner under any circumstances.
  2. Manager, Allied Health means the manager responsible for operations of the Disability Service, CAPS and the associated Disability Service Practitioners. For the purposes of this Procedure and associated Policy, the Manager, Allied Health is able to perform (if required) all functions of a Disability Service Practitioner.