Families preparing a young person for employment often have practical questions about SLES funding.
Can the funding pay for work experience? Can it be used for public transport training? What about a White Card, RSA course, forklift licence, work uniform or laptop? Can a provider charge the participant’s plan for resume preparation, employer visits and support during a traineeship?
The answer depends on more than whether an activity is related to employment.
A central principle of the NDIS is that funded employment assistance should address the extra support a participant needs because of disability. It should also be connected to the participant’s goals and sit outside the ordinary responsibilities of a school, employer, registered training organisation, traineeship provider or another mainstream service.
Current NDIS guidance identifies work experience, independent travel skills, workplace communication, understanding employer expectations, overcoming employment barriers, connecting with employers and developing a career plan as examples of employment assistance. It also makes clear that the NDIS does not fund services that a school, employer, tertiary education provider or traineeship provider is responsible for delivering.
This distinction is important because the words “employment-related” do not automatically mean “NDIS-funded”.
For example:
- Support to learn how to travel independently to a workplace may be appropriate employment assistance.
- The ordinary public transport fare may be a personal day-to-day expense.
- Disability-related coaching during a work placement may be appropriate.
- The workplace’s ordinary induction and task supervision remain employer responsibilities.
- Help to identify a suitable qualification may form part of career planning.
- The tuition or enrolment fee for that qualification may be the responsibility of the participant, education system or another program.
Next Gen Youth Employment helps young people and their families understand these boundaries before services begin. Our personalised approach connects each activity to the participant’s employment goals, disability-related needs and agreed support plan rather than treating the available budget as a general pool for every cost associated with work.
This detailed guide explains what NDIS SLES funding may pay for, what will often be another organisation’s responsibility and what families should ask before agreeing that an activity can be charged to the participant’s plan.
What Is SLES? SLES Meaning and Its Place in the NDIS
SLES meaning refers to School Leaver Employment Supports.
When families search phrases such as what is SLES, NDIS SLES, SLES NDIS or SLES program NDIS, they are usually looking for information about disability-related assistance that helps a young person move from school towards employment, training or further education.
A personalised SLES program may help a participant:
- Discover their employment strengths and interests
- Explore industries and job types
- Build basic workplace skills
- Gain practical work experience
- Learn how to travel to work
- Prepare resumes and applications
- Practise interviews
- Understand workplace communication
- Develop strategies for managing disability-related barriers
- Connect with employers
- Learn duties in a real workplace
- Increase independence
- Find and maintain suitable employment
The NDIS describes employment assistance as support that may help participants try work activities, build essential employment skills, manage barriers, connect with an employer, customise a suitable job and develop a career plan. Providers are expected to create a tailored support plan covering the participant’s goals, employment barriers, services, delivery arrangements and review schedule.
Employment funding may appear in a plan under terminology such as:
- Employment assistance
- Capacity Building supports
- Finding and Keeping a Job
- Finding and Keeping a Job NDIS
- NDIS Finding and Keeping a Job
- School Leaver Employment Supports
SLES is commonly used to describe the school-to-work transition program, while Finding and Keeping a Job is broader terminology used for employment-related support within the NDIS.
The exact wording of a participant’s plan matters. Families should not assume that every participant has the same budget, approved activities or level of assistance simply because they meet general SLES eligibility considerations.
SLES Funding Eligibility Is Different From Approval for Every Expense
SLES funding eligibility does not mean that every employment-related purchase can be paid from the participant’s plan.
There are two separate questions:
- Does the participant have employment-support funding in their plan?
- Is the particular service, activity or cost an appropriate use of that funding?
A participant may have an employment goal and an approved budget, but each claimed service must still comply with NDIS requirements. The support should be disability-related, connected to the participant’s goals, effective, beneficial, safe, value for money and not more appropriately provided by another organisation or system.
Official NDIS guidance states that providers can only claim for employment supports after the service has been delivered and that claims must comply with NDIS rules and regulations.
This means a provider should be able to explain:
- What service is being delivered
- Which participant goal it addresses
- Why the participant needs that service because of disability
- How the activity will build capability or employment progress
- How long the support is expected to continue
- What outcome will be measured
- What amount will be charged
- Why the expense is not the responsibility of a school, employer or training provider
At Next Gen Youth Employment, we believe families should understand these details before an activity begins—not after the invoice arrives.
The Main Test: Is It Disability-Related Support or an Ordinary Employment Cost?
One of the most useful ways to understand SLES funding NDIS boundaries is to separate the support from the underlying activity or item.
