Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)
The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school. All schools in Australia are required by federal law to record the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) annually. Schools and the Department of Education (the department) must accurately report the NCCD, in accordance with the National NCCD Guidelines, to the Australian Government.
NCCD Key Dates
The NCCD records the adjustments made by schools, for 10 weeks or more, that enable a student with disability to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers. Schools have been reporting the NCCD since 2015. There are no changes to the way schools report the NCCD as a result of the Reasonable adjustments resourcing model. The dates for each year can be found on OnePortal.
Professional learning opportunities
All schools are encouraged to access available NCCD training, and also cross-school moderation hosted by their region. Online NCCD professional learning includes the department’s NCCD course; and the Disability Standards for Education and NCCD for school leaders courses on the national NCCD Portal.
About NCCD
The NCCD applies in the same way for all school settings because it records the adjustments made for individual students. Schools do not need to develop evidence specifically for the NCCD. Schools use existing evidence about students’ educational programs and adjustments in the previous 12 months from the August Census Day.
As part of good practice, schools already have the evidence they need to complete the NCCD. If a student is currently Education Adjustment Program (EAP) verified they will already have the evidence they need, such as medical reports and assessments. If EAP verification occurred a number of years ago, schools will need to assess the adjustments being provided in the last year. Schools continue to use existing OneSchool functionality to record information regarding the student’s educational program and adjustments as usual. Evidence does not need to be saved in OneSchool, but schools must be able to access the evidence if required.
School teams can impute a disability if they have a reasonable belief, based on documented evidence, that a disability is impacting a student’s ability to access and participate in education; and they have consulted the student or parent. Parent/carer consent is not required for a student to be included in the NCCD. Parents/carers or the student must be consulted before adjustments are made. Further information is available on the NCCD Parent/Carer page.
NCCD evidence requirements
The evidence requirements for the NCCD have not changed. The NCCD requires that schools have documented evidence that:
- the school assessed the student’s needs and consulted the student and/or their parent
- the school made adjustments for 10 weeks or more
- the adjustments related to addressing the impacts of disability
- the adjustments are monitored and reviewed.
As part of good practice, schools already have the evidence to meet these four requirements. Many of the documents commonly developed for students with disability can be used as evidence for more than one of these requirements. Further information can be accessed in the NCCD evidence guide.