Purpose of the Review

The Review has been established to provide advice to the Australian Government on the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on education for school students with disability. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to schooling, and has required both rapid and ongoing adjustments from students, families, educators, and education authorities. Experiences will vary depending on circumstances and location.

The Review will consider:

• the educational experiences of school students with disability throughout the pandemic,

• the impact of those educational experiences on the wellbeing and education-related outcomes of school students with disability, and

• how support for school students with disability has been managed by governments, education authorities and schools.

The Review consultations will seek to hear from a diverse range of school students with disability including those from First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, students with disability living in rural, regional and remote locations, and students with disability who identify as LGBTIQ+. The review consultations will also seek to hear from parents, carers, and educators of school students with disability.

Review recommendations will focus on opportunities for national collaborative actions to, first, strengthen the capability of schools to support students with disability in future emergency events and, second, support the recovery of school students with disability from the impacts of the pandemic.

For the purposes of this review, the term ‘school student’ is defined by the range of those students attending their first year of formal schooling, through to those in year 12.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Australian Government Department of Education (the Department) will undertake the Review, in consultation with stakeholders and with the support of suppliers as needed. The Review will deliver a report for the Australian Government. The report’s recommendations will focus on national collaborative actions. The Department will report to the Minister for Education in line with the implementation timeframe determined by the Minister.

The Review will consider and build upon existing evidence from sources such as the Disability Royal Commission; government and non-government research; inquiries conducted by Federal, State and Territory governments; and the 2020 Review of the Disability Standards for Education 2005, which looked at COVID impacts.

The Department will consult with a range of stakeholders including states, territories, and representatives of non-government schooling on their experiences.