“That ICPA (Aust) requests the Federal Government review and amend Rule 3 in the application for Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) form SY040 to remove the continuing requirement once the initial requirement has been met.”
The proposed amendment should state that the student does not have reasonable access to a suitable state school for at least 20 school days per year due to adverse travel conditions or other uncontrollable circumstances and once approved, the application should remain valid for the child's remaining schooling years (unless the child changes residential address).
In its current form, the existing criteria for eligibility for funding under this rule does not make any allowance for the fluctuating state of rural conditions or rural access routes. The requirement to reapply during each climatic event causes undue hardship on applicants who need the predictability of funding to make decisions as to schooling.
Dry and wet conditions provide a level of uncertainly and impracticability for families in seeking educational equality for their children. Once a family becomes eligible for the allowance at any stage during the child’s schooling, the eligibility should remain to allow such families to make long term arrangements for educating their children. Access to education should not be restricted by a family’s ability to traverse a particular road on such an ad hoc basis.
A student is regarded as geographically isolated from appropriate schooling if one of the following rules is met:
Rule 1: The distance between the principal family home and the nearest appropriate state school is at least 56 kilometres by the shortest practicable route
Rule 2: The distance between the principal family home and the nearest appropriate state school by the shortest practicable route is at least 16 kilometres and the distance between the principal family home and the nearest available transport service to that school is at least 4.5 kilometres by the shortest practicable route
Rule 3: The student does not have reasonable access to an appropriate state school for at least 20 school days in a year because of adverse travel conditions (e.g. impassable roads) or other circumstances beyond the family’s control.
