Exemption from School Attendance and Enrolment

6. Career Advice Service – transition support for exempted students who will participate in full-time approved education or training and/or employment

Students who have been exempted from school to participate in full-time approved education or training and/or employment (refer to Chapters 2 and 3) can access the dedicated Victorian Early Leaver Connection Initiative (VELCI) Career Advice Service through their local Skills and Jobs Centre, as well as additional supports in target areas.

Career Advice Service

The Career Advice Service is a free and voluntary service that provides career, training and education advice to support exempted students to transition to and stay engaged in their approved education or training and/or employment pathway.

Additional supports

In target areas, additional supports such as culturally appropriate and inclusive mentoring and group activities are available for exempted students who are Koorie and/or have a disability. Further information on the target areas and providers is available on the VELCI website.

Referrals to the VELCI Career Advice Service and additional supports

If an exemption is granted under Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 of this guidance, the school is encouraged to refer the student to the Career Advice Service to support the transition to their chosen post-school pathway.

In target areas, the school can also refer exempted students who are Koorie and/or have a disability to additional supports.

This section describes how to make a referral to these services.

During the exemption from school process, your school must:

• use the Exemption from school application form (DOCX), enabling the sharing of student and parent/carer information with Career Advice Service and additional support providers
• communicate the following information with the student and parent/carer:
  • the Career Advice Service, and additional supports, are available to support the student during and after the transition to their chosen pathway
  • student and parent/carer personal information and high-level student pathway information provided in the Exemption from school application form will be shared with the relevant provider for the purposes of connecting the student with these services
  • participation in these services is free and voluntary. Further information on the available services and providers can be found on the VELCI website.

If an exemption is granted:

• use the referral template (DOCX) to share the following information collected in the Exemption from school application form:
  • student contact information (full name, phone number, email)
  • parent/carer contact information (full name, phone number, email)
  • student age bracket
  • student pathway information
• make the referral to the relevant provider/s in your school’s local government area. Referral details for the providers are available on the VELCI website.

Your school does not need to seek consent for participation in the services. The relevant provider is responsible for seeking consent from the exempted student and their parent/carer to participate in the service.

Please note that additional detailed personal, sensitive and health information collected in the Exemption from school application form must not be shared by the school with the provider, unless consent to share the information has been obtained.