Consider a young person who wants to complete a hospitality course.
There may be several separate costs:
- The course enrolment fee
- Learning materials
- Ordinary assessment fees
- Transport to the course
- A support worker helping the participant navigate the venue
- Disability-related coaching to understand instructions
- Help communicating support needs to the training provider
- Personal care during attendance
- Follow-up coaching to apply the skills in a workplace
These costs do not necessarily have the same funding responsibility.
The NDIS work and study guidance explains that tertiary education and training providers are responsible for educational content, tuition and reasonable adjustments related to learning. It identifies education or tuition fees, educational services and training generally delivered through tertiary settings as examples that the NDIS does not fund. However, disability-related assistance outside the education provider’s responsibility may be considered, such as personal care, some transport support or help connecting with learning supports.
The question is therefore not simply:
“Is this activity useful for employment?”
A stronger question is:
“What extra disability-related support does the participant need to access, learn from or apply this activity, and who is ordinarily responsible for providing it?”
A Practical SLES Funding Decision Framework
Before agreeing that an employment activity will be charged to the plan, families can work through five questions.
1. Is the activity connected to an employment goal?
The participant should have a goal involving areas such as:
- Exploring work
- Building job-ready skills
- Completing work experience
- Finding a job
- Maintaining employment
- Changing jobs
- Advancing their career
- Moving into training connected to employment
The NDIS advises that employment support should be linked to a work goal in the participant’s plan. That goal may involve building skills, volunteering, gaining work experience, finding work or continuing in employment.
2. Is the support needed because of disability?
A participant may need extra time, individual coaching, visual resources, repetition, communication support, workplace prompting or help managing sensory and social barriers.
The support should address a disability-related need rather than simply provide a benefit that any job seeker might value.
3. Is another organisation responsible?
Schools, employers, training providers and mainstream employment programs have their own responsibilities.
The NDIS generally funds the additional disability-related support that sits beyond those ordinary responsibilities—not a replacement for them.
4. Is the activity likely to produce a meaningful outcome?
There should be a reason for delivering the activity and a way to review whether it helped.
For example:
- Did travel training increase independence?
- Did work experience identify suitable duties?
- Did interview coaching improve the participant’s responses?
- Did workplace support reduce the need for prompting?
- Did employer engagement lead to a placement, trial or clearer career direction?
5. Is the cost clearly agreed?
The service agreement should explain:
- The support to be delivered
- The rate or pricing method
- Provider travel
- Non-face-to-face work
- Reports
- Cancellation terms
- How progress and budget use will be reviewed
Families should not rely on vague descriptions such as “employment program activities”. Each major activity should have a clear purpose.
What SLES Funding May Pay For
1. Career Planning and Vocational Exploration
A young person may leave school knowing they want to work but not knowing what kind of work would suit them.
Career planning through a SLES program NDIS service may include support to:
- Identify strengths and interests
- Explore different industries
- Understand the duties involved in particular jobs
- Compare indoor, outdoor, customer-facing and task-based work
- Identify preferred hours and environments
- Consider sensory or communication needs
- Understand the difference between paid work, volunteering and training
- Develop short-term and long-term employment goals
- Create a step-by-step employment action plan
Official NDIS guidance identifies discovering what a participant is good at, understanding what work suits them, developing a career plan and completing vocational assessments as possible employment supports.
What may be appropriate to charge
A provider may be able to charge for time spent directly supporting the participant to:
- Complete a strengths-based employment assessment
- Discuss job interests
- Visit potential workplaces
- Research realistic job pathways
- Identify disability-related barriers
- Develop a personalised work goal
- Create and review an employment plan
Some employment-related vocational assessments may need to be completed by an appropriately qualified allied health professional rather than a general employment coach.
What may not be appropriate
Generic career information freely available through a school or mainstream career service should not automatically become an NDIS-funded service.
A provider should add disability-specific value. This might involve adapting information, breaking decisions into manageable steps, providing individual coaching or using practical trials to help the participant understand different occupations.
How Next Gen Youth Employment can help
Next Gen Youth Employment begins by learning about the young person rather than assuming a particular job will suit them.
We can help participants explore industries such as retail, hospitality, administration, logistics, customer service, manufacturing and trades while considering the environment, duties and support level that may work best for the individual.
2. Work Experience Preparation
Work experience can be an important part of SLES support, particularly for participants who have limited employment history or are unsure which jobs suit them.
