NDIS Employment Supports Explained: Supported Employment, SLES, Inclusive Employment Australia and Employment Coaching (2026)

Home » NDIS Employment Supports Explained: Supported Employment, SLES, Inclusive Employment Australia and Employment Coaching (2026)

NDIS employment supports are the supports the NDIS can fund to help you get ready for work, find a job, keep it and move on in your career, because of your disability. They sit alongside, not instead of, government employment programs such as Inclusive Employment Australia and the help your employer must give you. This guide explains supported employment, school leaver employment supports, Inclusive Employment Australia and employment coaching, and which one pays for what.

Every fact comes from the NDIA, the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 or the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and each source is linked.

NDIS employment supports: quick summary

The NDIS funds disability-related help to work. The NDIA lists building skills for work, finding or changing jobs, support at work, and employment-related assessment, counselling and advice.
Most of it comes from one budget line. The NDIA’s capacity building category “Finding and keeping a job” is time-limited support for working-age participants.
Supported employment is work with organisations that offer jobs and training to people with disability. The NDIS can fund your day-to-day support on the job there.
School leaver employment supports are still a support item in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, and the NDIA’s guide for young participants covers ages 14 to 24.
Inclusive Employment Australia is the government’s specialist disability employment program. The NDIS does not fund government employment programs.
Your employer is responsible for reasonable adjustments, and may get help through the Employment Assistance Fund.
Supports in employment are protected from the budget reductions that start from 1 October 2026, the NDIA says.

Which employment support pays for what

This is the part most people find confusing, because several systems help with work and each has its own job.

Support	Who funds it	What it is for
NDIS employment supports	The NDIS, from your plan	Extra help you need because of your disability to get ready for work, find a job, and do your job
Supported employment	Your wage comes from the employer; the NDIS can fund your on-the-job support	Work and training with an organisation that offers jobs to people with disability
School leaver employment supports	The NDIS, from your plan	Helping young people build skills and get ready for work after school
Inclusive Employment Australia	The Australian Government (Department of Employment and Workplace Relations)	Helping people with disability, injury or a health condition prepare for, find and keep work
Employment Assistance Fund	The Australian Government, through JobAccess	Workplace modifications, equipment, Auslan services and workplace support for eligible people and employers
Reasonable adjustments	Your employer	Changes that let you do your work safely and have the same opportunities as other workers

What NDIS employment supports can fund

The NDIA’s Guide to employment lists the kinds of NDIS supports it can fund to help you work:

Discovering what you’re good at, and what work suits you.
Learning how to work: getting to and from work, working in a team, solving problems, understanding what employers expect, and building confidence in real work settings.
Finding or changing jobs: finding a job that fits your skills, helping your employer learn how to support you, and changing jobs or progressing your career.
Getting support at work: help to do your tasks until you can do them yourself, personal care at work, and on-the-job coaching, training and mentoring. It can be one-to-one or in a group.
Employment-related assessment, counselling and advice from allied health professionals, such as a vocational or functional assessment, or help with workplace adjustments.

On the NDIA’s capacity building supports page, this funding appears as “Finding and keeping a job”. The NDIA describes it as time-limited support for all working-age participants, for things like building work skills, developing a career plan, work experience, and moving into work or further education.

Support on the job can also be funded as a day-to-day support. The NDIA’s Work and study guideline says it considers your hours of work if you need day-to-day, on-the-job supports.

In the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, the related support items include Employment Assistance (10_016_0102_5_3), Supports in Employment (04_801_0133_5_1 and related items), a set of Employment Therapy items delivered by allied health professionals, and School Leaver Employment Supports (10_021_0102_5_3). The price limits are in the schedule, and they change each year, so we do not repeat them here.

Supported employment and the NDIS

The NDIA describes supported employment services as organisations that offer work to people with disability. It says they can also offer training to help people with disability learn the skills they need to find employment.

The NDIS does not pay your wage. What it can fund is the support you need to do the work. The Work and study guideline says this could be support just for you, or in a group if you work with other people with disability, for example in a supported employment service.

Supported employment does not have to be permanent. The guideline says that if your goal is to change where you work, NDIS supports may help, including building skills to move from a supported employment service into another job. The NDIA’s employment goals page gives the example of someone who works in a supported employment service 3 days a week and wants to try working somewhere else one day a week.

Some workers in open or supported employment are paid under the Supported Wage System, which lets employers pay a productivity-based wage. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations sets the eligibility rules, including being at least 15 years old and meeting the Disability Support Pension impairment criteria.

School leaver employment supports

School Leaver Employment Supports is still a support item in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (10_021_0102_5_3). It is listed among the items without a specified price.

The NDIA’s guide to employment support for young participants covers participants aged 14 to 24. It says support is available to help young participants:

get extra work experience beyond what they receive at school
get a part-time job outside school hours
move from school to work, including those with very little work experience
find and keep a job
move from school to further education or training, or get a job after finishing a qualification.

The NDIA does not fund what a school, traineeship provider or employer is responsible for. It may fund the extra support you need because of your disability to take part, such as help to complete a school-based traineeship.

