Registering and completing a Disability Inclusion Profile request
Registering a Disability Inclusion Profile request
Once the parent/carer and/or student support group (SSG) has agreed to request a profile meeting, the school is responsible for registering a profile request via the Disability Inclusion Facilitator Service.
To register a profile request, schools must submit an initial, short registration form at Disability Inclusion Facilitator Service capturing basic student and school information.
Refer to Key dates – Tier 3 student level funding and the DIFS Portal User Guide .
Using the registration form, schools should advise the facilitator service when the profile request is for:
- a student with a deteriorating medical condition(s)
- a Koorie student
- a student in out-of-home care
- an international student
- a student attending an English Language School (ELS) or English Language Centre (ELC)
- a student engaged with (or at risk of engaging with) the Youth Justice system
- a student supported by the .
For students with deteriorating medical conditions, schools should seek support from their disability coordinator.
Timelines for registering Disability Inclusion Profile requests
The following timelines apply for registration of requests for students without current student-level funding.
For new enrolments commencing at the start of the school year
- Schools must register the profile by Census Date (the last school day in February) to be eligible for funding from Term 1.
- Schools must register the profile by the end of Term 2 to be eligible for funding in the current school year.
For existing enrolments (students enrolled at the school in the prior year)
- Schools must register the profile by Census Date to be eligible for funding in the current school year.
There are no registration timelines for new enrolments that commence after the start of the school year.
For students eligible for Tier 3 student-level funding, funding start dates are determined both by the date when the school registers the profile request, and by the date when the school completes the profile request. Refer to: Key dates – Tier 3 student level funding .
If a complete profile request is on hold for a period greater than two terms, the facilitator service will withdraw the request. If the profile request is on-hold or inactive for more than 1 year or no meeting is booked in due to school inaction, the facilitator service will withdraw the request, and the school will be required to request a new profile.
Completing a profile request
Once the initial registration has been submitted, DIFS will contact the school to complete the profile request using the DIFS Portal.
Profile meetings cannot be scheduled until the profile request is complete.
To complete the profile request, schools must:
- respond to the screening questions
- complete the profile information form
- upload supporting information.
The profile information form collects information about the student and details of the SSG members that will attend the profile meeting. Refer to the DIFS Portal User Guide .The facilitator service will review the submitted information to confirm that the student meets the requirements for a profile.
Once all required information has been received and reviewed, the facilitator service will email the school to confirm that the profile request is complete. This email will have the following subject line: ‘Disability Inclusion Profile – supporting information approved: Complete profile request’.
Schools will be advised if the request requirements have not been met, the reason(s) for this and how to meet the requirement.
Complete screening requirements
Screening requirements for existing students
For students currently enrolled in a Victorian government school, the following information will be requested at the screening questions stage by the facilitator service:
- a completed and scored Vineland-3 for the student (completed within 12 months of the request date)
- a signed consent form from the student’s parents/carers
- a current individual education plan (IEP) (updated in the past 3 months)
- SSG minutes (from the most recent meeting and any historical minutes).
Schools will also need to declare that the student will, or has received, supplementary, substantial or extensive adjustments, as per the definitions provided in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) for a period of at least 10 weeks at the time of the profile meeting. A profile request cannot progress if this declaration is not made.
Screening requirements for new enrolments
For new students due to commence in a Victorian government school, the following information will be requested at the screening questions stage by the facilitator service to process the request:
- a completed and scored Vineland-3 for the student (completed within 12 months of the request date)
- evidence of ongoing support from one or more inclusion or disability support services
- a signed consent form from the parents/carers.
Refer to: New students entering the Victorian government school system.
The Vineland-3 assessment must include the name and position/role of the scoring practitioner and the date the vineland-3 assessment was scored.
In addition, other information such as an equivalent document to an IEP or other planning documents, the equivalent of SSG minutes from another setting, or other documents such as a transition and learning development for kindergarten children can be uploaded at this time, with appropriate parent/carer consent.
If this documentation cannot be obtained by the parents/carers or new school, the new school should contact the facilitator service for support.
Consent form and privacy information
Schools must obtain consent from the student’s parents/carers, or the adult/mature minor student before requesting a profile meeting. This must be provided when schools make the profile request. The signed form must be kept on the student’s file.
The consent form can be signed by any of the following people:
- a parent or other person with parental responsibility for ‘major long-term issues’ as defined by the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) or the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic). For students in statutory out-of-home care, check the authorisation instrument from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) to establish whether the carer can sign the consent form. If in doubt, check with the DFFH case manager or LOOKOUT
- if none of the above people are available, an informal carer may sign this form if the student is in an informal care arrangement and the parent is unavailable. An informal carer is a relative or other responsible adult with whom the child lives and who has day to day care of the student
- a student over the age of 18 years
- a student who the principal considers to be a mature minor. Refer to the Mature Minors and Decision Making policy.
Schools must obtain consent from parents/carers of international students, unless the student is deemed to be a mature minor for the purposes of the meeting.
Schools must not edit or make changes to the consent form.
For guidance on decision making responsibilities for students, including for students with informal and formal care arrangements, such as students in statutory out-of-home care, refer to the Decision Making Responsibilities for Students Policy. Informal carers should sign an Informal Carer Statutory Declaration to confirm their status, in addition to the consent form.
While the consent form requires only one signature, where reasonably possible schools should seek consent from all parents or carers who have decision-making responsibilities for the student or who will have relevant information to provide at the profile meeting. Where there is a dispute between those responsible for whether the child should undertake a profile, the best interests of the child or young person should be considered.
In these circumstances principals are encouraged to seek advice from the department’s Legal Division.
