That ICPA (Aust) advocate to the Federal Government for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Distance Education Allowance to be extended to include all 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 Pre-School Program in place for over 20 years and currently (Sem 1 2025) has 24 enrolments. On average KSA enrolments have been around 20-25 each year. The NT 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.
Case Study
I have three children enrolled in Katherine School of the Air. All three children were not eligible to receive the AIC until they were in Year 1. Meaning the costs of setting up the schoolroom, accommodation and travel to contact events and early intervention appointments have been met with no assistance from federal government. The early years learning program facilitated by Katherine School of the Air has played a pivotal part in my children’s ability to learn, socialise and their general wellbeing. If I had waited until the age of 6 years to enrol them into a Distance Education facility, their ability to participate and interact with their peers would have been greatly affected. There is no other option other than Distance Education for where we live. Our access to playgroups, library programs and other learning platforms are extremely minimal. It is nationally recognised that children need educational learning programs from the age of three and 6 months. Geographically Isolated children enrolled in Preschool and Transition are at a pivotal time in their learning pathway for teachers to assist with learning difficulties and to offer early intervention as early as possible. If my children had waited to start from the age of 6 and go straight into Year 1 without teachers having prior knowledge of their learning capabilities, they would have fallen further behind and not be at the level they are today.
