my future:
my life
www.myfuturemylife.com.au
1300 My Plan (1300 697526)
Tips 4 Parents
How can My Future: My Life help my son or daughter?
My Future: My Life is designed to help young people with a disability achieve the goals they have set for
themselves for when they complete school, whether that is to join the workforce, study further or pursue
leisure or recreational options. My Future: My Life can do this by providing assistance to purchase the
resources your son or daughter may need to achieve their goals.
Can anyone apply for assistance through My Future: My Life?
No, there are some criteria young people must meet to be eligible for assistance through My Future: My
Life. If your son or daughter can demonstrate they meet all these criteria they are free to apply.
To be eligible your son or daughter must live in Queensland, and:
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have a disability that is attributed to an intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical
impairment or a combination of impairments
be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident of Australia, or
a Temporary Protection Visa holder, or
a New Zealand citizen who arrived in Australia prior to 26 February 2001, or
a member of a family on a work or study visa sponsored by the Australian Government.
be in year 11 or 12, and have a current Senior Education and Training (SET) Plan (or equivalent).
What if my child doesn’t know what they want to do when they finish school?
It’s not uncommon for young people to experience difficulty identifying what they want to do when they
complete school. The important thing is that they start thinking about, planning for and working toward
something meaningful for when they are no longer at school. It’s ok that they change their mind about what
they want to do as they progress through their senior years, most young people do.
As a parent you can play an important role in helping your son or daughter think about what they want to do
when they complete school. Here are few things to think about that might help you help your son or
daughter plan for life after school:
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Encourage and support your son or daughter to identify and capture their strengths, interests and abilities.
Attend career, tertiary options and other expo’s with your son or daughter.
Encourage and support your son or daughter to undertake meaningful work experience and/or volunteer work.
Talk about people you know who have interesting jobs and the type of work they do.
Encourage and support your son or daughter to own the development and review of their SET Plan.
Actively participate with your son or daughter in their transition planning activities and meetings.
Help your son or daughter identify others who might be able to help them in their transition from school
journey.
Encourage and assist your son or daughter to plan early, and accept that plans can and do change.
Provide opportunities for your son or daughter to actively participate in valued activities and to acquire valued
roles at home, in the community and at school.
Be positive about your son or daughters future.
Have high expectations of others involved in your son or daughters transition planning.
Encourage hobbies and leisure activities as these may provide valuable clues about the types of things that
they may want to do in the future.
Encourage and support your son or daughter to dream big. Help them to think about non-disability as well as
disability specific options.
Encourage and support your son or daughter to make choices which will give them the best chance to achieve
their goals.
What’s a SET Plan and why is it important?
A SET Plan (or equivalent) is a document used to capture young people’s goals for their senior years at
school and importantly their goals for what they want to do when they complete school. Teachers will
usually meet with you and your son or daughter when they are in year 10 to help them develop their SET
Plan. If the goals your son or daughter captures in their SET Plan are specific and linked very clearly to
what they want to do when they complete school, this will give them the best chance of achieving these
goals. The SET Plan guides teachers through these important final years of schooling, so if the SET Plan
doesn’t reflect what your son or daughter wants to do when they complete school, it could really limit their
chances of achieving their dreams.
How do I find more information about my child’s SET plan (or equivalent)?
Discussing your child’s progress at school with them and their teacher is the simplest way of you really
understanding what is happening for them and how they are progressing against the goals identified in their
SET Plan.
Keeping a copy of your child’s SET Plan at home can be really useful. If we accept that people can learn,
grow and develop at any time and in any environment, then ready access to the document (their SET Plan)
developed to guide your son or daughters learning through the crucial final years of high school, makes it
so much easier to be able to support their learning in a consistent and informed way. It means being able to
work more collaboratively with teachers by supporting the learning goals they are focussing on in the
school environment; it also allows you and other important people in your son or daughters life to easily
confirm whether what you are seeing or hearing from your child about their future is consistent with what
has been captured in their SET Plan.
A SET Plan is a living document; if you are able to inform teachers of changes to preferences, goals or
learning styles, they can adjust or update your child’s SET Plan to ensure they have every opportunity to
achieve their goals for life after school.
For more information or assistance with My Future: My Life, please visit our website at
www.myfuturemylife.com.au or contact us on 1300 MY PLAN (1300 69 7526).
Your son or daughter will need to have a SET Plan which captures very specific goals for their life after school
for My Future: My Life to be able to assist them. Help them make their goals meaningful.