Student Support Services

We want your time at TAFE Gippsland to be as enjoyable and rewarding as possible. Our Student Support and Success team has a stack of supports to make sure you’re kicking goals all year round.

From small group or one-on-one learning skills sessions to disability support and help managing stress, we’re here to help you reach your potential.

Our services are:

• Free
• Confidential
• Available Monday-Friday from 8.30am-4.30pm
• On campus or online.

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Student Wellbeing

The Student Wellbeing team is here to support you if things like stress, mental health, relationships or outside pressures are starting to impact your learning.

Available across all campuses and online, our Student Wellbeing Advisors provide a safe, supportive and confidential space where you can talk openly about what’s going on. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, struggling with motivation, dealing with anxiety, facing financial challenges or navigating relationships, they can help you work through it.

They can also support you with practical strategies to manage study and life at the same time.

For example:

• Setting realistic goals
• Building routines
• Managing stress
• Improving focus
• Navigating challenges like work commitments or family responsibilities.

Student Wellbeing Advisors can also support you if you're experiencing food insecurity, financial strain or homelessness.

You don’t need to be in crisis to reach out. Many students connect early to stay on top of things. If you need more specialised or ongoing support, the team can refer you to trusted external services such as counselling, crisis support or other community supports and help you understand how to access them.

The goal is to help you feel supported, capable and able to keep moving forward with your studies.

Our Student Wellbeing Advisors additionally organise a range of on campus events and celebratory days such as: Harmony Day, IDAHOBIT, RUOK Day? and more. Check out our TAFE Gippsland social media pages for more information.

• TAFE Gippsland Facebook
• TAFE Gippsland Instagram

Additional resources

• Ask Izzy: An online directory for vital support services in your area.
• Wellbeing Hacks Guide
• External Support Services

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Disability & Access

The Disability & Access team works with students who have disability, medical conditions, mental health conditions, or learning differences that may impact their learning experience.

The service is free, confidential and disclosure is voluntary.

Disability & Access Advisors can work with students with the following conditions:

• Physical – affecting your mobility or dexterity
• Intellectual – affecting your ability to learn
• Mental illness – affecting your thinking processes
• Sensory impairment – affecting your hearing or vision
• Neurological – e.g. Autism Spectrum or an Acquired Brain Injury
• Learning disability – e.g. ADHD or dyslexia
• Medical condition – e.g. Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis or diabetes
• Students who are carers

Why is it important to tell us about your needs when you enrol?

Disclosing your disability is completely optional, but telling us early can help in the following ways:

• You will have support from the very beginning of your course
• The team can support you through the enrolment process
• It will allow us time to arrange any assistive technology or equipment you might need.

How will we support you during your studies

The team will work with you to understand your individual needs and put supports in place to help you succeed. This is usually done through the creation of a Learning Access Plan. Your access plan may include reasonable adjustments such as extra time for assessments, flexible deadlines, alternative assessment formats or access to assistive technology. An access plan will help your educator understand your disability-related support needs so that reasonable adjustments can be made. Having a Learning Access Plan is a choice.

You don’t need to have everything organised before reaching out, the team will guide you through the process step-by-step in a supportive and confidential way, including helping with any required documentation.

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Disability Transition Support Officer

Our Disability Transition Support Officer provides personalised support for students with a disability transitioning from secondary school to a TAFE environment.

Our Disability Transition Support Officer can support by:

• Providing guidance to students, schools, and care teams.
• Facilitating wrap-around support for students who are transitioning to TAFE.
• Assisting with enrolment processes and troubleshooting any difficulties.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to enhance the transition processes.

Working within a ‘Team Around the Learner’ framework and alongside our Learning Skills Team, Wellbeing Team, and wider Disability and Access Team, our transition officer will guide and monitor students throughout their first 90 days of enrolment. Our officer partners with secondary schools to develop an understanding of the TAFE environment and share transition best practice within the Victorian TAFE Network.

Direct referrals from schools, agencies, career counsellors and wellbeing officers are encouraged.

For further information or to speak with the TAFE Gippsland Disability Transition Support Officer, email studentservices@tafegippsland.edu.au

Additional resources

• External support services
• Disability Transition Officer handbook

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Student Events

O-Week Roadshow  (Jan-Feb every year)

Start your year in pole position by attending one of our O-Week Roadshow events. Held every year at the beginning of Term 1, you get to find out first-hand what your campus has to offer and get up close and personal with our Student Support Services team. Not to mention the plentiful resources from an array of external vendors, free ice-cream and loads more.

Important National Days

Our Student Wellbeing Advisors additionally organise a range of on campus events and celebratory days such as: Harmony Day, IDAHOBIT, RUOK Day? and more.

Keep an eye out on our TAFE Gippsland social media pages for more information:

• TAFE Gippsland Facebook
• TAFE Gippsland Instagram

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