NDIS School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES): The Complete Australian Guide

Most families discover SLES six months before their child finishes Year 12 — which is at least two years too late to use it effectively. The NDIS planning window for this funding category opens in Year 11, and the evidence you need to unlock it takes time to build. By the time graduation panic sets in, families who haven't prepared are scrambling to access a program they've barely heard of.

SLES is one of the highest-value supports available to young NDIS participants. Here is a complete, plain-language guide to what it is, how to get it funded, how to pick a provider who will actually deliver, and how it compares to Disability Employment Services.

What SLES Actually Is

School Leaver Employment Supports is an NDIS capacity-building funding category specifically designed for young people who are leaving school and haven't yet established a sustainable pathway to employment or further education. It is only available to participants who have recently completed secondary school — you can't access it mid-school, and it has a time limit.

The core purpose of SLES is not to get your child a job. It is to build the foundational skills that make employment possible — skills that the school system often covers theoretically but rarely practises in real-world contexts. A SLES program might include:

• Travel training — learning to use public transport independently to reach a workplace
• Work experience placements — structured, supported time in real workplaces across different industries
• Job readiness skills — resume preparation, interview practice, professional communication, understanding workplace culture
• Social and communication skills in work contexts — interacting with supervisors, handling feedback, managing conflict
• Industry exploration — visiting employers, identifying what kinds of work match the individual's interests and capabilities

SLES funding sits under Capacity Building — Finding and Keeping a Job (CB Employment). It is available for up to two years after a participant leaves school. The annual funding is approximately $22,000 per year, delivered via a block funding model rather than hourly billing — which is important to understand when evaluating providers (more on this below).

NDIA data from 2024 shows that 47% of SLES program time across Australia was spent on core work-readiness and social communication skills. Participants who spent the most time in direct employer engagement and actual work experience were statistically far more likely to transition into paid open employment. The program works — but only when the provider uses the funding for genuine skill-building rather than structured day activities.

Who Qualifies for SLES

SLES is available to NDIS participants who:

• Have recently finished school (typically Year 12 or equivalent)
• Have an employment or further education goal in their NDIS plan
• Have a demonstrated need for support to build employment-related skills
• Are within the approximate age window of 18–22 (though this isn't a hard cutoff — it's about recency of school completion)

The critical phrase is "demonstrated need." SLES is not automatic. You must make the case that your child needs this specific type of capacity-building support to build toward employment. The NDIS applies its "reasonable and necessary" criteria rigorously for SLES requests.

If your child's current NDIS plan has no employment goals, no work-experience history, and no evidence of a planned vocational pathway, a planner is unlikely to fund SLES — not because they're being obstructive, but because the application hasn't been built.

How to Get SLES Funded: Building the Case

This is where most families fail. They attend an NDIS plan review and ask for SLES. The planner asks for evidence. The family doesn't have it. Funding is denied.

Here is the evidence you need to build before the plan review meeting — ideally starting in Year 10 or 11:

1. An Individual Transition Plan (ITP) from the school. This document should explicitly name post-school employment or further education as a goal, identify the specific skills your child needs to develop, and show that the school has attempted to build those skills. If your school hasn't started an ITP, request one in writing.

2. School-based work experience records. Any work experience your child has done — including placements that were difficult or unsuccessful — is useful evidence. A failed placement isn't a negative; it demonstrates that unsupported employment isn't yet viable and that structured SLES support is necessary.

3. A Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) from an occupational therapist. This is often the single most important document. An OT assessment that clearly identifies the gap between your child's current functional capacity and the demands of open employment is compelling evidence for SLES. Request this assessment in Year 11.

4. A formal quote from a SLES provider. Having a provider's quote shows the NDIS that you have done the research and have a concrete plan — not just a vague request.

5. A written statement linking SLES to future independence. Frame SLES as an early intervention that prevents long-term reliance on the Disability Support Pension and expensive day programs. NDIS planners respond to this framing because it aligns with the scheme's stated goal of increasing economic participation.

