The NCCD is an annual Australian Government collection of data about adjustments and support provided to Australian school students due to disability. The NCCD reports on the implementation of obligations under the Disability Standards for Education 2005 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

For information on the NCCD, visit the Australian Government NCCD portal.

Yes. The Australian Education Regulation 2013 requires all schools to report the information required for the NCCD to the Australian Government on an annual basis.

School level FTE enrolments and head counts by grade, level of adjustment and category of disability are reported.

The NCCD is an annual Australian Government data collection that is required under the Australian Education Regulation 2013 for all Australian schools. The NSW Department of Education collects student level data as required for the purpose of reporting information for the NCCD to the Australian Government. The data collection supports a broader model of engagement and support for students with disability to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.

Australian Government
Identifying information or personal details (for example, student names) are not provided to the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment as part of the NCCD. Since 1 January 2018, the NCCD has been used to calculate the Australian Government's student with disability funding loading.

High-level, non-identifying data from the NCCD is also used in national reporting to inform policy, program planning and funding decisions to support students with disability. 

NSW Department of Education 
In line with privacy legislation, the department is using the NCCD data to inform policy development, funding, future planning, and implementing, monitoring and reviewing adjustments for students with disability to support the work of schools under the obligations of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005.

All Kindergarten to Year 12 students who have a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 AND have been provided with an adjustment/s due to the functional impact of their disability for a minimum period of 10 weeks (excluding school holiday periods) in the 12 months preceding the data collection census date must be counted in the NCCD.

School are required to retain evidence to support the inclusion of the student. 

No. Students must meet the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 definition of disability. 

An imputed disability is a disability that the school believes a student has based on teacher professional judgement and an assessment of the functional impact of the student’s disability in relation to their education. Disability confirmation is not required when imputing a disability. 

The four broad categories of disability used in the NCCD are:

• Physical
• Cognitive
• Sensory
• Social/Emotional.

The broad categories of disability used in the NCCD are aligned to the definitions from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005. Refer to the Broad Categories of Disability infographic on the NCCD Portal.

Teacher moderation should support and promote shared and consistent decision-making in deciding a student’s category of disability.

For more information on the categories of disability, see Strategies to support decision-making on the NCCD portal.

The category of disability should be selected based on the category of disability which has the greatest impact on the student’s education and is the main driver of adjustments to support the student’s access and participation. This decision is based on professional judgement. 

The four levels of adjustment used in the NCCD are:

• Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice (QDTP)
• Supplementary adjustments
• Substantial adjustments
• Extensive adjustments

Refer to Selecting the Level of Adjustment on the NCCD portal for national Level of Adjustment descriptors

Schools should consider the frequency, intensity, range of adjustments and evidence for support being provided. For information on selecting the level of adjustment, see the Guide to choosing level of adjustment on the NCCD portal.

Both schools. If a school meets the evidence requirements for the NCCD, they should include the student in the data collection.

A student must have been provided with an adjustment/s due to the functional impact of the disability for a minimum period of 10 weeks of school education (excluding school holiday periods) in the 12 months preceding the data collection census date (first Friday in August). The minimum 10 week period of adjustments does not need to be consecutive weeks, it can be cumulative and split across school terms in the 12 months preceding the census date. Where a student receives adjustments for any amount of time within a school week, that constitutes a ‘week’ for the purposes of the 10-week rule. If a student is participating in a school-based activity during the school holidays (e.g. camp) where the school is providing adjustments, then this time can be included in the 10 weeks.

If a student is new to a school and has attended for less than 10 weeks, they can be included if there is evidence between the previous school and the new school that adjustments have been provided over 10 weeks in the 12 months prior to census date and if the new school has evidence of the continuing need for adjustments. Arrangements should be made to ensure that the new school has access to this evidence.

No. The NCCD is only for students in Kindergarten to Year 12. 

