By Callum Moore
Every year, Australian non-government schools collect data on students with disability who receive extra support.
The government has released updated NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability) guidelines for 2026. The good news is that the overall process has not changed. What has changed is how schools are expected to record and show the support they provide.
Think of it this way. Schools are already doing great work to support their students. These updates simply ask schools to keep a clearer record of that work.
iSAMS is here to help. Our platform gives schools the tools to track student support, store evidence, and generate the reports they need, when they need them.
Let's walk through the key changes together.
1. If you don't speak to parents or carers, write down why
Schools are expected to talk with parents, carers, or the student before putting support in place. Most schools already do this as part of their normal process.
The 2026 update adds one new step. If that conversation does not happen, the school needs to record the reason.
For example, a teacher might identify that a student has an ongoing reading difficulty and put literacy support in place. If the parent or carer has not yet been consulted, the school should record why that conversation did not happen. This could be a file note, a comment in a learning plan, or a record in a communication log.
How iSAMS helps. With Student Registers, you can securely add notes and communication records directly to a student’s record, while controlling who can view and update that information. Schools can also have a tailored report built to pull the data into the format required for submission to the relevant authorities. Everything is stored in one place, making it easy to manage and retrieve later.
2. Students with the highest level of support need it all the time
The NCCD asks schools to show that support was provided for at least 10 weeks during the collection period.
For most students, those weeks do not need to be consecutive. Support and adjustments of any size or duration, in any given week counts as a full week.
But for students at the Extensive level, the rules are a bit different.
These are students who need the most support. For example, if a student is counted at the Extensive level, the school needs to show that support was in place all the time across 10 consecutive weeks within a single school term.
How iSAMS helps. You can track support over time for each student from Student Registers. This makes it simple to show that adjustments were happening consistently when they needed to be
3. If there's no diagnosis, make sure the reason for support is clear
Sometimes a student does not have a formal diagnosis, but the school team can see they have a disability. This is called imputing disability, and it is a normal part of the NCCD process.
The 2026 update asks schools to be extra clear about one thing. The support must be because of disability, not because of something else.
For example, a student might need help because of:
- Gaps in learning
- Low attendance
- A difficult home situation
- English not being their first language
Schools should absolutely keep supporting these students. But those reasons on their own are not enough to include the student in the NCCD. The support needs to be linked to the impact of a disability.
How iSAMS helps. In iSAMS’ Student Registers and Medical Centre modules, you can record whether a disability is diagnosed or imputed, along with the reason for the decision. This gives you a clear trail that shows how and why the call was made.
4. Clearer examples of what counts as evidence
The updated guidelines now give schools better examples of what good evidence looks like.
This includes:
- Learning plans
- Timetables that show when support is delivered
- Emails or notes from conversations with parents
- Team meeting notes about the student's progress
- Checklists or assessments of the student's needs
Here is the important part. Schools don't always need to create new documents if there is already a suitable record via an item defined as good evidence. The evidence is already being created through everyday work. The goal is to capture it as you go rather than scrambling to pull it together at the end of the year.
How iSAMS helps. In Medical Centre, Student Registers and Student Manager modules, you can manage learning plans, record notes, store communication, and track adjustments all in iSAMS. When it is time to report, your evidence is already there and ready to export.
A quick reminder about the NCCD cycle
The NCCD runs from August to August, not by calendar year. Census Day is the first Friday in August.
Here is a rough guide to how it maps to the school year:
- Term 4 (previous year): Review the latest guidelines and get ready
- Term 1: Start planning adjustments and setting up records
- Term 2: Put adjustments in place and keep documenting
- Term 3: Check everything, quality assure, and submit
Schools that build good habits early in the cycle have a much easier time when Census Day comes around.
What it all comes down to
The 2026 guidelines are not asking schools to do something completely new. They are asking schools to show their work more clearly.
Better records. Stronger evidence. More consistency.
That is the goal.
iSAMS is here to help
Our platform already supports the key areas schools need for NCCD.
You can:
- Record adjustments and support levels for each student
- Store notes, plans, and communications
- Track decisions and the reasons behind them
- Export your data whenever you need it for reporting or audit
You do not need to build something new. The tools are already there.
If you have questions, or want to see, how iSAMS supports NCCD, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with our team any time.
Helpful links
- NCCD Guidelines: 2026 Onward (PDF)
- NCCD Guidelines Overview
- Levels of Adjustment Viewer
- Imputing Disability Guidance
- SchoolsHUB: 2026 Announcement