Getting a part-time job is a major milestone for a young person with disability.

For many school leavers, however, signing an employment contract or completing the first few shifts is not the end of the employment journey. It may actually reveal the areas where disability-related support is most important.

Perhaps the young person can perform the main duties but needs significant prompting to move between tasks. They may become overwhelmed when the roster changes. They might find it difficult to tell a supervisor that they do not understand an instruction. They may be coping with one short shift each week but want to increase their hours. Or they may have discovered that the job they worked so hard to obtain is simply not the right fit.

This leads to a common question for participants and families:

Can I still use NDIS SLES support if I already have a part-time job?

The short answer is that having a job does not automatically mean a participant no longer has employment-support needs.

Current NDIS provider guidance explicitly recognises people who are already working and need support to maintain their employment. It also recognises participants who want to change jobs because of their disability and participants who want to advance their career.

That distinction matters.

“Finding” a job is only one part of Finding and Keeping a Job NDIS support. Depending on a participant’s individual plan, goals and disability-related needs, employment support can also involve learning a new role, becoming more independent at work, managing barriers that appear after employment begins, maintaining suitable employment and moving towards the next career goal.

At NextGen Youth Employment, our focus is not simply getting a young person through the front door of an employer. Our SLES approach includes personalised employment planning, skill development, practical workplace experience, employer connections and ongoing mentoring as young people move towards employment. Our existing service information also describes ongoing support after young people move into jobs and placements.

This guide explains what employment support can look like when a young person already has a part-time job, where finding and keeping a job funding may fit, how job-readiness support can evolve into job-retention support, and when it may be time to reconsider the job itself.

Important: NDIS funding is individual. Having a part-time job, having an employment goal or previously receiving SLES does not automatically guarantee additional NDIS employment funding. The NDIA considers the participant’s goals, disability-related support needs, available evidence and the responsibilities of employers and other service systems.

Already Have a Job? The NDIS Employment Journey Does Not Necessarily Stop There

It is easy to think about disability employment assistance as a simple sequence:

School → SLES → find job → support ends.

Current NDIS guidance presents a much broader picture.

The NDIA says participants receiving employment supports may be at many different stages. A person might be a student wanting after-school work, someone moving from school into employment, someone seeking their first paid role, somebody already working who needs help maintaining employment, someone who needs to change jobs because of disability, or a worker who wants to advance their career.

The NDIS’s current employment-goal guidance makes the same point from the participant’s perspective. If you are already working or volunteering, it encourages you to consider questions such as whether you want to keep working there, whether you would like to try something different, whether you want more hours and what supports help you at work.

That makes the intent clear: employment support is not necessarily finished the moment someone receives their first payslip.

For NextGen Youth Employment, this is an important part of a personalised school-to-work pathway. Getting a job is worth celebrating, but the next question is whether the young person can maintain that employment, increase independence and continue developing towards their longer-term work goals.

What Does “Finding and Keeping a Job” Mean in the NDIS?

Families researching employment assistance often encounter several overlapping phrases, including NDIS SLES, School Leaver Employment Supports, employment assistance, Supports in Employment and Finding and Keeping a Job.

It is useful to separate them.

The NDIS currently describes Finding and Keeping a Job as a Capacity Building funding area. It is time-limited support for working-age participants and can be used for employment-related NDIS supports such as developing work skills, creating a career plan, undertaking work experience and receiving help when transitioning into employment or further education.

This is why the phrase finding and keeping a job NDIS appears so often when school leavers and their families research employment support.

The crucial word is keeping.

Employment assistance is not only about searching job websites, writing résumés and attending interviews.

Current NDIS guidance says employment supports may help people identify and manage barriers to finding and keeping a job. The NDIS also describes support at work that can help a participant perform tasks until they can do them independently, including on-the-job coaching, training and mentoring.

So when a young person obtains a part-time role, the question should not simply be:

“Has the participant found a job?”

