Mature Study

Disability Liaison Officers and Student Support Officers

Tertiary instiutions have support services and special arrangements to assist students with study. Disability Liaison Officers (DLO), Student Support Officers (SSO) or similiar are key staff  that assist students with disabilities access arrangements. Disability staff at registered training organisations (RTOs) have a range of titles and configuration of support for students with disabilities. Some State and Territory governments also provide disability staff at RTOs with complementary services to assist students with disabilities undertaking off the job training.

These officers are the first point of contact to access support while studying. Whether you are studying internally or externally you need to let these staff know about your disability so that appropriate arrangements can be made. These arrangements are designed to minimise the impact of your disability and/or medical condition without compromising the academic integrity of the course or program your are studying.

When to Contact Disability Staff

You can access the services provided by disability staff by nominating on your enrolment form that you would like to be contacted in order to find out more about the services they provide. To access the services provided by these officers you must be an enrolled student. You can also contact disability staff prior to applying for your course. Early contact is important as students that are accepted into their course of study only have a short period of time between being offered a place, enrolling and commencing study.  Disability staff can also provide support during enrolment. Contact these officers to find out more about the services they provide prior to applying for your course.

Supports - Accommodations

Examples of the services provided by disability staff include:

• pre enrolment assistance
• flexible attendance
• tutors and learning support
• the provision of sign language interpreters
• materials in an accessible format
• note takers
• participation assistance in laboratory classes
• negotiating alternative learning and assessment tasks
• the provision of adaptive study materials and equipment
• negotiating alternative arrangements for examinations
• assistance with access requirements

Refer to the Alternative examination arrangements worksheet (alternative examination text 45KB or alternative examination PDF 87KB).

How to Contact Disability Staff

The contact details for these officers can be found on the website of each tertiary provider or listed in the tertiary admission guides and individual course handbooks produced by the education provider. Look under the heading ' student services' for further details. In some smaller TAFE institutes around Australia this role may be fulfilled by generalist student services staff. You can also mark on your enrolment form that you would like to be contacted by disability staff to find out more about the services available to students with disabilities and/or medical conditions.

Work and Fact Sheets

Refer to the worksheets below to assist you identify how your disability may impact upon your course of study and any supports you may need:

• Worksheet 4 - Understanding your study requirements
  (worksheet 4 as text 63KB or worksheet 4 as PDF 94KB)
   
• Worksheet 5 -Questions to ask the Disability Liaison Officer or Student Support Officer
   (worksheet 5 as text 23KB or worksheet 5 as PDF 81KB )
   
• Worksheet 7 - Key questions
  (worksheet 7 as text 46KB or worksheet 7 as PDF 87KB)
   
• Fact sheet 1 - Students with Learning disabilities
  (fact sheet 1 as text 32KB or fact sheet 1 as PDF 81KB)
   
• Facts sheet 2  - students with medical conditions
  (fact sheet 2 as text 31KB or fact sheet 2 as PDF 81KB)
   
• Fact sheet 3 - students with mobility impairment
  (fact sheet 3 as text 30KB of fact sheet 3 as PDF 80KB)
   
• Fact sheet 4 - students with a psychological condition
  (fact sheet 4 as text 31KB or fact sheet 4 as PDF 81KB)
   
• Fact sheet 5 - students with vision impairment
  (fact sheet 5 as text 31KB or fact sheet 5 as PDF 80KB)
   
• Fact sheet 6 - students with hearing impairment
  (fact sheet 6 as text 31KB or fact sheet 6 as PDF 81KB)