Preparation may involve:
- Identifying suitable duties
- Choosing an appropriate workplace
- Discussing the participant’s strengths and support needs
- Preparing for a workplace tour
- Learning the travel route
- Reviewing dress and presentation expectations
- Practising how to introduce themselves
- Understanding the roster
- Preparing questions for the supervisor
- Discussing privacy and disability disclosure
- Developing visual instructions or workplace prompts
The NDIS states that employment assistance may help participants try different work activities and develop skills through on-the-job work experience. It also recognises additional work experience outside what is available through a school curriculum.
What the school may be responsible for
Where the placement is part of the school curriculum, the school remains responsible for delivering its ordinary work-experience program and making appropriate educational adjustments.
NDIS employment support may be relevant where the participant needs additional disability-related assistance beyond what the school provides or where extra work exposure is needed outside the school program.
What the SLES provider may do
A provider may support the participant to:
- Prepare for the placement
- Understand workplace expectations
- Practise relevant skills
- Communicate disability-related needs
- Attend an orientation
- Build confidence before the first shift
- Review the experience afterwards
- Identify what should be tried next
The provider should be able to explain why the placement was chosen and what skills it is intended to develop.
3. On-Site Work Experience Support
Some participants can attend work experience independently once the placement is arranged. Others may need temporary or ongoing on-site assistance.
This could include:
- Demonstrating a task
- Breaking duties into smaller steps
- Developing a visual checklist
- Helping the participant remain on task
- Supporting communication with supervisors
- Practising how to ask for help
- Helping the participant manage changes
- Gradually reducing prompts
- Collecting structured workplace feedback
- Reviewing what the participant can now complete independently
The NDIS identifies on-the-job coaching, training and mentoring as potential supports. It also states that disability-related assistance may help a participant perform tasks until they can do more independently.
The provider should not replace the worker
A coach should support the participant to learn and contribute. They should not complete the participant’s ordinary duties for them or act as free labour for the employer.
The purpose of on-site support should be capability building, disability-related assistance or the development of sustainable workplace strategies.
The support should change over time
Where appropriate, coaching may move through stages:
- Full demonstration
- Task completion with prompts
- Use of written or visual instructions
- Supervisor-led natural workplace cues
- Greater independent task completion
- Occasional review or problem-solving support
Not every participant will become fully independent, but the provider should still show how support is being adjusted according to progress.
Next Gen Youth Employment can help structure work experience so it provides evidence about the participant’s abilities, support needs and job preferences rather than becoming an open-ended placement with no clear direction.
4. Resume Preparation and Job Applications
Resume support may be delivered through NDIS Finding and Keeping a Job funding where the participant needs disability-related assistance to understand, prepare or use job application materials.
This may involve:
- Identifying transferable skills
- Describing school, volunteering and work-experience achievements
- Selecting suitable referees
- Creating a clear resume structure
- Understanding job advertisements
- Identifying essential and desirable criteria
- Completing online applications
- Writing or adapting cover letters
- Organising certificates
- Setting up a professional email address
- Learning how to track applications
A participant should be involved in creating their resume. The provider should not simply write a document without helping the young person understand what it says or how to use it.
What makes the support disability-related?
Examples may include:
- Simplifying job advertisements
- Using visual tools to identify skills
- Providing additional time to draft responses
- Helping the participant communicate achievements
- Supporting executive functioning and organisation
- Practising how to upload documents
- Developing templates the participant can reuse
- Teaching the participant how to identify suitable vacancies
A general resume-writing service may be available through schools, employment services or community programs. The NDIS-funded element should address the extra assistance the participant requires because of disability.
5. Interview Coaching
Interview preparation is another common component of employment assistance.
Support may include:
- Understanding common interview formats
- Preparing examples of skills
- Practising answers
- Learning how to ask for clarification
- Discussing body language and communication
- Preparing questions for the employer
- Planning what to wear
- Practising video interviews
- Visiting the interview location
- Developing anxiety-management strategies
- Discussing whether and how to request adjustments
- Reviewing feedback after an interview
Interview coaching should not promise that the participant will receive a job. Its purpose is to help the participant communicate their strengths and participate as confidently as possible.
Next Gen Youth Employment can tailor mock interviews to the participant’s target industry. A warehouse interview may focus on reliability, safety and following procedures, while a hospitality interview may focus more on customer service, teamwork and handling busy environments.
6. Workplace Communication and Social Skills
Workplace communication is expressly identified in current NDIS SLES guidelines as an area employment assistance may address.