A more useful question is:

“What disability-related support does the participant still require to maintain employment and continue becoming more independent?”

That creates a much more realistic employment pathway.

What About SLES? Does SLES Stop When You Get a Job?

SLES stands for School Leaver Employment Supports.

Traditionally, NDIS SLES has described personalised capacity-building employment assistance for school leavers who need additional support to move from school towards employment.

The NDIS continues to report specifically on school-leaver employment supports and describes them as individualised employment assistance. Current reporting focuses on whether providers tailor supports towards participants’ employment goals and the milestones they achieve on the pathway towards work.

However, families should be careful about assuming that every support an employed participant receives must continue to be called “SLES”.

Once someone starts paid employment, the nature of their needs may change.

A participant might still be at the school-leaver stage and working with an employment provider on capacity-building goals. Alternatively, their support needs may now be better understood as broader employment assistance or support in employment.

That is why NextGen Youth Employment recommends looking at the participant’s actual goals, current plan, work circumstances and support requirements rather than focusing only on the label.

The important question is not:

“Can I keep calling this SLES?”

It is:

“What support does this young person need now to maintain and progress in employment, and what funding has been included in their NDIS plan for that purpose?”

Getting a Job Can Reveal Support Needs That Were Difficult to See Before

Before someone starts working, employment preparation may focus on hypothetical situations.

A participant can practise asking a supervisor for help.

They can discuss sensory environments.

They can role-play workplace communication.

They can learn travel routes.

They can complete work experience.

But real paid employment introduces responsibilities, expectations and pressures that are difficult to recreate completely during training.

A young person may cope very well during a two-hour work trial but struggle during a six-hour Saturday shift.

They may confidently complete familiar tasks but become stuck when the supervisor unexpectedly changes the sequence.

They may understand instructions when they are given individually but have difficulty processing directions during a busy team briefing.

They may perform excellent work but arrive exhausted because travelling independently takes so much cognitive or emotional energy.

None of these situations necessarily mean employment has failed.

They provide information.

At NextGen Youth Employment, practical workplace experience is valuable partly because it helps identify what a participant can already do independently and where additional development or support may be needed.

The goal can then shift from generic “job readiness” towards something much more specific.

For example:

“Increase independence moving between warehouse tasks without verbal prompting.”

Or:

“Develop a reliable strategy for asking the supervisor to clarify unfamiliar instructions.”

Or:

“Build capacity to complete two four-hour shifts each week while managing sensory load and fatigue.”

These are employment-development goals, even though the participant is already employed.

Example 1: Learning Workplace Routines

Imagine Liam, a 19-year-old working one afternoon a week in a warehouse.

He can accurately pick and pack orders once he starts a task.

The problem is transitions.

When one task finishes, Liam waits until somebody tells him what to do next. If the supervisor is busy, he may stand in one place for several minutes. His family worries that the employer will interpret this as a lack of initiative.

The goal is not necessarily to provide permanent prompting.

A capacity-building approach might focus on helping Liam develop strategies that eventually reduce his reliance on another person.

He might learn to use a task sequence, recognise common transition points, check a visual list or use a rehearsed sentence such as, “I’ve finished packing this order. What would you like me to do next?”

Current NDIS guidance specifically describes support at work that helps participants perform tasks until they can do those tasks themselves, as well as on-the-job coaching and mentoring.

For a participant working with NextGen Youth Employment, this kind of goal can turn “ongoing support” into a clear pathway towards greater independence.

Example 2: Communicating With a Supervisor

Communication is another area where employment challenges often become visible only after work starts.

A young employee may understand their duties but struggle when something goes wrong.

Perhaps they do not understand a new instruction.

Instead of asking for clarification, they guess.

The task is completed incorrectly.

The supervisor becomes frustrated.

The participant becomes anxious and begins thinking they are “bad at work”.

The real issue may not be the participant’s ability to do the job at all. The barrier may be knowing how and when to communicate.