It should not be assumed that because a student is receiving additional support through a withdrawal program, for example COVID ILSP, that they have a disability. All students included in the NCCD must be assessed individually and not bulk added into the data collection based on their inclusion in a program. Schools must have evidence that the student is receiving the adjustment to meet an identified need arising from the functional impact of a disability. 

All NSW pu.au/teachinblic schools have access to:

• Delivery support Student Support & Specialist Programs personnel
• the NSW Department of Education Help Desk nccd@det.nsw.edu.au
• accredited professional learning on the Disability Standards for Education
• the NSW Department of Education NCCD web page
• the Commonwealth NCCD portal.

The principal must assign access to the ERN - Disability Adjustments function through the Access Management Utility (AMU).

For more information, refer to the ERN - Disability Adjustments User Guide.

Prior year NCCD information can be downloaded from the Online Data Collection website under Current Collections > Historical Data.

Use the “Status” column on the far right of the ERN – Disability Adjustments table to check that information has been correctly entered into all fields. This column should say “Complete included” for students to be included in the NCCD.

The Pre-Census Data Review Stage should be completed between Monday 24 July and Friday 4 August.

During the Pre-Census Data Review Stage schools should:

• review the data in the Online Data Collection website to ensure it is complete and accurate
  
• make any necessary changes/additions on the ERN – Disability Adjustments website. Changes made in ERN will appear in the Online Data Collections website the following day. This is the last chance to add students to the NCCD, however edits/ deletions can be made during the Census stage.

* There is no requirement to sign off on the data in this stage (as there has been prior to 2023 when the stage was known as the Validation Stage)

During the Pre-Census Data Review Stage, all changes to student data should be entered in ERN. During this stage, changes made in ERN will be reflected in the Online Data Collection website on the following day.

During the Census Stage, there is no re-harvesting from ERN. All changes need to be made manually in both the Online Data Collection website and in ERN.

The Online Data Collection website is refreshed overnight during the Pre-Census Data Review Stage of the data collection. The Online Data Collection website should be checked the following day to ensure changes made in ERN are reflected on the website. During the Census Stage there is no further re-harvesting from ERN. All changes need to be made manually in both the Online Data Collection website and in ERN.

Census date is the point in time to measure/account to, census period to sign off on the information collected to/for that reference point.

It is the last day of the Pre-Census Data Review Stage. This year it is Friday 4 August.

It's also:

• the last day that any changes made in ERN will be harvested to the Online Data Collections website. Note that any such changes need to be made by 5pm.

• the last opportunity to add students to the NCCD, however edits/ deletions can be made during the Census stage

The school principal.

The Census Stage should be completed between Monday 7 August and Friday 18 August.

During the Census Stage, the principal is responsible for verifying the data on the Online Data Collection website and confirming there is documented evidence to support the inclusion of students in the NCCD.

During the Census Stage, there is no re-harvesting from ERN. All changes need to be made manually in both the Online Data Collection website and in ERN.

No. Students cannot be added during the Census Stage.

Yes. A copy of the data and principal’s sign off should be retained at the school.

Yes. Schools are required to retain evidence to show that adjustments have been made to meet ongoing, long-term specific needs associated with disability.

Evidence is required across four general areas:

• assessed individual needs of the student
• adjustments being provided to the student to address their assessed needs associated with disability
• ongoing monitoring and review of the adjustments
• consultation and collaboration with the student and/or parents, guardians or carers, or associates.

For more information on evidence requirements for the NCCD, refer to What Evidence is the NCCD Based Upon? on the NCCD portal.

Evidence and any associated records for the NCCD must be kept for a minimum of 7 years, as required by section 37 of the Australian Education Regulation 2013. Some forms of evidence may also fall under other record management policies that require retention of a particular record for longer than 7 years.

For more information, see the Schools-records-management page on the department’s intranet.

All staff. All information and data relating to students with disability and the adjustments provided for those students must be stored appropriately and securely and must be managed and stored in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and policies.

NCCD data is published in the following national reports:

• Report on Government Services produced by the Productivity Commission
• National Report on Schooling in Australia produced by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.