Relevant skills may include:
- Greeting a supervisor
- Listening to instructions
- Asking for clarification
- Reporting that a task is complete
- Joining a team discussion
- Taking appropriate breaks
- Responding to feedback
- Managing misunderstandings
- Understanding professional boundaries
- Communicating a support need
- Recognising when to contact a manager
- Adjusting communication for customers and co-workers
Social skills should be employment-specific
A general social activity should not automatically be charged as employment assistance merely because social confidence may be useful at work.
The activity should have a clear employment connection.
For example:
- Practising how to greet a workplace supervisor has a direct work purpose.
- Attending an unrelated recreational outing may not.
- Role-playing a customer interaction may be relevant.
- A general group activity without employment goals may belong under another support category.
Next Gen Youth Employment connects communication coaching to realistic workplace tasks so the participant can understand when, where and why each skill is used.
7. Public Transport and Travel Training
Learning how to get to and from work is recognised as a potential employment support.
The NDIS identifies learning to use public transport, catching a bus or train and travelling independently as work-readiness skills.
Travel training may include:
- Planning a route
- Reading a timetable
- Using a transport app
- Identifying the correct stop
- Loading and using a travel card
- Practising the route with a coach
- Recognising landmarks
- Managing transfers
- Planning for delays or cancellations
- Knowing who to contact when something goes wrong
- Practising travel at the actual time of a shift
- Gradually reducing support
Travel training versus ordinary travel costs
The coaching time needed to build disability-related travel skills may be appropriate employment assistance.
However, families should separately ask about:
- Public transport fares
- Taxi or rideshare costs
- Provider travel charges
- Kilometre charges
- Transport delivered by the provider
- Whether the participant has a separate transport budget
- Whether another funded support is being used
A standard bus or train fare is not automatically a SLES service just because the trip is to work.
Where disability prevents the participant from driving or using public transport, other NDIS transport assistance may be relevant, depending on the plan and individual circumstances. The employment provider should not assume that every transport expense can be taken from the employment budget.
8. Learning Workplace Routines
Many young people understand the technical part of a task but need help adjusting to the routines around work.
SLES funding may support skill development involving:
- Preparing the night before
- Setting alarms
- Arriving on time
- Signing in
- Wearing the correct clothing
- Storing personal belongings
- Following a roster
- Transitioning between duties
- Managing breaks
- Keeping track of personal items
- Maintaining attention
- Asking what to do next
- Completing end-of-shift routines
- Notifying the employer about an absence
These routines should be taught in a way that builds independence.
For example, rather than relying indefinitely on a coach to remind the participant about every shift, the provider may help set up:
- Calendar alerts
- Visual schedules
- Packing checklists
- Travel reminders
- Step-by-step routines
- A workplace communication plan
The NDIS recognises support to follow directions, work in a team, solve problems, get tasks done and understand employer expectations as areas that may be funded when the participant needs additional disability-related assistance.
9. Understanding Employer Expectations
Young people entering their first workplace may not automatically know what employers expect.
A SLES provider may help explain:
- Reliability
- Attendance
- Workplace safety
- Appropriate phone use
- Confidentiality
- Team responsibilities
- Customer-service standards
- How to receive instructions
- When to ask questions
- What to do after finishing a task
- How to report an incident
- The difference between feedback and personal criticism
- Professional communication
- Workplace boundaries
This support should complement—not replace—the employer’s induction.
Employers remain responsible for ordinary workplace training, supervision and coaching that they provide to all employees. The NDIS may fund extra assistance needed because of disability, such as additional task prompting or support to remain on track.
10. Employer Engagement and Job Customisation
Employment support may include connecting with employers and helping identify a role that suits the participant’s strengths.
This could involve:
- Researching suitable businesses
- Approaching employers
- Explaining the purpose of work experience
- Identifying duties the participant may perform well
- Discussing workplace adjustments
- Arranging a workplace tour
- Supporting communication between the participant and employer
- Customising a role
- Preparing the team to support the participant appropriately
- Reviewing placement feedback
- Exploring a pathway from work experience to paid employment
The NDIS specifically recognises employer connection and job customisation as possible employment assistance.
An ethical provider should not guarantee that an employer will offer a placement or paid job. Instead, it should show that genuine employer engagement is occurring and explain what has been learned from each contact.
At Next Gen Youth Employment, we aim to connect employment preparation with real workplace expectations. We help participants understand suitable duties while supporting employers to recognise the young person’s strengths and practical support needs.
11. Support During Part-Time Employment
A participant may begin a part-time job while still receiving SLES support.
The NDIS advises that young participants may receive disability-related assistance to build the skills required to find or keep a part-time job outside school hours. This could include teamwork, remaining on task, managing money, using transport, understanding employer expectations and settling into the workplace.