An employment-support goal could therefore focus on practising ways to:

ask for clarification, report that a task is complete, explain when instructions are confusing, respond to feedback and tell a supervisor when a disability-related barrier is affecting the work.

NextGen Youth Employment already places workplace communication within its broader school-to-work support approach, and the NDIS itself identifies communication with others in the workplace as an essential work skill that employment assistance can help participants develop.

The aim is not for a support worker to speak for the young person forever.

Where possible, the aim is to help the participant build the skills and confidence to communicate more independently.

Example 3: Managing Sensory Demands

A participant may be technically capable of completing a job but struggle with the environment in which the job happens.

A supermarket might involve loud announcements, trolley noise, bright lighting, constant movement and customers approaching unexpectedly.

A café could involve kitchen noise, competing conversations, smells, heat and rapidly changing priorities.

A warehouse might involve machinery, fluorescent lighting, safety alarms and long periods of physical activity.

NextGen Youth Employment already has detailed content about managing energy, sensory load and anxiety at work because these can be significant factors in whether a young person can sustain a shift.

If disability-related sensory demands are affecting employment, the response should not automatically be “try harder”.

The first step is understanding the problem.

Perhaps a small workplace adjustment could help.

Perhaps the participant needs to build strategies for recognising overload and using appropriate breaks.

Perhaps working four hours is currently sustainable while an eight-hour shift is not.

Or perhaps the environment is fundamentally unsuitable and another type of workplace would provide a better long-term match.

Employment support can help distinguish between these possibilities.

Employer Responsibility Versus NDIS Support

This distinction is essential.

The NDIS does not exist to replace an employer’s ordinary responsibilities.

Employers are responsible for normal workplace induction, supervision, training and lawful employment practices. Employers also have responsibilities in relation to reasonable adjustments for workers with disability.

JobAccess explains that reasonable adjustments can include physical workplace changes, equipment or services, and changes to work methods or tasks. Examples include written task instructions, labels, reminders or changes to job duties.

The Australian Human Rights Commission similarly explains that employers should provide reasonable workplace adjustments where needed for an employee with disability to perform the inherent requirements of their job, unless doing so would cause unjustifiable hardship.

NDIS funding is different.

Current NDIA guidance asks, when considering employment support funding, what extra help the participant needs beyond what their employer provides.

That phrase—“beyond what your employer gives”—is extremely important.

For example, an employer would ordinarily be expected to teach a new employee the standard checkout procedure.

But an NDIS participant may require additional disability-specific support to develop a personalised visual sequence, practise the procedure repeatedly, learn a strategy for recovering when the sequence changes and gradually reduce reliance on prompting.

The ordinary workplace training belongs to the employer.

The additional disability-related capacity building may, where it meets NDIS funding requirements and is included in the participant’s plan, form part of NDIS employment support.

Families considering NDIS finding and keeping a job funding should therefore avoid describing every difficulty at work as something the NDIS must fund.

A stronger question is:

“What additional support is required because of the participant’s disability, above the ordinary training, supervision and adjustments expected from the workplace?”

Example 4: Increasing Independence Rather Than Increasing Dependence

Effective employment support should usually have a purpose beyond simply placing another person beside the participant.

Consider Chloe, who works two café shifts per week.

When she started, a coach helped her remember the sequence for setting up tables, restocking items and cleaning her station.

After several weeks, Chloe knows the tasks but still looks towards the coach before every transition.

If the support simply continues at the same intensity indefinitely, the support itself could become part of the routine.

A better capacity-building pathway might deliberately reduce prompting.

First, the coach uses verbal reminders.

Then verbal reminders are replaced with brief questions.

Next, Chloe uses a checklist.

Eventually, the coach observes from a distance.

Finally, Chloe completes familiar duties without direct prompting and seeks assistance only when an unfamiliar situation occurs.

The objective is not necessarily zero support for every participant. Some people will have ongoing disability-related support needs.

But where independence can increase, the support plan should be designed to build it.