Where schools are unable to obtain parent/carer consent for the profile process but nevertheless consider a profile meeting would be in the best interests of the student, principals are encouraged to consider the following:
- consult the parents/carers, either over the phone or in person, to understand what their concerns are regarding the profile and/or consent process and how these might be responded to. Ensure that they clearly understand the purpose of the disability inclusion profile and their role in it
- ensure that the parents/carers have been provided with information about the profile process in an easy-to-understand format. Resources are available for schools to share, including:
- Disability Inclusion presentation for families (staff login required)
- Easy English resources about both the Disability Inclusion Profile and the profile meeting itself
- Disability Inclusion Profile Parent Voice Tool
- if interpretation/translation services are required, refer to the department's Interpreting and Translation Services policy for guidance on accessing them
- ensure that information about the profile process is presented to Koorie parents and carers in a culturally safe manner (consider using the Communicating with parents and carers of Koorie students about Disability Inclusion resource)
- ensure that the parents/carers have a designated contact person whom they can reach out to at any time for clarification or assistance with information.
If schools are still unable to obtain parent/carer consent principals are encouraged to seek advice from the department’s Legal Division.
Schools may request all relevant information from parents/carers, including healthcare information required for a profile request in accordance with the department’s Privacy and Information Sharing policy.
Relevant contacts
Legal Division – principals may seek legal advice from the department’s Legal Division about decision making responsibilities for students:
- phone: 03 9637 3146
- email: legal.services@education.vic.gov.au
Privacy – schools may contact the department's Privacy Team for advice when seeking student’s personal health information:
- phone: 03 8688 7967
- email: privacy@education.vic.gov.au
Disability Inclusion Facilitator Service:
- phone 1800 951 430
- email: contact@difs.com.au
Inclusive Education Division – for general enquiries, schools may contact: disability.inclusion@education.vic.gov.au
Completing a Vineland-3 assessment
A completed and scored Vineland-3 Teacher Form Comprehensive Version for the student is required as part of the profile request. This must include the name and position/role of the scoring practitioner and the date the vineland-3 assessment was scored.
The school can either:
- request a Vineland-3 assessment be administered through the school’s local student support services team via a Student Online Case System
- administer and score a Vineland-3 assessment within the school if the school has a staff member who is registered with Pearson as User Level B or C and has an qualification in a relevant field (see below).
Relevant qualifications for the staff member administering and scoring the Vineland-3 assessment include a master’s degree in special education or social work, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, speech language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychiatry or paediatrics.
Fields of study must be closely related to the intended use of the assessment, and must include formal training in the ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation of clinical assessments.
School-based staff must have the above relevant qualifications to complete Pearson’s User Level B accreditation and access supervision for scoring and reporting of User Level B practice assessments from an existing User Level B or C (who have at least 6 to 12 months’ experience using User Level B assessments) to ensure their administration and practice of assessment usage is accurate.
A pre-existing Vineland can also be submitted if it was completed within 12 months of the date the profile was registered (refer to 'Pre-existing Vineland-3' section below).
Vineland-3 is required for all students as part of the Disability Inclusion Profile process.
Schools experiencing delays in completing the Vineland-3 can submit it up to 7 days before the profile meeting. In these cases, the school should indicate the Vineland is not complete at the screening questions stage on the DIFS Portal. The completed Vineland-3 information must be provided alongside other supporting information for the profile to be finalised.
Schools who require a Vineland-3 assessment only for the purpose of a profile will need to make this request via the Student Online Case System – noting ‘Vineland for the purpose of DI’. Schools will need to ensure that DI parent/carer consent has been received to request a Vineland-3 and upload the consent to SOCS at this time. Student support services consent is not required in addition for a Vineland only request.
Schools will be responsible for keeping results on the student’s school file.
Any other requests for support from student support services will follow existing referral pathways, including obtaining student support services consent.
Except for new student enrolments, the Teacher Form of the Vineland-3 must be completed by the teacher who knows the student best. The teacher must have known the student for at least 8 weeks.
A Vineland-3 parent/carer form is not permissible unless in exceptional circumstances, for example, where a student has been home schooled or in the case of school refusal resulting in significant absences from school.
A parent/carer form may be completed for some students for other purposes, for example diagnostic assessment. These students will also need a Vineland-3 Teacher Form Comprehensive Version completed for them. If the school is uncertain about this process, they may discuss with the facilitator service.
The completed Vineland-3 is scored by the eligible school-based practitioner or the student support services team. To mitigate potential conflicts of interest, the respondent completing the Vineland-3 cannot be the individual who scores it.
Schools must not re-submit any Vineland-3 assessment which has been re-scored. This includes submitting a re-scored Vineland-3 assessment as additional supporting information.
The professional who scores the form is not required to complete a report. The score may be provided to the school in the form of a statement in an email. This should include the name and position/role of the scoring practitioner. All calculated standard scores are required to be provided (Adaptive Behaviour Composite Score and the Domain Standard Scores) as part of the profile request. Schools must retain copies of all relevant Vineland-3 documentation on the student’s school records file in accordance with the Records Management policy. Refer to the Privacy and Information Sharing guidance for the appropriate management of student health information.
Vineland-3 for pre-prep students
For prep students due to undertake the profile prior to commencing school, as per current practice, schools may also ask kindergarten teachers to complete the Teacher Form of a Vineland assessment. If this is not possible, another practitioner who has provided service to the student, for example an early childhood intervention professional or disability support worker, may complete the Teacher form of the Vineland-3.
Pre-existing Vineland-3
If a Vineland-3 Teacher Form Comprehensive Version has been completed within 12 months of the date the profile was requested a new Vineland-3 is not required. The existing score can be provided as supporting information at the time of the profile request. Parent/carer consent will need to be obtained to enable this score to be used for Vineland-3 reports not held by the school.
Reviewed 23 January 2026