Support may include:
- Preparing for the first shift
- Learning duties
- Understanding the roster
- Communicating with the supervisor
- Developing workplace routines
- Managing disability-related fatigue or anxiety
- Responding to changes
- Building independence
- Resolving disability-related barriers
- Reviewing progress with the employer
- Helping the participant maintain the role
What remains the employer’s responsibility?
The employer remains responsible for:
- Paying wages
- Superannuation and employment entitlements
- Ordinary induction
- Standard workplace supervision
- General staff training
- Work health and safety
- Fair recruitment processes
- Reasonable adjustments
- Work-specific equipment
- Ordinary performance management
The NDIS work and study guidance lists wages, recruitment costs, ordinary employer training, travel that forms part of the job and work-specific equipment among costs that the NDIS does not fund.
12. Support During a School-Based Traineeship
A school-based traineeship combines school, formal study and paid work. Several organisations may therefore have responsibilities:
- The school
- The training provider
- The employer
- The participant
- The NDIS employment provider
Current guidance states that the NDIS does not fund support that the school, traineeship provider or employer is responsible for providing. However, additional disability-related support may be considered where it is needed to help the participant maintain employment and complete the traineeship.
Potential NDIS-funded assistance may include:
- Additional workplace coaching because of disability
- Help managing disability-related barriers
- Support to remain on task
- Communication assistance beyond ordinary supervision
- Help adapting to changes
- Personal care
- Disability-specific support strategies
- Assistance coordinating agreed adjustments
The traineeship provider remains responsible for delivering and assessing the qualification. The employer remains responsible for wages, induction, ordinary supervision and safe working conditions.
Before charging the plan, every party should understand their role.
13. Support During an Apprenticeship or Other Training
An apprenticeship involves both employment and formal training.
NDIS assistance may be relevant where the participant requires extra disability-related support to:
- Access the workplace
- Manage personal care
- Understand disability-related workplace strategies
- Connect with student support services
- Participate in approved placements
- Communicate support needs
- Develop work routines
- Maintain employment
However, the NDIS does not replace the ordinary responsibilities of the employer, apprenticeship network, TAFE or registered training organisation.
Education and tuition fees, ordinary teaching, assessment, course materials and educational adjustments generally remain with the education or training system.
14. Industry Tickets, Licences and Vocational Courses
This is one of the most frequently misunderstood areas of NDIS SLES funding.
A young person may need a qualification such as:
- Responsible Service of Alcohol
- Food-handling certificate
- White Card
- First aid certificate
- Forklift licence
- Barista training
- Traffic-control qualification
- Security licence
- Driver licence
- TAFE certificate
These qualifications may be useful or necessary for employment, but usefulness alone does not establish that the course fee is an NDIS support.
Can SLES funding pay the course fee?
Families should not assume that it can.
Official guidance states that education or tuition fees across tertiary settings and education or training normally delivered by tertiary providers are not funded by the NDIS.
The course fee may instead be paid through:
- The participant or family
- A school program
- A training provider
- An employer
- A traineeship or apprenticeship arrangement
- A government-funded training scheme
- A concession or scholarship
- Another mainstream employment program
What disability-related support may be considered?
Depending on the plan and circumstances, employment funding may potentially support:
- Identifying which course is relevant
- Preparing the participant for enrolment
- Helping them understand course expectations
- Connecting with the training provider’s disability services
- Travel training to reach the venue
- Disability-related support during attendance
- Helping the participant organise materials
- Practising the skills afterwards in a workplace
- Translating the qualification into job applications
- Supporting communication about reasonable adjustments
The important distinction is between paying for the qualification and providing disability-related support so the participant can access and use the qualification.
Questions to ask before enrolling
Ask the provider:
- Is the fee for the course itself or for disability-related support?
- Who normally pays this fee?
- Is the course delivered by a registered training organisation?
- Are concessions or subsidised places available?
- What support must the training provider offer?
- Which part of the activity will be charged to the NDIS?
- How does the course connect to the participant’s employment goal?
- Is the qualification actually required by employers?
- What will happen after the participant completes it?
- Could the same employment outcome be achieved another way?
Next Gen Youth Employment can help families consider whether a proposed course forms part of a realistic career pathway rather than completing certificates that are unlikely to lead to relevant work.
15. Driver Licence Preparation and Driving Lessons
A driver licence may expand employment options, particularly in areas with limited public transport.
