NCCD Quick Guide 2026: the process on one page

Who must be counted in the NCCD

A student must be counted when all three of these are true. A student who does not meet all three must not be counted.

1. The student is counted in the school's August Census.
2. The student has a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA).
3. The school has evidence of adjustments for at least 10 weeks of school education in the 12 months before Census Day, addressing the functional impact of the disability.

A diagnosis is not required: disability can be diagnosed or imputed. Parental consent is not required either, because the collection is authorised by law under the Australian Education Regulations 2023. NCCD evidence requirements covers what a counted student's record must show.

The 8 steps at a glance

Steps 1 to 5 run through the school year. Steps 6 to 8 check, approve and submit the data for Census Day.

Step 1: Prepare your school and school community

Everyone involved understands the school's obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, and the school team can apply the NCCD Guidelines. The principal nominates a team to drive the NCCD process and moderate the data, and is responsible for the data's accuracy.

• Staff: relevant professional learning, so teachers know what an adjustment is and how to record it.
• Evidence: a process for recording and storing evidence. The NCCD Portal's evidence templates are optional; evidence can stay in the form it already exists.
• Families: tell students and families about the collection, its purpose, its legal basis, who the data is disclosed to and the quality assurance that follows.

Go deeper: the NCCD coordinator role.

Step 2: Provide adjustments

Schools make reasonable adjustments so students with disability can take part in education on the same basis as other students. Start from the functional impact of the disability, not the diagnosis, and consult the student or their associate before adjusting; in most cases parents, guardians or carers too.

• Five functional areas: teaching and learning, communication, participation, personal care and movement.
• Reasonable: the adjustment takes into account the student's needs and balances the interests of all parties affected.
• Consultation: from 2026, if parents, guardians or carers are not consulted, document why. A brief explanation is enough, and agreement is not required.

Go deeper: NCCD adjustments, with examples by area and documenting NCCD consultation.

Step 3: Determine the level of adjustment

Choose one of four levels, QDTP, Supplementary, Substantial or Extensive, by the frequency, intensity and range of the adjustments. Report the highest level provided for at least 10 weeks in the 12 months before Census Day, and review it every year rather than assuming it has stayed the same.

• The 10 weeks: cumulative, and they can be non-consecutive and split across terms. Any amount of adjustment in a school week counts as a week, except for Extensive.
• Extensive: adjustments in place at all times, over consecutive weeks.
• Funding: QDTP is recorded but attracts no loading; the other three attract the student with disability loading.
• NDIS: activities funded through the NDIS are not eligible.

Go deeper: NCCD levels of adjustment, QDTP vs Supplementary, the 10-week rule and the Extensive level.

Step 4: Determine the category of disability

Choose one of four categories: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional. The category is the area that is the main driver of the adjustments, not the diagnosis, and it can change over time. Where a student has more than one disability, choose the one needing the greatest adjustment.

• No diagnosis needed: where there is no diagnostic report, the school team can impute a disability, judging it to exist on reasonable grounds and evidence, after consulting the student or their associate.
• Clarified in 2026: before imputing, the team confirms the adjustments are due to disability, not academic performance, learning difficulties or external factors.
• Trauma: students affected by trauma are included only if they have a disability under the DDA and meet the other criteria.

Go deeper: the four NCCD disability categories and imputed disability.

Step 5: Record and retain evidence

Collect evidence across the 12 months before Census Day, not in the final weeks. Schools are not required to create new evidence: it is sighted in the form it already exists, such as a learning plan, a timetable showing adjustments, an email to a family, team notes or a functional needs checklist.

• Four areas: the student's assessed needs, the adjustments provided, consultation, and ongoing monitoring and review.
• Kept for 7 years: records that show a DDA disability, at least 10 weeks of adjustments, why the level was chosen and the quality assurance done. Longer where state or territory rules require.

Go deeper: NCCD evidence requirements, the four areas of NCCD evidence and NCCD evidence examples, weak and strong.

Step 6: Quality assurance

Schools are strongly encouraged to moderate their NCCD data internally, and education authorities to facilitate moderation across schools. Moderation uses the evidence gathered through the year to make level and category decisions that are consistent, reliable and defensible.

• Tools: the NCCD Portal's Moderation resource for schools and the NCCD School Reflection Tool.
• Non-government schools: the Department runs annual quality assurance, examining school-held records and data anomalies.
• Government schools: state and territory authorities run their own assurance.

Go deeper: NCCD moderation and the NCCD audit checklist.

Step 7: Approve the data

The principal, or an executive member responsible for accuracy and evidence, approves the data, with details of any moderation. Principals are responsible for verifying there is enough evidence to support each student's inclusion.

• Tell families: in most cases, tell parents, guardians, carers or associates that the student has been included. Where that is not possible or appropriate, document why.
• No consent needed: consent is not required. If a parent or other responsible person objects and it cannot be resolved, the approved authority must still include the student.

Go deeper: getting principal sign-off on NCCD data.

Step 8: Submit the data

Government schools submit through their state or territory authority. Non-government schools submit through SchoolsHUB as part of the Non-Government Schools Census. The data sent to government must not explicitly identify a student, and the evidence stays at the school.

Before you submit, check that the levels and categories entered match the moderated decisions. Go deeper: NCCD Census Day and the NCCD Census Day checklist.

Key dates and time frames

Census Day is the first Friday in August unless the Minister determines otherwise. Your education authority may set its own earlier deadlines ahead of the national collection, so check with it first.

Your NCCD toolkit: the official documents

Everything on this page is drawn from these. Where any summary differs from them, including this one, the Guidelines take precedence.

• The rules: the NCCD Guidelines: Effective 2026 Onward, approved by Education Ministers and in effect from 2026 until replaced.
• The summary: the NCCD Quick Guide (PDF), published by Education Services Australia for the Department of Education, with the 8 steps above.
• Evidence: the Department's evidence requirements for the NCCD, and the optional evidence templates on the NCCD Portal.
• Quality assurance: the Moderation resource for schools and the NCCD School Reflection Tool, also on the NCCD Portal.
• The law: the Australian Education Regulations 2023, which require the collection, and the Disability Standards for Education 2005.

State and territory authorities publish their own guidance too, such as the Victorian Department of Education's NCCD policy.