Education support services

This part of the Lifetime Care and Support Guidelines is issued under section 93 of the Lifetime Care and Support (Catastrophic Injuries) Act 2014 (LTCS Act).

To avoid requirements that might be unreasonable in the circumstances on any participant, the LTCS Commissioner may waive observance of any part or parts of these LTCS Guidelines.

1. Policy

The LTCS Commissioner will fund the reasonable and necessary cost of additional education and training support services that are required as a result of the motor accident injury. These services are additional to those services the participant is entitled to under applicable state or federal legislation, administered by the Education and Training Directorate, Association of Independent Schools of the ACT and the Catholic Education Office.

2. Background

The LTCS Commissioner may support the participant's commencement at or return to appropriate educational settings within:

• preschool;
• childcare, including before and after school care;
• primary, secondary, college and special schools; or
• higher and vocational education.

Education and training support services assist in maximising a participant's involvement in an education program and aim to minimise the impact of the injury, taking account of the participant's pre-accident status. They are part of a participant's overall rehabilitation program and will be based upon measurable learning and development outcomes. The LTCS Commissioner considers the education provider to be responsible for the provision of educational and training support services appropriate to the participant's development and capabilities.

Education support services will be reviewed regularly. The LTCS Commissioner will regularly consult with the participant and service providers to review education or training support services to ensure they continue to meet the participant's changing needs. The type and amount of services that the LTCS Commissioner will fund may change when:

• the participant's needs change;
• their education setting or program changes; or
• the service funded is no longer the most appropriate response to the participant's needs.

The LTCS Commissioner will fund education and training support services for a participant whose ability to engage in an education program, appropriate for their age and developmental abilities, has decreased as a result of their motor accident injury.

The LTCS Commissioner is not responsible for the funding of any service to which the participant is entitled under the applicable state or federal legislation, including services and programs provided in schools or other educational settings to which the participant is already entitled. This includes modifications to schools or other educational premises, which will be funded by the LTCS Commissioner only if they are reasonable and necessary and are not the responsibility of the state or federal governments.

To determine whether a participant is eligible for education and training support and training services, the LTCS Commissioner may consider:

• the participant's pre-accident development and learning history;
• services which the participant accessed, was on the waiting list for, or was assessed as requiring prior to the motor accident;
• measurable changes in the participant's ability to engage in education and training as a result of their motor accident injury;
• assessment by an independent therapist, special educator, or other specialist professionals in child education and development; and
• existing education and training support that the participant is able to access.

The support services may include:

• tutorial support;
• teacher's aides/assistants;
• transitional support;
• professional support specific to the participant;
• equipment (refer to the Equipment policy);
• specialist support, such as therapists, special education or other professionals.

The LTCS Commissioner will fund additional education and training support to:

• cover a participant's learning missed during an absence from school or tertiary/vocational studies that is a result of motor accident injuries, for example due to a long hospital admission or continued absences due to an outpatient rehabilitation program; or
• consolidate a participant's learning where an injury-related learning need has been identified.

A suitably qualified provider must recommend that the service is the most appropriate service for the participant to achieve measurable learning outcomes or the service will enable the participant to return to their pre-accident level of academic achievement, or a level consistent with their motor accident injury.

The LTCS Commissioner expects that an education or training provider will incorporate and implement recommendations in collaboration with the specialist provider into a participant's individual plan.

The LTCS Commissioner will not fund:

• services that are of no clear benefit to a participant;
• services for a condition that existed before a motor accident or that is not a result of a motor accident;
• services that the participant accessed, was assessed as needing or was on the waiting list for prior to the motor accident; or
• education expenses levied by the educational institution including school fees, fees for excursions or school camps, stationery and uniforms that are the responsibility of the parent or guardian. The LTCS Commissioner will fund the additional expenses that are required as a result of the motor accident injury.

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