2025 Review of the Disability Standards for Education - consultation

The Australian Government is reviewing the Standards to make sure they are supporting students to access and participate in education and training.

Date opened
Date closes

The 2025 Review is considering three topics:

  1. How well the Standards are being implemented,
  2. What more can be done to support inclusive decision-making and complaints handling, and
  3. Whether responsibilities for assessment authorities and course developers are clear.

You can read about the review in the:

Supporting information 

Have your say

We want to hear from anyone with an interest in making sure students with disability can access and participate in education and training.

We are interested in the experiences and views of current, former and prospective students with disability and their families and carers.

We also want to hear from people and organisations with responsibilities in the Standards, such as education providers, educators and education leaders.

You can provide feedback in the following ways:

The closing date for feedback is 21 November 2025.  

Consultation

Online submissions

You can make a submission responding to the questions in the Discussion Paper. You can do this as an individual or on behalf of an organisation. You can make a written, audio or video submission. 

Make a submission

Survey

You can submit your feedback by completing our survey. The survey takes 15-30 minutes to complete. You do not need to answer all the questions.

Complete a survey

Online Ideas Wall

You can share your views when it suits you on our online Ideas Wall. The Ideas Wall will be available throughout the consultation period. All feedback is provided anonymously.

Engagement events

Online

We are holding a series of online engagement events, including workshops focused on specific education sectors and stakeholder groups. Please use the following links to register for the event most relevant to you. Numbers for each session will be limited.

WorkshopDateTime *All times in AEDT
Disability and family peak bodies and advocacy groupsTuesday 14 October 202512 pm – 1:30 pm
EducatorsThursday 16 October 20254 pm – 6 pm
School YearsThursday 23 October 20257 pm – 9 pm
Tertiary - Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training (VET)Friday 24 October 20252 pm – 4 pm
StudentsTuesday 11 November 20255 pm – 7 pm

The School Years and Tertiary workshops are open to anyone who wants to discuss the Standards as they relate to these sectors.

This includes current and former students, parents and carers of students with disability and educators in these sectors.

First Nations consultation

We are holding targeted engagement events with First Nations stakeholders. More information about these events will be added to this page. However, First Nations people and organisations are welcome to attend any events of interest or convenience.  

If you are interested in more information about the First Nations engagement events, please email engage@thesocialdeck.com.

Regional engagements

The Consultation Team will be visiting a number of regional locations across Australia.

If you would like to express your interest in participating in these sessions, please contact engage@thesocialdeck.com.

Privacy

Personal information collected by the Department of Education is protected by law, including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).

For details on how your personal information is being handled for the 2025 Review, please see the Privacy Notice.

Support

If you need help with the survey or uploading a submission, or if you want to provide your feedback in a different way, please email the Department of Education at DisabilityStandardsConsultation@education.gov.au.

Your wellbeing is important to us. If participating in this consultation brings up any difficult feelings, please take care of yourself and reach out for support if needed.

Emergency: Call 000
Lifeline Australia: Call 13 11 14 or Text 0477 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: Call 1300 224 636
13YARN: Call 13 92 76

Related Links

For further information on how your feedback will be treated, visit the Terms and Conditions for public consultations page of the department's website.

Legislation

Disability Standards for Education 2005
Disability Discrimination Act 1992