Current NDIS guidance requires employment providers to create tailored support plans covering the participant’s goals, barriers to work, what support will be provided, where and how often it will happen, and how regularly progress will be reviewed.

That provides a useful framework for families reviewing their own service.

Learning Additional Duties Can Be a Valid Employment Goal

Keeping a job does not mean remaining permanently at the same skill level.

Young workers without disability are expected to develop.

They learn new systems.

They take on more duties.

They become faster.

They work longer shifts.

They progress from junior tasks to more complex responsibilities.

Young people with disability should also have opportunities to develop.

The NDIS’s current provider guidance explicitly includes participants who want to advance their career. The participant-facing employment guide also states that NDIS employment supports can help people change jobs and progress their career.

Suppose Jack works in a retail store and currently handles stock only.

His longer-term goal is to learn customer service.

A personalised employment pathway might focus on the communication and task-management skills needed to take on selected customer-facing responsibilities.

Or imagine Sarah has mastered basic warehouse packing and wants to learn scanning, inventory procedures and more complex picking tasks.

Her employment goal is no longer “get a warehouse job”.

She already has one.

The new goal is to progress within that workplace.

At NextGen Youth Employment, employment planning can evolve as the young person’s skills and ambitions evolve.

Can NDIS Support Help Me Increase My Hours?

Wanting more hours is specifically recognised in the NDIS’s current employment-goal guidance.

When participants are already working or volunteering, the NDIS encourages them to think about whether they would like more hours and what support helps them at work.

That does not mean the NDIS funds the wages or that a participant is automatically entitled to extra employment-support funding simply because they want a larger roster.

Instead, consider what is preventing the increase.

Perhaps the participant can currently manage only one shift because they cannot independently travel to other rostered times.

Perhaps fatigue or sensory overload becomes unmanageable after three hours.

Perhaps the participant needs significant assistance moving between duties.

Perhaps their employer is willing to offer additional hours once they can perform another task independently.

These are much more informative planning questions.

For example, a goal might be:

“I want to build the stamina, workplace communication and task-management skills needed to increase from one four-hour shift to two shifts each week.”

That clearly explains the employment outcome and the capacity that needs to develop.

When Should Employment-Support Needs Be Reviewed?

Employment support should not remain unchanged simply because the participant has always received it.

Review becomes particularly important when the job changes, the participant’s skills change or support is no longer producing progress.

The NDIS says participants should discuss progress towards employment goals at plan reassessment. It also expects employment-provider reports to explain the participant’s work goal, the NDIS supports delivered, progress to date, skills still requiring development and the plan for moving forward.

Families can therefore ask whether the current assistance still matches the participant’s real situation.

One useful review checklist is:

• Has the participant’s job, roster or responsibilities changed?
• Has support helped them become more independent?
• Is the same level of prompting still required?
• Are new disability-related barriers appearing?
• Does the participant want more hours or additional responsibilities?
• Is the job becoming difficult to sustain?
• Is the employer providing the normal training and reasonable adjustments it is responsible for?
• Is employment support focused on measurable outcomes?
• Would a different strategy produce better progress?
• Does the participant still want this job?
• Is another role or workplace now a better match?
• What evidence should the employment provider prepare for the next plan reassessment?

At NextGen Youth Employment, we believe employment support should move with the participant rather than keeping them in the same activities indefinitely.

What If the Job Is Not Suitable?

Finding a job does not prove it is the right job.

Sometimes a workplace looks suitable during an interview or short work trial but becomes difficult over time.

Perhaps the noise is much more intense during peak hours.

Perhaps the participant can perform every task but finds unpredictable rostering extremely difficult.

Perhaps the role requires substantially more customer communication than expected.

Perhaps travel involves several connections and regularly causes late arrivals.

Perhaps the employee has strengths that simply are not being used.

Or perhaps the participant has discovered another industry that fits them much better.

