Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives

Late Enrolment and Senior Secondary Re-engagement (Reference 53)

Late Enrolment and Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding

Late Enrolment Funding is available to support young people experiencing vulnerability re-engaging in education following the February census.

The Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding supports senior secondary students re-engaging into education via contracted provision of the VCE Vocational Major or Victorian Pathways Certificate.

If a young person is eligible, funds will be allocated directly to the school where the young person is enrolled.

Payments

The Late Enrolment and Senior Secondary Re-engagement Program provides targeted funding to schools through the Student Resource Package (SRP) for individual young people who enrol after the February census is completed and who meet the eligibility criteria.

Application deadlines

Applications open on Monday 28 July 2025 and close on Wednesday 13 August 2025.

Schools will be allocated their payment from the second round of funding as part of the revised SRP in late September 2025.

Individual rate

The 2025 individual rate for Round 2 is a targeted payment of $7,500. There will be additional funding of $2,000 available to schools on top of the Late Enrolment Funding payment if they enrol a young person who is in Out of Home Care has been involved in youth justice – either in custody or appearing before the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court or Supreme Court, in recognition of the often more personalised approach required to ensure ongoing engagement in education for this cohort.

Funding will be paid based on the date of enrolment.

Eligibility criteria

For schools to apply for Late Enrolment Funding, the young person must be re-engaging with education after the February census and meet the following criteria:

• have not been counted (funded) in a Department of Education (DE) school census in the same year and meets at least one of the following criteria:
  • disengaged from school (defined as less than 30% attendance, for example, CASES21 attendance data, description of attendance history)
  • residing in statutory Out of Home Care (defined as young people who cannot live in their family home and are residing in a temporary, medium or long-term living arrangement)
  • involved with the youth justice system, including a young person with a youth control order and intensive bail conditions (identified by Education Justice Initiative staff, Parkville College staff or court liaison officers)

and

• have a confirmed school enrolment (or equivalent) at a government school with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in place (please note there is no age limit for applications)
• have not received Late Enrolment Funding within the current financial year
• are not participating in an approved senior or foundational secondary re-engagement program.

To be eligible for Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding, the young person must:

• be re-engaging with education after the February census
• not have been counted (funded) in a DE school census in the same year
• be participating in an approved senior secondary re-engagement program with an IEP in place.

Applying for funding

Once a young person is identified as eligible for funding:

Step 1

The school develops an IEP for the young person. An IEP is required for both Late Enrolment Funding and Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding applications. Schools must use the department's IEP template available at Individual Education Plans – Resources.

When developing an IEP, school staff are strongly recommended to take the following steps:

1. Utilise the department’s IEP template.
2. Complete the IEP eLearning module on LearnED (available via eduPay) and attend an IEP webinar (available via Arc – Individual Education Planning).
3. Schedule a Student Support Groups (SSG) meeting with the student (where appropriate), their parent/carer, teacher and education support staff. The SSG is an opportunity to get to know the student and how they learn. The meeting will assist school staff in understanding the student’s strengths and interests and any challenges or barriers to learning and will assist in developing student-centered approaches.
4. After the IEP has been developed, use the IEP quality checklist rubric (PDF) to check that it includes the essential components.

Step 2

The school completes the online application form (staff login required) and attaches the completed IEP.

Step 3

The application is initially sent to the Performance and Evaluation Division to determine whether the young person was funded during the February census. If a young person was funded, the application will be deemed ineligible and the principal will be notified immediately. If the young person was not funded, the application will go through a series of endorsements/approvals.

Step 4

Schools will receive advice via email confirming the application's approval and the direct payment of approved funds to the school via the SRP update.

Links

For further information about VET delivered to secondary school students refer to: Vocational Education and Training Delivered to Secondary School Students.

Contacts

Schools should contact the Senior Regional Pathways Officer in their region via the list below to discuss applications and determine timeframes to ensure timely submission.

North Eastern Victoria Region: pathways.transitions.nev@education.vic.gov.au

North Western Victoria Region: pathways.transitions.nwv@education.vic.gov.au

South Eastern Victoria Region: pathways.transitions.sev@education.vic.gov.au

South Western Victoria Region: pathways.transitions.swv@education.vic.gov.au

If you require further information, please email: youth.participation@education.vic.gov.au