Putting supports in place: disability support services and your rights

Under Australian law, universities must provide reasonable adjustments and disability support services to support your learning. Universities need to:

• Ensure that you can participate in your learning and assessment without discrimination
• Provide reasonable adjustments to support your learning
• Ensure privacy and confidentiality regarding your disability
• Ensure freedom from harassment and discrimination
• Provide access to complaint processes if your rights are violated

You don't have to use these services, but understanding your options can be helpful. Even if you’re unsure about your needs or whether you’ll use the service, it’s best to contact them early in your university journey. This keeps your options open and means that if you do need support, you can access it quickly.

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Research Tip

Disclosure means telling someone about your disability, medical condition, or impairment. An autistic student said: "Another thing that I've found very interesting is the whole process of disclosure, because research has also shown that many of us Autistic tertiary students don't disclose our diagnosis" (Reframing Autism, 2025).

If you do choose to disclose:

• Focus on your strengths as well as your support needs
• Provide context about how your autism affects your learning
• Suggest specific ways people can support you

Reasonable adjustments

One of the key ways that universities can support you as an autistic student is by providing ‘reasonable adjustments’. These are tools, options, supports, and information that will help you participate in your learning in ways that work for you. Adjustments are designed to remove barriers that could otherwise disadvantage students or create an uneven playing field.

The ‘reasonable’ in ‘reasonable adjustments' means that your adjustments cannot fundamentally alter any academic requirements, don't cause undue hardship to the university, and need to be directly related to your disability and learning needs.

Remember: asking for support isn't a sign of weakness – it's about creating equal access to education. As research shows, students who access appropriate support are much more likely to succeed at university.

🔎 Research Tip

Here are some adjustments that autistic students have found beneficial across a range of study stages and programs (Gibbs et al., 2024):

• Extended deadlines for assignments
• Alternative assessment arrangements
• Note-taking support or recording permissions
• Quiet spaces for exams with rest breaks
• Liaison with academic staff about your needs
• Access to assistive technology

💡Reflection Questions

What might help support you in your university studies? Think about:

• How you learn best or prefer to learn
• Things you find difficult when learning
• Adjustments or tools you used during school, or what you use at work to support you
• Have a look at Resource 2 – Adjustments Workbook for more ideas…

You can also ask neurodivergent classmates or support staff about what’s helped other students, and give those ideas a try. If they don’t work for you, they can still give you a good starting point for finding other options.

1. Resource 2 – Adjustments Workbook (doc)
2. Resource 2 – Adjustments Workbook (pdf)

Accessing disability support services

If you decide that you’d like some support with your study, you will need to register with the disability support service. You can find this service by googling ‘[your university name] disability support service’, asking a lecturer or tutor, going to the student services hub, or asking another student.

💡Information

While this guide recognises the validity of self-identification, some supports at university may only be available if you have a formal diagnosis from a medical professional.

If you do not have a diagnosis or paperwork from a medical professional, there are still many options for seeking support. These are discussed at the end of this section.

The process

1. You will submit a request, usually by online form or email, to register with the service.
2. You'll typically need some form of documentation about your disability to register: this might include a letter or report about your autism or any other disability, impairment, mental illness, health condition, or injury you might have. This might relate to being autistic, as well as other experiences you have which influence the way you learn and participate.
3. You can prepare for your meeting by thinking about what you might need to best support you in your studies (see Resource 2 to help your planning).
4. You'll meet with a disability advisor to discuss your specific needs: you can usually choose to meet online or in person.
5. They'll create a Learning Access Plan (LAP) or similar document - many universities have a different name for this.
6. At some universities, this plan gets shared with relevant staff, with your permission, so that your adjustments can be implemented. At other universities, you will be responsible for sharing this plan with the staff members who need to know about your adjustments. Check with the disability service which option will apply to you.
7. You will usually have your plan reviewed at least once per year, and you can request a review or update if you’d like changes to your adjustments, don’t think they are working, or if your situation changes.

💡 Suggestion/Tip

Here are some quick tips for accessing disability services:

• Make contact early, even if you're not sure what support you need.
• Come prepared with information about your learning style and previous accommodations.
• Ask questions about processes and timelines.
• Request written copies of your accommodation plans.
• Provide feedback about what's working and what isn't.
• Student unions often have advisors who understand university processes if you get stuck: they represent and work for you, not the university.

📝Resource 2: Adjustments Workbook

Use the Adjustments Workbook to help you think of adjustments that might help you at university: you can create a list that you can bring to your meeting with disability services to help you advocate for your needs.  

1. Resource 2 – Adjustments Workbook (doc)
2. Resource 2 – Adjustments Workbook (pdf)

If you do not have a formal diagnosis from a medical practitioner

Many universities will not offer adjustments such as assessment extensions, exam or assessment modifications, physical equipment, or assistive technology if you do not have a formal diagnosis from a medical practitioner. However, there are still many ways you can engage with supports and tools:

• Look out for peer networks and mentoring programs for neurodivergent students and students with disability. These rarely require disclosure or diagnosis, especially when they are run by students.
• Investigate free technologies and resources like the student version of Notion (a note-taking software), browser-based captioning, and other applets or extensions that can improve your digital learning experience.
• Practice your self-advocacy skills to ask lecturers and tutors for informal adjustments, like clarification on assessment rubrics or feedback on drafts.
• Explore ‘Part 3: Practical Strategies for Thriving’ to learn about the tools and techniques that you can experiment with to support your own learning.