Current NDIS provider guidance specifically recognises a participant who wants to change their job because of their disability. The participant employment guide also describes help with finding the right job, making sure it fits the person’s skills and changing jobs or progressing their career.

This does not mean someone should leave at the first difficult shift.

It means job retention should not become “job retention at any cost”.

Sometimes the right strategy is to solve the problem within the existing workplace.

Sometimes it is to request a reasonable adjustment.

Sometimes additional skill development is appropriate.

And sometimes employment support should help the participant identify and move towards a more sustainable role.

At NextGen Youth Employment, job matching matters because long-term employment is more likely to be meaningful when a young person’s strengths, interests, working style and support needs are considered—not simply whether an employer has a vacancy.

Case Example: A Retail Job That Needs Better Support

Ben is 18 and works one five-hour Saturday shift at a large retail store.

He enjoys stock work and is accurate when organising products.

However, he becomes anxious when customers interrupt him with questions. He often gives very short answers or leaves to find another staff member.

Ben’s first reaction is that he cannot cope with retail.

But the problem may be more specific.

With support, he could practise a small number of predictable customer-service responses, learn who to ask when a customer needs more information and develop a routine for returning to his original task after an interruption.

His employer may also be able to provide clear expectations and appropriate adjustments.

If these strategies work, Ben might maintain the role and gradually increase confidence.

If customer-facing retail remains highly unsuitable despite reasonable strategies, the experience still provides valuable career information. Ben might discover that inventory, warehousing or back-of-house work is a better employment match.

In either case, the employment experience has helped refine the pathway.

Case Example: A Warehouse Worker Ready for More Hours

Amelia is 20 and works two short warehouse shifts each week.

She knows the workplace well and enjoys the role.

Her employer is willing to offer additional hours, but Amelia currently relies on frequent reminders to check her next task and becomes overwhelmed when instructions are delivered verbally in long sequences.

Her employment goal might be:

“I want to become more independent following warehouse task sequences so I can increase my working hours.”

Employment support could focus on breaking tasks into manageable sequences, creating strategies for checking instructions, practising how to request clarification and systematically reducing prompting.

The measure of success is not simply “Amelia attended support”.

It is whether Amelia becomes more independent and better able to manage the additional work.

That is the kind of outcome-focused pathway NextGen Youth Employment aims to create with young people.

Case Example: A Hospitality Job That Is No Longer the Right Fit

Lucas is 19 and has worked in a busy café for four months.

He can make drinks accurately and understands food-safety routines.

But the constant noise, rapidly changing priorities and customer conversations leave him exhausted after every shift.

At first, the focus is on strategies that could make the role more manageable.

Lucas and his support network examine routines, sensory triggers, communication and possible workplace adjustments.

Some improvements occur, but the environment continues to cause significant difficulty.

Lucas also realises that the part of the job he enjoys most is organising deliveries and stock.

His employment goal changes.

Rather than simply trying harder to remain in the same role, Lucas begins exploring stock, logistics and warehouse environments where his attention to detail can be an advantage.

Current NDIS guidance explicitly allows employment goals to reflect trying something different, changing jobs and career progression.

Changing direction is not necessarily failure.

Sometimes it is the result of better information.

From Job Readiness to Job Retention

One of the most useful ways to think about SLES support is as a pathway that can evolve.

Before employment, the participant may need career discovery.

They might explore industries, practise communication, learn public transport, complete work experience, develop interview skills and build basic workplace routines.

Then they secure a job.

The emphasis changes.

Now the relevant questions might be whether they can arrive reliably, understand their roster, complete tasks, communicate with supervisors, manage disability-related barriers and work with decreasing levels of assistance where appropriate.

Later, the focus might change again.

The participant may want to increase hours, learn new duties, obtain a qualification, move into a different role or pursue career advancement.

The NDIS describes this as an employment journey, with the level of support varying according to the participant’s stage of life and employment goals.

That is also a useful way for families to evaluate finding and keeping a job providers.