However, ordinary licence fees, testing costs and standard driving lessons are not automatically SLES expenses.
The relevant questions include:
- Does the participant need specialised disability-related instruction?
- Is the driving support included in the plan?
- Is the activity connected to an employment goal?
- Is another budget or mainstream program more appropriate?
- Is the provider qualified and insured to deliver the service?
- Is the charge for skill-building support or the ordinary cost of learning to drive?
Families should check the participant’s plan and seek advice from their my NDIS contact, support coordinator or plan manager before agreeing to use employment funding.
16. Uniforms, Clothing and Footwear
Uniforms and ordinary work clothing are generally personal or employment expenses rather than employment-support services.
Examples include:
- Standard black trousers
- Ordinary closed-toe shoes
- A hospitality shirt
- Business clothing
- A workplace-branded uniform
- Standard work boots
An employer may provide some uniform items, or the worker may be expected to purchase them under the same arrangements as other employees.
A provider should not simply purchase clothing and charge the SLES funding budget without confirming that the item is an approved NDIS support.
What may be different?
Disability-specific clothing modifications or specialised equipment may require separate consideration. However, these should be assessed under the appropriate NDIS rules and budget rather than automatically being described as SLES.
A provider may appropriately support the participant to:
- Understand workplace dress standards
- Plan what to wear
- Practise wearing safety clothing
- Create a uniform checklist
- Learn how to wash and prepare work clothes
- Shop for ordinary workwear using their own funds
- Request clarification from an employer
The skill-building support may be chargeable where it addresses a disability-related need. The ordinary clothing purchase may not be.
17. Tools, Computers and Workplace Equipment
The same principle applies to tools and equipment.
Ordinary items required by the workplace or job may include:
- Computer
- Phone
- Safety equipment
- Tools
- Headset
- Uniform
- Workstation
- Software
- Protective clothing
Employers are generally responsible for work-specific aids, equipment, safety requirements and reasonable adjustments. Some employers may be eligible for assistance through the Employment Assistance Fund.
An NDIS employment provider may support the participant to learn how to use workplace equipment, but that does not mean the participant’s SLES budget should purchase equipment the employer is expected to supply.
Personal technology
A laptop or mobile phone is not automatically funded because it could be used for job searching.
The provider should distinguish between:
- Supporting the participant to complete applications
- Teaching digital job-search skills
- Using the provider’s equipment during sessions
- Purchasing an ordinary personal device
- Assessing disability-specific assistive technology
Disability-specific assistive technology has separate requirements and should not be casually charged as a general SLES program expense.
18. Ordinary Employment Expenses
Common ordinary employment expenses may include:
- Meals
- Coffee
- Public transport fares
- Petrol
- Parking
- Clothing
- Grooming products
- Phone costs
- Internet
- Qualification renewals
- Police checks
- Working With Children Checks
- Standard tools
- Union fees
- Professional memberships
Some expenses may be paid or reimbursed by an employer, school, training program or government initiative. Others remain the participant’s responsibility.
The fact that an expense helps someone attend work does not automatically make it an NDIS support.
A provider may help the participant learn to budget for these costs, organise receipts, understand payslips or manage employment expenses. The coaching service and the expense itself are separate things.
Quick Guide: Who May Be Responsible?
| Activity or cost | What SLES funding may potentially support | What may be another party’s responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Career exploration | Disability-related coaching, workplace visits and vocational planning | General school career information |
| Work experience | Extra preparation, on-site disability support and skill development | Ordinary school work-experience program or employer supervision |
| Resume preparation | Individual coaching and accessible application support | Generic mainstream resume services |
| Interviews | Mock interviews, communication coaching and adjustment planning | Employer’s fair recruitment process |
| Travel | Route planning and disability-related travel training | Ordinary fares, petrol and parking |
| Part-time employment | Extra on-the-job support because of disability | Wages, induction and standard supervision |
| Traineeship | Additional disability-related employment assistance | Training delivery, assessment and ordinary employer support |
| Industry course | Support to access and apply training | Tuition, enrolment and ordinary course fees |
| Uniform | Skill-building around presentation and routine | Ordinary uniform and footwear cost |
| Equipment | Training to use workplace tools or disability-specific assessment | Employer-provided tools, safety equipment and ordinary devices |
| Workplace adjustments | Support to identify and communicate needs | Employer reasonable adjustments or Employment Assistance Fund |
| Employment reports | Agreed progress reporting connected to funded support | Unexplained or duplicated administration |
This table is a general guide only. Actual funding depends on the participant’s plan, disability-related needs and current NDIS requirements.
