The latest Provider Quarterly Report - School Leaver Employment is now available, and it includes practical insights into provider practices and what contributes to stronger employment outcomes for young participants.
These outcome reports are compiled by aggregating the information providers submit to the NDIA at the end of each quarter through the provider reporting tool. That means the report reflects what providers are delivering and recording across the market, and it is a useful benchmark for improving both service delivery and reporting accuracy.
In this blog, we break down the key findings the NDIA highlighted, then translate them into practical actions you can apply in your own school leaver employment supports.
What the Provider Quarterly Report Covers
The latest report looks at the employment supports provided to 8,531 school leavers, how they progressed, and the outcomes they achieved. It is designed to provide insights into provider practices and highlight factors that contribute to successful employment outcomes.
The NDIA links this work to its broader focus on improving employment outcomes for participants, including making sure young participants receive the right supports to build skills for work and to find and keep a job.
Key Findings Providers Should Know
The NDIA highlights several key data points that help providers understand where participation is highest and what outcomes are being achieved across the cohort.
Participation remains highest in NSW (33%), VIC (23%) and QLD (18%).
Engagement from First Nations participants (6%) and CALD participants (7%) has remained steady.
The report also notes that 47% of training time focused on developing core work readiness skills, which helps clarify what training time is being used for across the cohort.
Importantly, 614 participants moved into paid employment (open and supported). The NDIA notes this was mostly up to 21 hours per week, with employment commonly in retail, hospitality, trades and manufacturing.
Key Insight 1: Skill Specific Training Time Matters
One of the headline insights is clear: participants receiving more time in skill specific training were more likely to make significant progress in applying those skills.
For providers, this reinforces the value of structured skill development that is delivered consistently over time. It also suggests that the way training is planned, recorded and linked to progress matters, because the NDIA’s report is drawn from provider-submitted reporting.
What providers should review in program delivery
- Are skill-specific training activities planned and delivered consistently across the quarter
- Are training hours captured accurately and entered into the correct reporting categories
- Do your progress notes clearly show how participants are applying skills over time
Key Insight 2: Work Experience Time Links to Paid Work
The second highlighted insight is equally practical: participants who spent more time in work experience were more likely to transition into paid employment.
For providers, this points to the value of work experience being planned and consistent, not ad hoc. It also highlights the importance of treating work experience as an outcome pathway, not just a participation activity.
Practical provider questions to ask
- Are participants receiving enough structured work experience hours to build readiness over time
- Are workplace supports and coaching consistent enough to support success in placement
- Are barriers identified early so the approach can be adjusted before the quarter ends
Strong workforce coverage is often what makes work experience consistent in practice. If you are reviewing how to build stable delivery and prevent burnout, workforce planning can directly support outcome consistency.
Milestones Linked to Higher Employment Outcomes
The NDIA also reports that participants who made significant progress or fully achieved certain milestones were more likely to gain paid employment. The milestones listed include:
- employer engagement and job customisation
- acquiring work skills
- work experience
- building social, presentation and communication skills
This is useful for providers because it clarifies what types of progress the NDIA is linking to employment outcomes in its reporting.
A practical way to use this is to align your internal case reviews and progress notes with these same milestone areas, so your reporting and evidence are consistent.
What This Means for Providers in 2026
The value of this report is that it gives providers clear signals about what the NDIA is seeing in the data and what is associated with better outcomes. Two themes stand out:
- delivery needs to be consistent enough for participants to build and apply skills
- work experience needs to be resourced and tracked as a core pathway to paid employment
If you want a quick way to lift quality and reporting accuracy this quarter, start with simple process improvements.
Three practice improvements providers can implement now
- Add a pre-submission check so skill training and work experience time are correctly entered before quarterly reporting is finalised
- Run a monthly internal review of progress and milestone activity rather than waiting until the end of quarter
- Make participant confirmation and outcome notes consistent, so reporting aligns with what participants understand and agree with
If your intake is inconsistent, reporting issues tend to show up later. A strong onboarding workflow makes employment support delivery and reporting cleaner from the beginning.
Where to Access the Full Report and Supporting Resources
You can access the full provider report, summary dashboard, and Outcomes by Provider Lists on the provider reporting and resources page.
The NDIA also invites providers to submit feedback on the quarterly report and outcomes by provider using the email address provided on the update.
Conclusion
The latest School Leaver Employment report provides practical signals providers can apply immediately. The NDIA highlights that more time in skill specific training is linked to stronger progress applying those skills, and more time in work experience is linked to transitioning into paid employment.
For providers, the opportunity is to use this information to refine program design, strengthen milestone tracking, and lift reporting accuracy so what you deliver is clearly reflected in the data.
If you want to improve your internal systems around documentation, staff capability or consistent delivery models, Labour Care can support you with practical tools and provider-ready processes.
FAQs about School Leaver Employment Report:
1. What is the NDIS School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) program?
SLES is an NDIS support designed to help young people transition from school to work by building job readiness skills, work experience, and confidence for employment.
2. How can providers improve employment outcomes for school leavers?
Providers can improve outcomes by increasing structured training time, offering consistent work experience, and tracking participant progress accurately.
3. What does the NDIS School Leaver Employment Report show?
The report provides insights into provider performance, participant outcomes, training activities, and employment results, based on quarterly data submitted to the NDIA.
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