Ask whether the provider has a plan for progression.

If someone obtains employment, what happens next?

Does support automatically finish?

Does it continue unchanged?

Or does the provider assess the participant’s new situation and establish the next employment goals?

NextGen Youth Employment’s own model includes personalised assessment of interests, skills and career goals, training and workplace opportunities followed by ongoing mentoring and support.

The Goal Should Be Progress, Not Permanent Dependence on a Program

A good NDIS finding and keeping a job pathway should be able to answer a simple question:

What is this support helping the participant become able to do?

If the answer is unclear, the support may need review.

For example:

“Two hours of employment support every Tuesday.”

That describes a schedule.

It does not describe an outcome.

Compare it with:

“Developing the ability to independently read the weekly roster, prepare for each shift and notify the supervisor appropriately if there is a problem.”

Or:

“Reducing verbal prompting from every task transition to no more than one check-in during a familiar shift.”

Or:

“Building confidence and communication skills so the participant can learn two additional duties and become eligible for more hours.”

These statements make it easier for the participant, family, provider and NDIS to understand what the support is trying to accomplish.

Finding and Keeping a Job Funding Is Not the Only Employment Support Concept

There is another important distinction for families to understand.

Finding and Keeping a Job funding is a Capacity Building area intended to help participants develop employment capacity.

The NDIS also describes Supports in Employment for participants who require extra help at work beyond what their employer or other employment services provide. Current provider guidance says these supports can include on-the-job coaching and mentoring, job customisation, assistance setting up a workspace or equipment and support with complex needs at work.

The exact funding arrangement depends on the participant’s plan and needs.

That is why an employed participant should not simply assume:

“I had SLES before I started my job, so exactly the same funding and service must continue forever.”

Nor should they assume:

“I got a job, so the NDIS can no longer help me with employment.”

Both conclusions are too simplistic.

The participant’s current work situation, goals, disability-related barriers and plan need to be reviewed.

What Information Should You Bring to an NDIS Employment Conversation?

Current NDIS guidance provides a useful clue.

When employment funding is being considered, the NDIA says planners need information about where and when the participant works, the tasks they perform, the extra help they require beyond employer support, whether assistance is individual or group-based, and whether tasks, learning tools or workspace arrangements need adjustment.

Families can use that structure.

Instead of saying:

“My daughter needs more SLES.”

try to describe the actual employment situation.

For example:

“She currently works one four-hour shift each week. She independently completes two familiar duties but requires repeated prompts when changing tasks. Her employer provides standard supervision and training, but because of her disability she requires additional support to develop a visual task system and learn how to independently ask what to do next. Her goal is to maintain the job and increase to two shifts each week.”

That explanation makes the goal, current ability, employer contribution, disability-related barrier and intended outcome much easier to understand.

It does not guarantee funding.

But it provides a clearer picture of why support is being discussed.

What Should an Employment Provider Report Show?

Provider reporting matters once support has started.

The NDIS expects an employment provider’s report to include the participant’s work goal, supports delivered, progress, skills that still need development and a plan for reaching the employment goal, including the likely timeframe.

This matters particularly when someone already has a part-time job.

A report should not imply that employment itself means the participant has completed the journey.

It should show what has happened since the job began.

For example, has prompting decreased?

Has the participant learnt additional duties?

Can they independently communicate with the supervisor?

Have their hours increased?

Are they managing travel more independently?

Have new barriers appeared?

Is the role still suitable?

What is the next step?

At NextGen Youth Employment, measurable progress can help keep the employment pathway focused on the young person’s real-world outcomes rather than simply the number of sessions delivered.

How Do Reasonable Adjustments Fit In?

Sometimes the solution is not more disability support.

Sometimes the workplace itself needs to change.

Reasonable adjustments can include changes to work methods, tasks, equipment or the physical workplace. JobAccess gives examples such as written instructions, task lists and reminders, changes to duties and equipment or services.