Understanding SLES Price and Charges
Families often search for a single SLES price or an NDIS Finding and Keeping a Job price guide.
There is no single price that tells a family what an entire SLES journey should cost. Charges depend on the type of support, delivery method, location, staffing model and service agreement.
The NDIS pricing schedule sets out support items, units and recommended maximum prices. The schedule effective from 1 July 2026 can be used to inform provider pricing, and participants must agree before a provider changes the price in an existing service agreement.
Before services begin, ask whether the provider charges for:
- Individual sessions
- Group sessions
- Work-experience support
- Provider travel
- Kilometres
- Non-face-to-face work
- Employer phone calls
- Workplace preparation
- Reports
- Meetings
- Cancellation fees
- Resources
- Course coordination
A legitimate charge still needs to represent a service that has been delivered.
Families should ask for invoices that show:
- Date
- Support item
- Service description
- Quantity or duration
- Rate
- Travel or other approved costs
- Total amount
At Next Gen Youth Employment, we encourage families to ask questions about pricing, service delivery and budget use. Transparency helps everyone keep the available employment funding focused on activities that move the participant towards their goals.
Questions Families Should Ask Before an Activity Is Charged to the Plan
Before approving an activity, ask the provider:
About the purpose
- Which employment goal does this activity address?
- What disability-related barrier will it help overcome?
- What skill should the participant gain?
- Why is this activity suitable now?
- How will progress be measured?
About responsibility
- Is the school already responsible for this service?
- Should the employer provide it?
- Is it part of the training provider’s ordinary service?
- Is a mainstream employment program available?
- Is the expense an ordinary cost for any student or employee?
About the charge
- Which NDIS support item will be used?
- What rate will apply?
- How many hours are expected?
- Will provider travel be charged?
- Is non-face-to-face time included?
- Is the underlying item or course fee charged separately?
- Is the charge included in the service agreement?
- How much funding will remain afterwards?
About the outcome
- What happens after the activity?
- Will the participant apply the skill in a workplace?
- Will the provider collect employer feedback?
- Will the participant receive a certificate or report?
- How will this change the next stage of the employment plan?
- What will happen if the activity is not successful?
A provider should welcome reasonable questions. Families should not feel that asking how funding will be used is obstructive or distrustful.
Warning Signs That Funding May Not Be Used Effectively
Consider seeking clarification when:
- Activities are not linked to written goals
- The participant repeatedly completes generic worksheets
- Course fees are charged without an explanation of funding responsibility
- The provider cannot identify the support item
- Invoices use vague descriptions
- The participant gains certificates but no practical workplace experience
- Employer engagement is promised but does not occur
- Group activities have little connection to employment
- Ordinary personal purchases are described as SLES costs
- The budget is reducing faster than expected
- Reports do not show skills gained
- The provider cannot explain what happens next
- Services duplicate what the school or employer already provides
One questionable activity does not necessarily mean a provider is acting improperly. Begin by asking for a clear explanation and reviewing the service agreement.
If concerns cannot be resolved, the participant can speak with their plan manager, support coordinator or my NDIS contact.
Comparing SLES Providers
Families searching for SLES providers near me, NDIS SLES providers or Finding and Keeping a Job providers should compare more than location and hourly price.
Ask each provider:
- Is employment support your core service?
- How do you personalise the program?
- How do you identify suitable industries?
- How much support is individual?
- How quickly do participants access real workplaces?
- How do you arrange work experience?
- How do you work with employers?
- How do you distinguish SLES costs from mainstream expenses?
- How do you monitor funding?
- How often do you report progress?
- How do you reduce support as independence increases?
- What happens when a placement is not suitable?
- How do you support participants who gain part-time work?
- Can you explain your cancellation and travel charges?
Official guidance advises participants with employment funding to connect with a suitable provider and notes that a my NDIS contact or support coordinator can assist. The NDIS also offers a provider finder and comparison worksheet.
Next Gen Youth Employment focuses specifically on SLES and the transition from school towards work. Our approach combines personalised youth coaching, practical skill development and real-world employment preparation.
How Next Gen Youth Employment Uses SLES Funding to Build Employment Progress
At Next Gen Youth Employment, we believe every activity should have a clear connection to the participant’s employment journey.
We can help young people:
- Identify realistic employment goals
- Explore industries
- Build workplace communication
- Prepare resumes and applications
- Practise interviews
- Develop travel skills
- Understand employer expectations
- Prepare for work experience
- Learn in real workplace environments
- Build relationships with employers
- Develop routines for employment
- Reflect on feedback
- Move towards greater independence
Our role is not to spend funding on unrelated activities or collect qualifications without a clear plan.
