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    Easy Read

    Disability and access services at TAFE NSW

    An Easy Read guide about how the disability support services at TAFE NSW can help you.

    About this page

    TAFE NSW logo

    When you see the word we it means TAFE NSW.

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    We use big text to make it easier to read.

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    We wrote some important words in bold.

    This means the letters are thicker and darker.

    We explain what these words mean.

    Summary of this page

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    This page tells you about

    • the disability support services at TAFE NSW.

    Who we can support

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    TAFE NSW’s disability support services can support people who are:

    • blind or have low vision
    • deaf or hard of hearing.
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    They can support people who have:

    • an illness or medical condition that will last a long time, like cancer
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    a physical disability.
    A physical disability affects how well you can:

    • move
    • use your body.
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    They can support people with intellectual disability.
    An intellectual disability affects how you:

    • learn new things
    • solve problems
    • communicate
    • do things on your own.
    A man stands with crossed arms and thought bubbles showing him in various worried poses.

    They can support people who struggle with their mental health.
    Your mental health is about how you:

    • think and feel about yourself
    • deal with things in your life
    • manage your feelings.
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    They can also help people who are neurodiverse.
    When someone is neurodiverse:

    • they think in a different way
    • their brain works in a different way.

    How we can support you

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    TAFE NSW can support you:

    • before you sign up for a TAFE course
    • while you study a TAFE course.
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    Our disability teacher consultants provide different services to support people with disability.

    A consultant is a person who gives expert advice to help solve a problem.

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    Disability teacher consultants can:

    • give you information to help you choose a course
    • help you sign up for a course.
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    They can also connect you with other supports.
    For example, an Auslan interpreter.
    An Auslan interpreter is someone who uses Auslan to help you understand what someone says.

    Auslan means Australian Sign Language.
    People use their hands, face, and body movements to communicate in Auslan.

    A person helping someone use a tablet.

    Our disability teacher consultants can help you find and use assistive technology.
    Assistive technology can:

    • make it easier for you to do things
    • keep you safe.
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    Assistive technology might be:

    • an aid or piece of equipment, like a wheelchair
    • a system to use, like a screen reader.
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    You can meet with a Disability Teacher Consultant at any time.

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    It’s free to have a meeting with them.

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    They will check to see if you need to pay any money to study a TAFE course.

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    You might need to give them a letter from your doctor or school.

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    They won’t share any information you tell them.

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    TAFE NSW’s disability teacher consultants can also help you:

    • find out more about their support services
    • get started.

    How to meet with our disability teaching consultants

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    There are 3 ways you can organise a meeting with a disability teacher consultant.
    We explain each option below.

    Contact us by phone.
    1. You can call TAFE NSW.
      131 601
    A finger pressing number 5 on a phone.

    When you call them, select option 5.
    They will connect you to their disability support services team.

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    This team can book a meeting with one of their disability teacher consultants.
    You can have this meeting either:

    • in person
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    • online.
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    1. You can visit a TAFE in person.
      When you visit a TAFE, you need to go to the Customer Service Centre.
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    Let a staff member know you would like to meet with a disability teacher consultant.

    Map with a red location pin in the centre.

    You can find a TAFE NSW near you in the Locations page on the TAFE NSW website. This page is not Easy Read.

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    1. You can give TAFE NSW information about your disability when you sign up for a course online.
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    When you sign up for a course online, you can tick the box that says ‘disability’.
    This will let you tick the boxes that best explain your disability below.

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    After you sign up for a course online, you should also call TAFE NSW.

    They can help you find the support you need for your course.

    Support to contact us

    National Relay Service logo

    You can call the National Relay Service if you

    • are deaf or hard of hearing
    • have speech or communication difficulty.
    Contact us by phone.

    Speak and Listen
    1300 555 727

    Person smiling while talking on a mobile phone, wearing a grey sweater and red scarf.

    You can ask them to connect you to the TAFE NSW phone number.
    131 601

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    You can learn more in the National Relay Service page on the Access Hub website.

    Difficult word list

    This list explains what the words in bold on this page mean.

    Assistive technology

    Equipment, tools or devices that help a person do things more easily and more independently.

    Auslan

    Auslan is Australian Sign Language.
    The Deaf community uses Auslan.

    Auslan interpreter

    An Auslan interpreter is someone who uses Auslan to help you understand what someone says.

    Consultant

    A person who gives expert advice to help solve a problem.

    Disability
    A disability is a condition that can affect how a person learns or lives.

    Intellectual disability

    A disability that affects learning and thinking.

    Mental health

    Mental health is about how you think and how you feel.

    Neurodiverse

    When someone is neurodiverse

    • they think in a different way
    • their brain works in a different way.

    Physical disability

    A physical disability affects how well you can

    • move
    • use your body.