For a young person who becomes overwhelmed by verbal instructions, written steps might help.

For someone affected by environmental noise, changes to workstation location may help.

For another employee, a modified roster or clearer communication system may make the job much more sustainable.

This is why effective job-retention planning should involve the employer where appropriate and with the participant’s consent.

The purpose is not to transfer employer responsibilities to the NDIS.

It is to identify which pieces belong to the employer, which are disability-related supports, and how they can work together.

Do I Still “Qualify for SLES” If I Have a Part-Time Job?

There is no universal yes/no answer.

Employment status alone does not determine whether a participant has disability-related employment-support needs.

The stronger answer is:

Having a part-time job does not automatically make NDIS employment support irrelevant, but the type, level and funding of support need to match your current circumstances.

The NDIS explicitly recognises participants who already work and need help maintaining employment.

However, that does not mean every employed participant automatically qualifies for SLES or additional SLES funding.

The NDIA must still consider the participant’s individual plan, disability-related needs and relevant NDIS funding rules.

There may also be responsibilities that belong to the employer or another government employment service rather than the NDIS.

If you are currently using NDIS SLES and have moved into paid work, it is therefore worth discussing how your support plan should change.

NextGen Youth Employment can talk with you about your current employment pathway, the goals you are working towards and how our SLES support is structured.

Questions to Ask Your Finding and Keeping a Job Provider

Choosing an employment provider is especially important when a participant is already working.

The conversation should move beyond “Can you help me find vacancies?”

Ask how the provider approaches job retention.

How will they assess disability-related barriers within the current job?

How will they distinguish employer responsibilities from NDIS-funded support?

How will they measure independence?

How will they support workplace communication?

Can they help the participant learn unfamiliar tasks?

What happens if hours increase?

What happens if support needs decrease?

How often will employment goals be reviewed?

What information will be provided for plan reassessment?

What happens if the role is clearly unsuitable?

How will the participant’s preferences remain central to decisions?

The NDIS itself provides an employment-provider comparison worksheet and publishes school-leaver provider outcome information to help participants make informed provider choices.

At NextGen Youth Employment, our service focuses specifically on the school-to-work transition and personalised SLES pathways. Young people are matched with youth coaching, career exploration, training, workplace opportunities and ongoing mentoring designed around individual employment goals.

What If I Already Have a Job but Want a Better One?

A first job does not have to become a permanent career.

A young person might accept an available position because it is their first opportunity to enter the workforce.

Six months later, they know much more about themselves.

They may realise they prefer practical work.

They may discover they are excellent with customers.

They may learn that predictable routines help them thrive.

They may find that their current travel requirements are unsustainable.

They may discover an interest in administration, logistics, hospitality, manufacturing or a trade.

Employment support can use that information.

The current NDIS framework recognises not only maintaining work but also changing jobs because of disability and advancing a career.

For NextGen Youth Employment, that means the first job can be part of a broader employment journey rather than the final destination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I receive NDIS employment support if I am already employed?

Potentially, yes. Current NDIS provider guidance explicitly recognises participants who are already working and need support to maintain employment. Funding remains individual and must relate to the participant’s disability-related support needs and plan.

Does having a part-time job mean my SLES support must stop?

Not automatically. However, once employment begins, the participant’s needs may change. The relevant support may continue to involve capacity building, or another type of NDIS employment support may become more appropriate. Review the participant’s current plan, goals and support needs rather than assuming the same arrangement must either continue unchanged or cease immediately.

What can Finding and Keeping a Job funding be used for?

The NDIS describes Finding and Keeping a Job as time-limited Capacity Building support for working-age participants. Employment-related NDIS supports can include building work skills, career planning, work experience and assistance transitioning into employment or further education.

Can NDIS support help me keep my job?

Where the support is disability-related, included in the participant’s plan and meets NDIS requirements, employment support may assist with maintaining work. Current NDIS guidance includes support with workplace tasks, on-the-job coaching and mentoring, identifying barriers to maintaining employment and helping participants become more independent at work.

