NCCD Census Day checklist for coordinators

The NCCD Census Day checklist on one page

Run it for every included student. Each line is done when the right-hand column is true; the steps below explain each check and what to do when one fails.

Before the final week: what should already be done

A calm final week rests on work done earlier in the year. By the start of Term 3, these should be in place:

• Term 1: levels and categories are confirmed for the year rather than carried over, and families have been consulted about adjustments.
• Term 1: your education authority's internal deadline is in the calendar.
• Term 2: NCCD moderation has settled the borderline levels, and each decision is recorded with its reason.
• Term 2: gaps have been checked by area of evidence, so thin consultation or monitoring has time to be fixed.
• All year: teachers log adjustments as they happen, so the 10 weeks are visible without a rebuild.
• Early Term 3: a working list of included students exists, with the edge cases flagged.

If most of these are done, the final week is confirmation. If not, the steps below still work; they just take longer.

1. Lock the student list first

Start with a clean working list. In the final week, the job is not to reopen every possible nomination. It is to confirm that each student already proposed can be defended with evidence and school judgement.

• Remove duplicate names and stale drafts.
• Flag any student whose level, category or evidence file is still unclear.
• Separate low-risk files from edge cases, so the team knows where to spend time first.

When you can see every student's readiness in one view, the low-risk files are obvious.

2. The seven checks, for every included student

Work student by student, not folder by folder. For each included student you should be able to explain the need, the adjustment, the level, the consultation and the evidence period without hunting through five places. Coverage matters more than volume: a student with twenty notes and no consultation record has a gap. The NCCD Guidelines ask for evidence in four general areas: assessed need, consultation, at least 10 weeks of adjustment with the level justified, and ongoing monitoring and review.

• Inclusion: there is a disability-related functional need, not only a learning gap. A diagnosis is not required. If disability is imputed, the team has reasonable grounds and evidence, has consulted the student or their associate, and has confirmed the adjustments are due to disability rather than learning difficulties or other factors. See imputed disability.
• Category: it matches the main driver of the adjustments (how to choose the NCCD category). Where a student has several disabilities, it is the one needing the greatest adjustment.
• Level: it is the highest level provided for at least 10 weeks in the 12 months before Census Day, it matches how often and how intensively support was given, and it was reviewed this year rather than carried over.
• The 10 weeks: dated evidence covers at least 10 weeks of adjustment. Weeks can be non-consecutive and split across terms, and any amount in a week counts. For Extensive, adjustments must be in place at all times over consecutive weeks. See the NCCD 10-week rule.
• Consultation: there is a record of consulting the student, family or relevant associates. From 2026, if parents, guardians or carers were not consulted, the reason is documented. A brief explanation is enough, and agreement is not required.
• Monitoring: the evidence shows whether the adjustment helped, not only that it was given.
• Findable: the records can be found quickly in the form they already exist. Nothing needs copying into a new format for the NCCD.

3. The quick sweep

For each student, open the record and work down the list, then note the outcome so each sweep leaves a dated trail:

1. Check the category and the level.
2. Confirm the evidence shows the reason for each adjustment.
3. Check the dates across the evidence period.
4. Find the consultation record.
5. Find a monitoring or review note.
6. Mark the student ready, small fix or coordinator review.

Most students land in the first two groups. The third is where your time goes. Copy the fields into a spreadsheet, one row per student, and keep it with the school's NCCD records. For weak and strong entries in each area, see NCCD evidence examples.

4. Look again at levels and consultation

Level decisions deserve the most care in the final week. The level should reflect the frequency and intensity of adjustments, not the amount of concern a student causes or the presence of a diagnosis. Bring the short list of edge cases, not every student, to a final moderation pass, and record each decision and its reason. Before sign-off, ask:

• Does the evidence match the reported level?
• Is the level based on what was provided, not what might be needed later?
• If the student moved levels during the year, is the highest level held for the 10 weeks the one reported?
• For Substantial and Extensive, does the evidence show frequency, intensity and review?

Consultation does not need to read like a legal document; it needs to be findable. A short file note is enough if it shows who was consulted, what was discussed and how it shaped support. Meeting notes, email summaries, phone call notes and the student's own view all count. Specialist input can sit alongside them, but it does not replace consulting the student or their family.

5. The final-week fix list

The final week is for targeted fixes, not rewriting. Fix the files most likely to hold up sign-off first, and give each teacher a precise request instead of a general reminder.

A script that works: "I am not asking you to create new evidence. I am asking you to record what already happened clearly enough that someone else can understand Zoe's support."

6. Check the school record against the system record

The last check is simple but often missed: the validated school record and the data entered in the collection system must say the same thing.

• Check totals and student entries against the final validated list.
• Make sure the levels and categories entered match the moderated decisions.
• Confirm the submission path and deadline set by your education authority.

7. A one-page summary for sign-off

Principals are responsible for the accuracy of the school's data before it is submitted, and they need a clear view, not a folder. Prepare one page with the total included students, the breakdown by level, any unresolved cases and where the evidence sits, so the principal can spot-check any file. To prepare the principal's sign-off pack, including the agenda and the exceptions list, see the sign-off guide.

Next year, a calmer week

A good final week feels like confirmation, not rescue. If this one felt heavy, it tells you where the system needs a better habit: teachers logging adjustments when they happen, consultation noted close to the conversation, and gaps checked every term rather than in July. Building an NCCD evidence culture sets out that rhythm.

If you would like to talk through your school's process before next year, book a whole-school rollout.

Sources

The checks follow the NCCD Guidelines: Effective 2026 Onward and the NCCD Quick Guide (2026 edition), published by Education Services Australia for the Australian Government Department of Education: who must be counted (p. 4), the level and the 10 weeks (Step 3), the category and imputed disability (Step 4), the evidence (Step 5), quality assurance (Step 6) and approval (Step 7). The checklist, the sweep and the record template are ours, a practical way to apply them, not an official template.