That ICPA (AUST) advocate to the Commonwealth Government to formally recognise geographically isolated students as a priority equity cohort by introducing a fifth student-based loading, a Geographically Isolated Student Loading, within the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
Currently, the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) includes four student-based loadings designed to address educational disadvantage: students with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students with socio-educational disadvantage, and those with low English proficiency. However, this framework overlooks a significant cohort, students who live in geographically isolated areas.
These students face unique and compounding barriers to accessing equitable education, including lack of face-to-face instruction, unreliable digital connectivity, limited access to qualified supervisors, and the added burden of remote or distance education delivery models.
Introducing a Geographically Isolated Student Loading would formally acknowledge GI students as a priority cohort and direct additional, needs-based Commonwealth funding to support them. This loading could be calculated based on a student’s geographical location and allocated to the school in which the student is enrolled, including Distance Education (DE) schools. DE schools would then have the capacity to use these funds to provide additional resources such as supervised learning support or allowances for home tutors, helping ensure that GI students receive a level of educational opportunity comparable to their urban peers.
By embedding this support in the national funding model, the government would take a significant step toward addressing the structural inequities that currently impact GI students and their families.