Can support help me increase my working hours?

The NDIS’s employment-goal guidance specifically encourages people already working to consider whether they want more hours and what support helps them at work. Whether additional NDIS funding is available depends on individual circumstances.

Can employment support help me learn new tasks?

Potentially. Capacity building may focus on developing workplace skills and independence where the need is disability-related and not simply ordinary employer training. The employer remains responsible for normal workplace training and reasonable adjustments.

What if I need someone to prompt me throughout my shift?

This should be assessed individually. Some participants may benefit from capacity-building strategies designed to reduce prompting over time. Others may have ongoing support needs. Current NDIS guidance also describes Supports in Employment for participants who need additional help in the workplace.

Is my employer responsible for supporting my disability?

Employers have responsibilities under disability discrimination law, including providing reasonable adjustments unless doing so would result in unjustifiable hardship. Adjustments may involve work practices, tasks, equipment, services or the physical workplace.

Can NDIS funding replace my supervisor?

No. Standard supervision, induction, workplace training and lawful employer responsibilities should not simply be shifted onto the NDIS. NDIS employment support focuses on additional assistance required because of the participant’s disability.

What if my current job is making my disability-related barriers worse?

Discuss what specifically is not working. Reasonable adjustments, additional disability-related capacity building or changes to duties may help. If the role remains unsuitable, current NDIS guidance also recognises participants who want to change jobs because of disability.

Can I use support to move into a better job or progress my career?

Employment support is not restricted to securing a first job. Current NDIS guidance recognises career advancement and assistance to change jobs.

How do I know if my current employment support is working?

Look for measurable change. That might include reduced prompting, greater independence, improved workplace communication, more tasks completed independently, increased hours, stronger travel skills, improved ability to manage barriers or movement towards a more suitable role.

Should my provider report on my progress after I get a job?

Yes. Current NDIS guidance says employment-provider reporting should describe the employment goal, supports delivered, progress to date, skills still requiring development and the plan for reaching the goal.

Getting a Job Is a Milestone, Not Necessarily the Finish Line

The phrase Finding and Keeping a Job matters because employment has more than one stage.

First, a young person may need to discover what kind of work suits them.

Then they may need to build confidence and skills.

They might complete work experience.

They may search for vacancies.

They may get their first job.

Then comes the next challenge: keeping it.

Keeping a job can involve learning workplace routines, communicating with supervisors, managing disability-related sensory or emotional demands, becoming less reliant on prompting, learning additional duties and building the capacity to work more hours.

Later still, the participant may want to change jobs or develop a career.

Current NDIS employment guidance recognises this broader journey.

At NextGen Youth Employment, we believe employment support should reflect the stage the young person is actually at.

For someone who has never worked, that could mean career exploration and work experience.

For someone who has secured their first shift, it could mean settling into the workplace.

For someone who has been working for months, the goal may be independence, more hours, additional responsibilities or a more suitable job.

The support should evolve as the person evolves.

Talk to NextGen Youth Employment About Your Next Employment Step

Already having a part-time job does not necessarily mean the employment journey is complete.

It may mean the next goal is becoming more independent.

It may mean maintaining the role without relying as heavily on family.

It may mean managing workplace communication or sensory barriers.

It may mean learning new duties.

It may mean working more hours.

Or it may mean recognising that the current role is not the right long-term fit and beginning to explore something better.

NextGen Youth Employment can help young people and families explore these next steps through our personalised SLES and school-to-work employment support approach.

If you already have finding and keeping a job funding, are currently receiving SLES support, or are unsure how your employment support should change now that you have started working, contact NextGen Youth Employment.

We can discuss your current employment goals, the skills and barriers you are working on, and how our employment-support approach could help you continue moving towards greater independence and meaningful work.

Already have a part-time job but still need support to keep it, grow in the role or plan what comes next? Contact NextGen Youth Employment today for more information and assistance.