ADCET Webinar: Examining the People and Systems That Shape Disability Support in Universities
Thu 7 Aug 2025 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm AEST
Online
Event details
Australian universities are experiencing unprecedented growth in students with disability, yet these students continue to face lower retention and completion rates compared to their peers.
This webinar presents early findings from an ACSES fellowship investigating the current state of disability support services in Australian universities. Through the participatory action research approach, we're exploring key questions: What does disability support provision look like across the sector? How do practitioners experience their roles? And what skills and traits do practitioners need to effectively support students? We're also examining potential levers for change across universities, including service benchmarking, evaluation methods, professional development frameworks, performance-linked funding models, regulatory monitoring and accountability measures, university ranking systems, and sector-wide capacity building initiatives. Our research considers how these different mechanisms might drive both individual practitioner capacity and broader institutional transformation towards genuine inclusion.
The research design reflects the complexity of these questions. Firstly, a national benchmarking survey was undertaken by all university disability services to map staffing levels, caseloads, and service structures. Alongside this, they have gathered experiences from practitioners and students through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. They have also hosted workshops with key stakeholders to ensure the findings remain relevant for real-world implementation.
Early conversations suggest practitioners are navigating significant challenges. Many describe feeling underprepared for their roles, managing increasing caseloads with limited resources, and struggling to balance individual student support with the systemic changes needed for genuine inclusion. There's also tension between the administrative aspects of the role and the relational work practitioners value most.
These insights point to broader questions about how universities structure and value disability support. Is the current model sustainable as student numbers grow? How can we build practitioner capacity while maintaining quality support? What would professionalisation of this field look like, and would it help?
They will share their progress developing practical resources, including workload benchmarking tools and service self-assessment frameworks. These outputs aim to support practitioners and managers in strengthening their services while contributing to sector-wide discussions about the future of disability support.
The session will include opportunities for participants to engage with the findings and learn how they can contribute to this research. Whether you're a practitioner, manager, student, or simply interested in improving disability support in higher education, this webinar offers insights into one of the sector's most pressing equity challenges.
Presenters
Darlene McLennan is an ACSES Equity Fellow who has stepped away from managing the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) to undertake her fellowship research. With 40 years' experience working in the disability sector, including 20 years within the tertiary disability sector, she has led nationally significant projects including the Universal Design for Learning initiative and NDIS Pre-planning Toolkit. As someone with a Specific Learning Disability, Darlene brings personal insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by students with disability in tertiary education. She holds Life Membership with both ATEND and EPHEA, recognising her leadership in the sector.
Ebe Ganon is a community engagement and inclusion practitioner and Research Associate at the University of Tasmania, supporting the 2025 Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success Fellowship project on disability services in higher education. As winner of the 2024 National Awards for Disability Leadership Change Making Award and 2025 Emerging Young Leader delegate to COSP18, Ebe combines lived experience as a neurodivergent person with disability with extensive professional expertise across government, education and community sectors. She holds a Masters in Disability and Inclusion from Deakin University and delivers evidence-based training and consultation services focused on creating genuinely inclusive environments.
