Finishing School on the NDIS: What Happens Next on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast
Updated: 5 days ago
Year 12 is nearly done. For a lot of families on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, the end of school brings relief and worry in equal measure. School gave your young person a routine, five days a week, and people who knew them well. Then it stops.
If your young person has an NDIS plan, there is funded support for what comes next, but it rarely falls into place on its own. This guide covers what changes when school ends, the supports available to NDIS school leavers, what is available locally on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, and what to sort out now so January isn't a blank page.
What changes when school finishes
School quietly covered a lot: structure, social contact, learning and supervision during the day. When it ends, those hours have to come from somewhere. Many NDIS plans were written while the person was still at school, so they often don't fund the weekday support a school leaver now needs.
Finishing school can count as a significant change in education arrangements, which can support a request for a plan reassessment. Our guide to the new NDIS plan reassessment rules explains who can ask and how it works.
Start with what your young person wants
Life after school isn't only about getting a job. It might be study or TAFE, volunteering, making friends, learning to catch the bus, or cooking a meal on their own. Ask your young person what a good week looks like to them, and write their goals down in their own words. Those goals are what the NDIS funds supports against, so the clearer they are, the easier it is to get the right supports in the plan.
If you have a support coordinator, bring them in early. They can help turn goals into funded supports and connect you with providers.
Supports for NDIS school leavers
Employment Assistance (previously SLES)
Employment Assistance replaced School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES). It is for young people aged 14 to 24 who have a goal of working. They don't need to be job-ready or have a job lined up. Support can include work experience, part-time work outside school hours, learning workplace skills like teamwork and following instructions, travel training to get to and from work, and building a career plan.
It is funded from the Capacity Building, Finding and Keeping a Job part of a plan. If your plan still has SLES funding, it can still be used. Our guide to the change from SLES to Employment Assistance covers the detail, and our Employment Assistance program on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast is built around each participant's goals rather than a fixed course.
Support to move into study or TAFE
If your young person is heading to TAFE, university or a short course, Capacity Building, Improved Learning can fund support with the move into further education. That might mean practising the trip to campus, getting familiar with the environment, and building the organisation skills study needs. The NDIS won't pay for the course itself. See our Improved Learning support for more.
Building everyday independence
Many school leavers want to do more for themselves: cook, manage money, shop, keep their room or home in order. Where the goal is learning those skills, Capacity Building, Improved Daily Living can fund it. Our Improved Daily Living explainer covers what it pays for, and our Improved Daily Living support page shows how we deliver it.
1:1 support and community access
One-on-one support from a support worker suits young people who want to get out into the community, try new activities, or build confidence at their own pace. It is usually funded from Core, as community access (the NDIS calls it social and community participation). Read more about our 1:1 NDIS support and community access.
Group programs and day programs
Groups give back some of the structure and friendship that school provided. Young people get a regular weekly routine, a group of peers, and support workers who know them. Groups are also usually funded from Core community access, and because the cost of support is shared, they stretch a budget further than the same hours of 1:1 support. See all our NDIS group programs.
School leaver support on the Gold Coast
Our Gold Coast programs run from our Hub in Nerang, and we support school leavers across the Gold Coast, including Southport, Helensvale, Robina and Coomera. Programs that suit school leavers include:
Skill Space, our Gold Coast day program for building life skills and confidence
Girl Squad, a social and skills group for neurodiverse teen girls aged 14 to 19
Social & Skills, a social group for neurodiverse boys and young men
Cook. Learn. Thrive., a 12-week cooking program
Employment Assistance and 1:1 support, tailored to each person
If your young person is finishing at a special school, our guide to special schools on the Gold Coast also covers what comes after.
School leaver support on the Sunshine Coast
On the Sunshine Coast, programs run from our studio in Moffat Beach, and we support young people across the coast, including Caloundra, Kawana and Maroochydore. Programs that suit school leavers include:
ThunderBolts, a fortnightly social group for young adults
Fun Friday, a weekly community access and adventure group
Craft Group, a relaxed art and craft group at the studio
Employment Assistance and 1:1 support, tailored to each person
A note on the 2026 NDIS changes
From 1 October 2026, social and community participation budgets can be reduced when a plan is reassessed. If that happens, a mix of group programs and fewer 1:1 hours can keep the same amount of support going for longer. It is worth planning the mix now rather than finding out halfway through the year. Our post on the 1 October NDIS changes explains what is changing.
What to do before the end of term
Talk with your young person about what they want their weeks to look like after school.
Ask the school and any therapists for reports that support those goals.
Check your current plan: what's funded, when it ends, and whether it includes Finding and Keeping a Job.
If the plan doesn't fit life after school, ask about a reassessment.
Talk to providers now, so supports can start in January instead of after a gap.
Supporting school leavers on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast
Loving Life Support Services helps young people move from school into work, study and community life, with Employment Assistance, group programs and 1:1 support at our Nerang Hub and Moffat Beach studio.
Gold Coast: call Carli on 0437 903 866. Sunshine Coast: call Angela on 0437 170 386. Or get in touch online.
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