NSW Education re-platforms disability access portal on Salesforce

The NSW Department of Education is to build a new cloud-based platform to allow students with disabilities to request additional support.

The new Salesforce Education Cloud-based portal is due to be rolled out in 2025 and forms part of an effort to “reduce administrative burden on schools and remove outdated systems”.

The department's current access request platform is based on JBOSS and OpenShift.

It has now contracted Sydney-based Salesforce partner Ingenuity Partners to design and develop the new platform until August 2027 at a cost of $5 million.

In a statement to iTnews, an NSW Education spokesperson said the "new access request system is set to be rolled out in late 2025 to streamline and support the provision of resources for students with disabilities."

“Salesforce Education Cloud was selected as the platform, in line with the department’s ‘reuse before rebuild’ policy, ensuring cost-effectiveness and alignment with the future state architecture," the spokesperson said.

"Leveraging this cloud-based platform also minimises risk by utilising existing departmental expertise.”

NSW Education already uses Salesforce for its CRM, case management and grants managements capabilities. 

The state government recently extended a whole-of-government deal with Salesforce until June 2028, bringing the total period up to a decade.

The state government first signed the deal, alongside one with Microsoft, in 2018 to better exploit the “collective buying power” of its departments and agencies.

This was then extended in 2022 and 2023, with Salesforce’s acquisitions of MuleSoft, Tableau and Slack being added in the latter amendment.