Support for students with disability and their families
You and your child can access a free support service to help you navigate the education and broader service system and access support for your child.
About the Disability Advocacy Futures Program (DAFP)
The Disability Advocacy Futures Program (DAFP) is a program, delivered by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. It provides funding to advocacy services to support individuals and families with a person with disability to navigate and access NSW Government services.
The NSW Department of Education has partnered with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice to fund advocacy service providers to support students with disability and their families under the DAFP.
Advocacy services provide individual support to students with disability and their families to navigate public education and the broader NSW government service system and to express their concerns and needs.
DAFP includes state-wide services for persons from diverse cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds, and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds across NSW.
Students with disability and their families are encouraged to reach out to their school as the first point of contact.
If additional support is required, the DAFP is available for:
- students with disability and their families
- school staff who work with a student with disability.
The goal of the DAFP is to provide personalised individual support for you, your child and their school to address specific, individual issues as they arise.
Organisations contracted by the DAFP will provide support to students with disability and their families to:
- provide personalised advice and guidance in the public education space for students with disability and their families
- work one-on-one with students with disability and their families to address specific issues
- provide representation to students with disability and their families
- help navigate the NSW public education system (and other related government systems), and access services and support.
There are many situations where you may decide that you need support. Some examples include:
- understanding the support options available for your child at school
- connecting your child with external support
- assisting you with getting necessary documentary evidence to support diagnoses and reasonable adjustments for your child in the school
- requesting help to negotiate support for your child at school
- supporting you when raising a concern.
The DAFP provides you with an organisation that you can contact for guidance and support when accessing the school system.
If you or your child live with disability, you can access support through the DAFP.
DAFP organisations provide their services based on location. Please see the list of organisations below.
Additionally, support organisations are available if you or a family member identifies as Aboriginaland/or Torres Strait Islander or have a language background other than English.
Once you have identified the organisation to support you, you can contact them using the phone number or email listed below.
If you, advocacy service providers and schools cannot find a resolution to the student’s needs, advocacy service providers can refer the matter to the department’s Feedback and Complaints team by submitting a complaint, compliment or suggestion form.
Requests for advice and support from the organisations listed under the DAFP are free.
To learn more about what the department is funding, please refer to the Program Guideline (PDF 83 KB).
List of organisations
Six organisations are funded as part of the DAFP to provide support services.
These organisations are split by location, with two additional organisations dedicated specifically to the needs of students with disability and their families from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, and diverse cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds across the state.
A list of organisations is below:
| Advocacy Organisations | Area/Location | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| ACT Disability Aged Carer Advocacy Service Limited | Southern NSW, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Murrumbidgee |
P: +61 (2) 6242 5060 E:
|
| Action for People with Disability Incorporated | Northern Sydney, Central Coast | P: +61 (2) 9449 5355 E: office@actionadvocacy.org.au |
Advocacy Law Alliance Incorporated |
Hunter New England, Northern NSW, Mid North Coast | P: +61 (2) 4927 0111 or 1300 365 085 E: newcastle@da.org.au |
Advocacy Law Alliance Incorporated |
Western, Far Western NSW | P: +61 (2) 6332 2100 or 1300 365 085 E: western@da.org.au |
Advocacy Law Alliance Incorporated |
Western Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains | P: +61 (2) 4708 3047 or 1300 365 085 E:
|
First Peoples Disability Network (Australia) Limited |
State-wide (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds) |
P: +61 (2) 9267 4195 E: https://fpdn.org.au/ |
| People with Disability Australia Incorporated | South Western Sydney |
P: 1800422 015 or +61(2) 9370 3100 E: pwd@pwd.org.au |
| People with Disability Australia Incorporated | Sydney, South Eastern Sydney | P: 1800422 015 or +61(2) 9370 3100 E: pwd@pwd.org.au |
Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW |
State-wide (Diverse, cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds) |
P: 1800 629 072 or +61 (2) 9891 6400 E: mdaa@mdaa.org.au |
Related information
- Information about the DAFP from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
- General information on support services for parents.
- Need help in making a complaint? Information about support persons and advocates.
- Information about the DAFP to assist students with disability and their families available in a range of languages.