Kickstarting the Future: Empowering School Leavers Through NDIS, Community Supports and Inclusive Employment Australia

Participants will have choice and control over their employment journey.

Endeavour Foundation is an intellectual disability specialist provider of IEA, and as part of this, the participant will choose if they wish to continue to engage with the program or take time out and come back later. 

In general, all providers are responsible for making sure they are appropriately staffed to provide adequate support to participants to gain and maintain paid employment.

Big changes are coming to disability employment.

Starting from 1 November 2025, Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) will replace the current Disability Employment Services (DES) program.

IEA aims to better emphasise flexible, personalised and long-term support for people with disability.

During this transition period, it is important that Support Coordinators are across the program and what it means for their clients.

As a specialist IEA provider, we can help.

Register with us and receive the latest updates, resources and tips so you are best prepared for the launch of IEA.

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The IEA program has specialist providers that will work with a wide range of conditions. As mentioned above, Endeavour Foundation will specialise in intellectual disability.

But there are other providers that have been successful in gaining contracts for participants with mental health conditions, autism, MS, etc.

It will be up to the provider to make sure that these participants receive the required support for their individual condition. 

With interventions for people with an intellectual disability, it’s more about working with both the employer and participant and offering on-the-job support. This includes showing participants how to carry out a particular duty or step that they may need assistance with. 

Yes, all IEA providers are listed here.

Detailed information should be available once the IEA program commences on 1 November.

Being proactive and planning is the key. Start the planning process at a minimum six months before a person is due to transition from school to identify their goals and aspirations for when they leave. Then, identify the supports they will need to achieve those goals, including community supports and NDIS-funded supports.

This approach helps to identify the evidence required from a participant’s support network to substantiate the supports they will require to overcome barriers to pursuing their goals. It also allows time to connect with and trial supports available within the community.

Your state’s Department of Education should have some helpful templates and other resources to assist families to plan for their loved one’s transition from school. Here are some examples:

• Individual Transition Plan – School Leaver
• Transition Planning During School

Importantly, transition plans must focus on the person’s goals and aspirations.

Endeavour Foundation has an insightful article that details the transition process.

Transition planning should not be viewed as an additional activity but incorporated into the person-centred planning facilitated with participants and their families.

It’s about being proactive and acknowledging a person’s life will change once they transition from school – so, looking ahead to identify the supports an individual will need once they transition from school.

There are organisations that specifically offer transition planning, including Parent to Parent.

The role of a Support Coordinator is not just about supporting a participant to utilise their NDIS funding. It is a Support Coordinator’s responsibility to build a resilient network of supports around a participant. This includes researching and connecting with:

• Mainstream support: Health, education and other government-funded services
• Community support: For example, tenancy advice services to maintain independent housing
• Student support services: TAFE, university, etc.
• NDIS-funded supports: To assist a participant to pursue and achieve their life goals