ILP, IEP, PLP, AIP: The Definitive Australian Guide to Your Child's School Plan

When our son started school, his teacher mentioned that they would put together an 'ILP' for him. Three months later, a different school used the term 'IEP'. A parent in my support group was told her daughter had a 'PLP'. Another family in a different state had something called an 'AIP'. All four documents turned out to be roughly equivalent, an individualised plan for a child who needed something different from the standard curriculum, but the different names created genuine confusion about what each was, what it meant, and what the child was entitled to.

This guide is my attempt to cut through the acronym fog. The terminology varies by state, by school sector, and sometimes by individual school. What should not vary, and what this guide will help you understand, is what your child is legally entitled to, regardless of what the document is called.

The legal foundation: it applies everywhere

Before we get into the terminology, the most important thing to understand: every Australian school, government, Catholic, and independent, has a legal obligation under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 to make reasonable adjustments for students with disability. This is not optional. It is not conditional on the school having resources. It applies in every state and territory, regardless of what the individual school calls the document.

'Reasonable adjustments' means changes to the curriculum, the physical environment, the way information is delivered, and how assessments are conducted, to give a student with disability access to education equivalent to what other students have. An individualised plan is the mechanism for documenting and implementing those adjustments.

The Australian terminology, by state

Here is the current terminology as it is generally used across Australian states and territories. Note that schools within the same state sometimes use different terms, particularly in the non-government sector.

What an ILP / IEP / PLP should contain

Regardless of what it is called, a well-written individualised plan should contain the same core elements. If your child's plan is missing these, it is worth raising at the next review.

ILP vs IEP: is there actually a difference?

In Australian usage, the terms ILP and IEP are often used interchangeably, but there is a distinction worth knowing. In some contexts, an ILP refers to a lighter-touch document for a student who needs support in one or two specific areas, reading, maths, but does not have a diagnosed disability. An IEP, in these contexts, refers to a more comprehensive plan for a student with a diagnosed disability and correspondingly greater adjustment needs.

In practice, what matters more than the name is the content and the legal basis. A plan for a student with disability should explicitly reference reasonable adjustments, be formally reviewed at least once per year (most schools do it per term), and be developed in consultation with parents and, where appropriate, the student. If your child's plan is called an ILP but contains all of these elements, the name is not the issue. If it is called an IEP but contains only vague goals and no named strategies, that is the issue to raise.

The American IEP: it is not the same thing

Parents who research IEPs online will quickly encounter a great deal of American content about the Individualized Education Program, the US equivalent. This is not the same as Australian practice and it is important not to confuse the two. The US IEP exists under federal law (IDEA) and carries specific legal requirements, timelines, and procedural safeguards that do not exist in Australian law. References to 'IEP rights' in American content do not map directly onto what you can expect from an Australian school.

How to get your child's plan right

When the plan is not working

If your child has a plan but things are not improving, or the plan exists on paper but is not being implemented, the escalation pathways are: your school's student services or wellbeing coordinator, then the principal, then the relevant state or territory education department. In the independent sector, the first escalation is to the school principal; schools are not directly accountable to state departments in the same way.

You also have the option of making a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission under the Disability Discrimination Act if reasonable adjustments are not being made. This is a significant step and most families do not need to go there. But knowing it exists changes how you sit in conversations with schools. You are not there as a supplicant. You are there as the parent of a child with legal rights.

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