We look at:
- What the participant wants to achieve
- What they can already do
- What is getting in the way
- Which support is disability-related
- What another organisation should provide
- What practical experience is needed
- How progress will be demonstrated
- What the next step should be
This helps create a SLES program that is purposeful, transparent and tailored to the participant.
Frequently Asked Questions About SLES Funding
Can SLES funding pay for work experience?
It may fund disability-related preparation, coaching, employer engagement and on-site support. If the work experience is part of a school program, the school remains responsible for its ordinary role. Additional disability-related assistance may be considered where it sits beyond the school’s responsibilities.
Can SLES pay for travel training?
Learning to use public transport and travel independently is recognised as a possible employment skill. The support time used to teach the route may be appropriate, but ordinary fares and transport costs should be considered separately.
Can SLES funding pay for a course?
Do not assume that it can pay tuition or enrolment fees. Education and training costs are commonly the responsibility of the education provider, participant or another mainstream program. Disability-related support to access or apply the training may be considered separately.
Can SLES pay for an RSA, White Card or forklift licence?
The qualification may support an employment goal, but the ordinary licence or course fee is not automatically an NDIS support. Ask who usually funds the qualification and which disability-related support, if any, will be charged to the plan.
Can SLES funding pay for a uniform?
Ordinary work clothing, footwear and uniforms are generally not employment-support services. A provider may support the participant to understand dress requirements and develop a routine for preparing their uniform.
Can SLES pay for a laptop?
A standard laptop is not automatically funded because it can be used for job applications. Disability-specific assistive technology requires separate consideration. A SLES provider may use its own equipment to teach digital job-search skills.
Can the provider charge for contacting employers?
Employer engagement may be part of an agreed employment-support service. The service agreement should explain whether non-face-to-face work is charged and how it supports the participant’s goals.
Can the provider charge for reports?
Reports may be charged where permitted, agreed and connected to the funded service. Ask what the report will contain, how long it will take and whether it is already included in the program price.
Does having SLES funding mean every job-ready activity is approved?
No. SLES funding eligibility does not create automatic approval for every activity or purchase. Each support must comply with the plan and current NDIS requirements.
What is NDIS Finding and Keeping a Job funding?
NDIS Finding and Keeping a Job funding refers to employment-related capacity-building support that may help a participant prepare for work, find a role, learn workplace skills or maintain employment.
How do I check the NDIS Finding and Keeping a Job price guide?
Check the current official NDIS pricing schedule and ask the provider which support item and rate it intends to use. The pricing schedule effective from 1 July 2026 lists support items and recommended maximum prices.
Can Next Gen Youth Employment review my plan?
Next Gen Youth Employment can discuss the employment goals and funding shown in the participant’s plan and explain the services we may be able to provide.
We cannot approve funding or guarantee that the NDIS will pay for a particular activity. Funding decisions remain with the NDIA, and plan use must comply with current requirements.
Make Sure Every Funded Activity Has a Clear Employment Purpose
SLES funding can open the door to valuable employment support.
It may help a young person explore work, develop communication skills, learn to travel independently, prepare for interviews, gain workplace experience and receive disability-related coaching as they move towards employment.
However, the funding is not intended to replace:
- School responsibilities
- Employer obligations
- Training-provider services
- Tuition fees
- Wages
- Ordinary workplace supervision
- Standard uniforms
- General equipment
- Everyday personal expenses
The strongest SLES programs understand this boundary.
They use NDIS employment funding for the additional assistance the participant needs because of disability, while connecting them with schools, employers, training organisations and mainstream programs for the services those systems should provide.
Speak With Next Gen Youth Employment About Your SLES Funding
Are you unsure whether the participant’s employment funding can be used for work experience, travel training, job coaching or another proposed activity?
Next Gen Youth Employment can help you understand the questions to ask and explain how our personalised SLES support may fit the participant’s current employment goals.
Our team can discuss:
- The participant’s interests and strengths
- Current employment goals
- Available plan funding
- Work-experience preparation
- Travel and workplace skill development
- Resume and interview coaching
- Employer engagement
- Support during part-time employment
- The difference between disability support and ordinary employment costs
- How progress may be measured
Contact Next Gen Youth Employment today for more information and assistance.
With a clear support plan, transparent pricing and activities connected to real employment goals, SLES funding can help a young person move beyond preparation and towards greater confidence, capability and meaningful work.
