“That ICPA (Aust) continues to advocate the Federal Government for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Distance Education Allowance to be extended to include geographically isolated pre-school students enrolled in a distance education programme.”
The Federal Government is committed to ensuring that every child has universal access to a quality early childhood education program. The desired outcome is to increase enrolment and improved attendance. From website https://budget.gov.au/content/bp3/download/bp3_05_part_2_education.pdf
“The Australian Government is providing funding to support continued universal access to 600 hours per year of preschool for children in the year before they start school. The Preschool Reform Agreement (2022–2025) aims to improve preschool participation and outcomes, including improved enrolment and attendance. Preschool funding is an ongoing commitment, with funding amounts from 2026 to be published once future funding arrangements are agreed.”
The Services Australia website regarding the AIC Allowance states that the minimum age is 3 years and 6 months old.
“Your child needs to be at least the minimum primary school entry age for your state or territory. They must also be under 19 on 1 January of the year of study. Or they need to be any of the following:
• at least 3 years and 6 months old and living away from home due to a health condition or disability
• under 20 on 1 January in the study year, with a disruption to their education, such as illness
• under 21 and studying at primary or ungraded level and getting Disability Support Pension, or Parenting Payment single
• doing tertiary study and under their state or territory minimum education or training requirements age.”
When claiming the AIC Allowance, the applicant is notified that a Northern Territory resident must be turning 6 years old between 1st of January to the 30th of June to be eligible for the AIC Allowance. Some students are already in Year 1 by this age and have been attending a school-based learning program, for two full years.
Setting up the classroom for distance education delivery for Pre-schoolers costs the same, if not more, as for the first year of compulsory schooling. The number of children accessing this pre-compulsory year by distance education is not huge. For example: Katherine School of the Air (KSA) has had a structured PreSchool Program in place for over 20 years and currently (Sem 1 2024) has 18 enrolments. On average KSA enrolments have been around 20-25 each year. The Northern Territory Government already recognises this cohort of students by making available half of the “NT Correspondence Site Allowance – Preschool” to assist all four-year-old children that are enrolled in pre-school with the Alice Springs and Katherine Schools of the Air.
Extending the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Distance Education Allowance to include these students will ensure greater and more equitable participation in Early Childhood Education by rural and remote students. Distance education students could benefit enormously from a minute portion of the billions of dollars allocated to early childhood education and care, including the funding intended to ensure the system is more accessible, affordable, and fairer for families.