If you are approaching this process unprepared, the Australia Post-Secondary Transition Roadmap includes ready-to-use NDIS goal templates and a SLES evidence checklist designed specifically for transition-age planning reviews.

SLES vs DES: Understanding the Difference

This is one of the most persistent sources of confusion in the disability employment space. SLES and DES (Disability Employment Services) are fundamentally different programs that serve different purposes at different stages.

SLES (School Leaver Employment Supports)

• NDIS-funded, sits in Capacity Building
• For people who recently left school and aren't ready for active job seeking
• Focus: skill development, work readiness, building confidence and practical ability
• Delivered by NDIS-registered SLES providers
• Block funding model (~$22,000/year for up to 2 years)
• You must proactively include this in your NDIS plan

DES (Disability Employment Services)

• Federally funded via the Department of Employment
• For people who are ready to actively seek and maintain employment
• Focus: job placement, employer engagement, ongoing workplace support
• Available to anyone with a disability who meets eligibility criteria — not just NDIS participants
• Free to access (government-funded)
• You don't need an NDIS plan to access DES

The practical difference: SLES builds the capacity to work. DES finds the job once that capacity exists. Most school leavers with significant support needs need SLES first, then move to DES once they have demonstrated work readiness. Moving directly to DES without completing SLES often results in job placements that fail quickly because the foundational skills haven't been developed.

There is also an overlap period where a participant might be accessing SLES while also beginning to engage with a DES provider — this is intentional, and a good SLES provider will actively coordinate with DES during the final months of the program to ensure a smooth handover.

How to Choose a SLES Provider Who Isn't a Rort

This is the part most guides skip — and the most important thing a family can do to protect SLES funding. Because SLES is delivered via block funding rather than hourly billing, providers receive the annual sum upfront regardless of how much genuine skill-building happens. This creates a real risk of poor service delivery.

Reddit's r/NDIS forum is blunt about this. As one parent wrote: "Not all SLES programs are designed the same. Some programs are atrocious and a clear rort... Not everyone wants to be a barista but I can guarantee you that's what will be offered unless you understand what your options are."

Before signing with any provider, ask these questions in writing and expect specific, concrete answers:

About their program model:

• What percentage of time is spent in actual workplace settings versus your site?
• How many different industry sectors do participants typically explore?
• What is your employer network like — how many active employer relationships do you have?
• What does a typical week look like for a participant in your program?

About their outcomes:

• What percentage of participants who complete your two-year program move into paid employment or further education?
• Can you provide outcome data from your most recent cohort?
• What's your process when a work placement isn't working?

About their staffing:

• What is the staff-to-participant ratio during work placements?
• What qualifications do your job coaches have?
• How is on-site support provided during work experience?

About how they handle your child's specific needs:

• Have you supported participants with [your child's specific disability] before?
• How will you build the travel training component if my child doesn't yet use public transport?

A provider who can't answer these questions specifically — or who gives vague responses about "empowerment" and "person-centred planning" without concrete program structure — is a risk. Visit the provider's site, ask to speak with families of current participants, and get everything agreed in a service agreement before committing.

What Happens After SLES

SLES is a bridge, not a destination. The two-year window is designed to build enough capacity that the participant can move into one of the following:

• Open employment with DES support if needed
• Supported employment through an Australian Disability Enterprise, for those requiring ongoing workplace support
• TAFE or further vocational education, with disability support services accessed through the institution
• Self-employment or microenterprise, using NDIS Core and Capacity Building funding
• Ongoing NDIS day programs, if employment is not currently a realistic goal

Starting to plan the post-SLES transition around the 12-month mark of the program gives enough time to make applications, arrange assessments, and ensure there's no gap in support when SLES funding ends.

For a full roadmap covering not just SLES but every component of the transition from school to adult life — including NDIS planning, Centrelink, housing, and independent living — the Australia Post-Secondary Transition Roadmap covers each stage with checklists and templates built for Australian families.

See more Australia guides →