That ICPA (Aust) advocate for changes within the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) criteria to address the inequity of assistance provided to Geographically Isolated students.
The Broken Hill Branch recognises and thanks the government for the support they provide for isolated students accessing education, however the resources of the government are being stretched, as the impact of increasing numbers of students being eligible under the current eligibility criteria for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC).
We believe that families that live in Significantly Geographically Isolated areas and the challenges they face in educating their children are vastly different to families who live closer to educational facilities or transport who may still receive the AIC. Our branch would like the government to recognise the greater challenges and barriers Significantly geographically isolated families face and because of where they live and work, their ability to access equitable education opportunities is greatly affected. We believe that adding an extra eligibility criterion to the AIC Boarding, Second Home and Distance Education Allowances would help identify the families who live in these areas. This may assist in future advocacy efforts with the government recognising the unique and extenuating challenges these families face accessing education for their children.
In its current format, the eligibility criteria for the assistance available to families does not recognise the significant and unique challenges therefore we strongly believe that a more equitable approach would be to have an additional criterion for Significantly Geographically Isolated students within the AIC. An additional significantly geographically Isolated category would only be applicable to those a certain distance from their nearest education facility and where there is NO option for transport to any educational facility.
We know that all rural and remote families face challenges when educating their children, but the vast distances and additional costs that families in Significantly Geographically Isolated areas face, clearly demonstrates that equal assistance does not ensure equity of access.
Case Study 1
I live a 250km round trip from my closest primary school, on unsealed roads which are poorly maintained and greatly affected by seasonal conditions. Therefore attending that primary school was not a viable option for my children. For that reason, I have educated my 4 children via distance education, via Broken Hill School of The Air. The school campus is a 570km round trip away (200 km unsealed as above), a 7 hour round trip.
The nearest high school is a 570km round trip away (200 km unsealed as above) in completely the opposite direction of the primary school. There is no bus service that leaves either of the townships that the schools are located in.
The closet boarding facility for high school education is 1440km round trip away, (250km unsealed as above).
My children attend a boarding school that is a 2000km (250km unsealed roads as above) round trip away. We chose that school for many reasons, but most importantly that I have family support in the town where they board.
This is not an uncommon example of members in my branch, 46% of our members are more than 100kms from their closest primary and high school. 50% of our members have over 50kms of unsealed roads.
ALL of our members are at least a 600km round trip to their nearest boarding school.
Case Study 2
In 2021 I had to make the extremely difficult decision to move myself and our two high school age twins to Broken Hill, 420km from our home, to allow them to finish their secondary education in a face-to-face school. My twins had already completed all their primary education and first 2 years of their secondary education through Distance Education. Our nearest high school is a 150km round trip away on unsealed roads. My eldest daughter did travel, often driving herself, into that school every day to complete Year 12, but I was unwilling to repeat that experience. Especially considering my daughter was the only senior student in her school.
So, as the twins were becoming less engaged, unmotivated and having challenges with unreliable, inadequate technology and lack of practical learning experiences, I decided that we had to move into Broken Hill to offer them more. For me, the most worrying thing was, they were socially isolated, missing out on vital teenager experiences which are fundamental for their development, such as the opportunity for mixing with friends, team sports and other extra-curricular activities, crucial for a teenagers, physical, mental and social well-being. Even though they are twins and had each other, they were extremely lonely.
It was extremely hard to divide the family unit, not only financially, with the burden of setting up and running two households, the additional costs of travelling back and forth to the family home at least every second weekend, with an 840km round trip to and from Broken Hill. But the emotional toll this has taken on my husband, being alone on the station for weeks at a time, has been a big concern for me. If we had better support through the AIC, we would have had other options available to us, which would have allowed me to stay at home and work in the family business and still enabling the twins to receive a quality education.