Inclusive Employment Australia, formerly Disability Employment Services

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations describes Inclusive Employment Australia as a new specialist disability employment program that helps people with disability, injury or a health condition prepare for, find and keep work and grow their career. Its old Disability Employment Services page now leads to the Inclusive Employment Australia page. You register through Services Australia.

The NDIA’s Guide to employment says Inclusive Employment Australia helps jobseekers with disability who have existing work skills and limited ongoing support needs. The Work and study guideline says the NDIS does not fund government-funded employment programs, and it names Disability Employment Services, JobAccess and Workforce Australia as examples.

So the two work side by side. Inclusive Employment Australia helps you look for and keep a job. The NDIS funds the extra, disability-related help you need to get there and to do the work.

What your employer is responsible for

The Work and study guideline says your employer is responsible for providing reasonable adjustments. These are changes that help you do your work safely, have the same opportunity to get a job and be promoted, be treated fairly, and do your job as well as you can.

Your employer may be able to get funding for some of this through the Employment Assistance Fund. The NDIA says the fund provides financial help for eligible people with disability and employers to buy work-related modifications, equipment, Auslan services, workplace assistance and support services. JobAccess has the details.

NDIS supports while you study

The same guideline covers study. Your school must make reasonable adjustments so you can take part in education, and universities and TAFEs must do the same for their students. The NDIS does not pay education or tuition fees.

It may fund extra support you need because of your disability. At school, that can include personal care and transport, which are usually provided as in-kind supports that do not come out of your plan’s funding. At university or TAFE, the NDIA lists personal care while you study or do approved placements, transport if you cannot drive or use public transport because of your disability, and training for staff about your support needs.

How to get NDIS employment supports into your plan

Set a work goal. The NDIA says your goals depend on your situation and life stage. Your my NDIS contact or support coordinator can help you think about them, and our NDIS goals examples show how to word one.
Share it at your plan meeting. The NDIA says your planner will need to know where and when you work, what tasks you do, any extra help you need beyond what your employer gives, and whether you need support one-on-one or in a group.
Find a provider. The NDIA points to its Provider Finder and its provider quarterly report, and publishes an employment support provider comparison worksheet with questions to ask.
Track your progress. The NDIA says your employment support provider’s report for your next plan reassessment should cover your work goal, the supports delivered, your progress, the skills you still need and how long it is likely to take.

If your work situation changes during your plan, such as starting or losing a job, that can be an NDIS change of circumstances worth telling the NDIA about.

Supports in employment and the October 2026 budget changes

The NDIA’s update of 17 September 2026 says budgets for Social Economic and Community Participation, and Improved Daily Living Skills, will be reduced as plans are created or reassessed from 1 October 2026 or renewed from 1 February 2027. It says some supports in those categories won’t be affected, and it names supports in employment first. Our guide to the NDIS budget resets explains the change in full.

How to check any of this yourself

What the NDIS funds for work: the NDIA’s Guide to employment and its Work and study guideline.
Support items: search the NDIS Pricing Schedule for the item numbers above, and read the national price in the first price column.
Inclusive Employment Australia: the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations page, and Services Australia for registering.
Each page’s date: NDIA pages show a “This page current as of” date at the bottom. Guidelines show their publication date on every page.

Frequently asked questions

What employment supports does the NDIS fund?

The NDIS can fund supports to build your skills for work, find or change jobs, get support at work (including personal care and on-the-job coaching), and employment-related assessment, counselling and advice from allied health professionals. Most of it sits in the capacity building category Finding and keeping a job.

Is Disability Employment Services still running?

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations now points its Disability Employment Services page to Inclusive Employment Australia, which it describes as a new specialist disability employment program. The NDIA’s current Guide to employment names Inclusive Employment Australia.

Can I use Inclusive Employment Australia and NDIS employment supports at the same time?

They do different jobs. Inclusive Employment Australia helps you prepare for, find and keep work. The NDIS does not fund government employment programs, but it can fund the extra help you need because of your disability. Talk to your my NDIS contact or support coordinator about how they fit together for you.

Does the NDIS pay my wages in supported employment?

No. The NDIS can fund the support you need to do your work, individually or in a group. Your pay comes from your employer.

Is SLES still available in 2026?

School Leaver Employment Supports is still a support item in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27. The NDIA’s guide for young participants covers ages 14 to 24 and describes help to move from school to work or further study.

Who pays for workplace adjustments?

Your employer is responsible for reasonable adjustments. The Employment Assistance Fund may help eligible people with disability and employers pay for work-related modifications, equipment, Auslan services and workplace support.

Will the October 2026 budget reductions cut my employment supports?

The NDIA says supports in employment won’t be affected by the reductions to Social Economic and Community Participation and Improved Daily Living Skills budgets.

How long does Finding and keeping a job funding last?

The NDIA describes it as time-limited support for working-age participants. Your plan shows the amount and the plan period.

How Centre of Hope can help

Centre of Hope’s Employment Coaching works with NDIS participants who have a work goal, from getting job-ready to settling into a new role. It is funded from Finding and keeping a job in your plan. Our support coordinators can also help you connect employment supports with the rest of your plan, and our psychosocial recovery coaches work with people whose psychosocial disability affects work.

Centre of Hope is a registered NDIS provider in NSW. To talk about a work goal, get in touch or call us on 0432 250 900.