Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, UniSC recognises that a disability may be permanent or temporary and may take the following forms:

• physical
• psychiatric (mental health)
• sensory
• learning
• intellectual
• neurological
• a chronic medical condition (eg heart disease, chronic fatigue syndrome), or
• the presence in the body of disease-causing organisms

AccessAbility Services can also assist with support for students who are a primary carer for anyone meeting the above criteria or who is considered frail and aged, as defined in the Carer Recognition Act 2010. Support is available for students enrolled at all UniSC campuses.

Our Ability Advisers provide access to supports that are individually customised to meet your particular needs. These supports are based on the verified impacts of your condition or carer role on academic work and functioning, while considering the Inherent Academic Requirements for your program. We do not provide tutoring or personal care.

Current UniSC students: Book online via Student Hub

Future UniSC students: Register and book online

Telephone: 07 5430 1226

Email: AccessAbility@usc.edu.au

During your initial contact with AccessAbility Services, you will be asked to:

• provide suitable documentation verifying the nature and impacts of your condition or role as a carer, and
• complete an online consent form (UniSC login required)

General information about available supports and services may also be provided. It is suggested that you contact early to ensure your supports are in place for when they are needed.

A Learning Access Plan lists your reasonable academic adjustments and is valid for either a study period or calendar year, depending on when you contact AccessAbility Services and whether your condition is temporary, variable or permanent. You are to provide the Learning Access Plan to academic staff as soon as it is developed and again if you are seeking to use your academic adjustments.

Parents and guardians are welcome to contact us to obtain general information about possible supports and services available that may assist students when studying at UniSC. UniSC is an adult learning environment and privacy laws do not permit us to speak with parents, guardians or other family members about a student without the student’s written permission. We encourage you to make a plan with the student about how they can begin or continue to take on increased responsibility for their studies.

Employment support is available for UniSC students and graduates who identify as having a disability. The USEP consultant is available for in person, phone and Zoom appointments. You can book an appointment via Student Hub. For more information visit the USEP Website.

UniSC provides parking for people with a mobility disability at several designated disabled parking spaces across all UniSC campuses at no cost. If you require accessible parking at UniSC, you must obtain a permit from Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. For more information refer to parking at UniSC.

UniSC welcomes assistance animals on campus. While on campus, an assistance animal must wear an identifiable coat or harness and be accompanied by a certified handler who must carry their identification card.

AccessAbility Services follows the Work Integrated Learning (Placement) Procedures and provides information about how and when to disclose a condition that may impact on your ability to engage in Work Integrated Learning. We are here to assist you with Placement Disclosure Statements and access to reasonable adjustments. You can book a Placement Disclosure Adviser appointment to discuss your placement needs via Student Hub.

Maps showing accessible parking and toilets are available for all campuses. The Accessibility map also shows the location of lifts, induction loop, adaptive technologies room at the Sippy Downs campus.

There are many resources that are freely available that may assist with your university studies. You do not need to have a Learning Access Plan to access these resources.

• Learning Advisers can assist you with developing a wide range of academic skills.
• Built in screen readers (text-to-speech) read out the words that are on the screen and are great tools if you have a vision impairment, reading difficulties or simply prefer hearing the written word.
• Dictating to your computer (speech-to-text) is particularly useful if you have an injury that impairs your ability to type, you find you lose concentration when typing or you simply find typing uncomfortable.
• The wheel for iPad and wheel for Android contain apps that may assist with reading and writing difficulties.
• The Microsoft Immersive Reader helps improve reading and writing and it is built into many Microsoft programs including Word, OneNote, Outlook, Microsoft Teams and more.
• Grammarly and Ginger are programs that assist with grammar, ensuring mistake-free writing.
• Khan Academy is a great resource for building a deep, solid understanding in maths, science and more.
• PhotoMath is an app that utilises a phone's camera to recognise mathematical equations and to display the step-by-step solution onscreen.
• Ink math assistant in OneNote gives step-by-step tips to solve handwritten maths problems.
• Seeing AI is an app that can be useful if you have a vision impairment as it can identify and describe people, objects, documents etc.
• Thinkascend has a browser extension that adds accessibility features, such as font adjustment, colour contrast, animation toggle, text-to-speech, and tints and overlays, to every website you visit.

The potential benefits of disclosing and utilising university support services may include an improved academic outcome and higher graduation rate. Non-disclosure or disclosing only limited information may result in an inability to negotiate reasonable academic adjustments.

AccessAbility Services has developed a Disclosure Script Worksheet to help you decide what, when and how to disclose information. Further information on disclosure can be obtained on the Disclosure as a student page on the Western Sydney University's website, developed by NDCO, the National Disability Coordination Office Program. You are encouraged to use these resources to develop skills and confidence in talking about your needs.

The information you provide to AccessAbility Services is kept confidential and not released without your written consent, except in certain circumstances which are contained within the AccessAbility Services online consent form (UniSC login required). Your Academic Record at UniSC does not contain any disability or health information, nor any indication of contact with AccessAbility Services.

Further information about UniSC’s use of personal information can be found on the Privacy page.

You have the right to access any information that AccessAbility Services holds about you.