That ICPA (Aust) advocate the Federal Government for an expansion of the NBN School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) for Regional, Rural and Remote students.
To boost education opportunities and narrow the digital divide, the Australian Government provided around 30,000 qualifying families with school age children a free NBN service through its SSBI – a programme that is now fully allocated. Connected families will continue to receive free internet until 30 June 2028 with 33% of these families being rural and remote. Now that this program is “full” (reached capacity) and no further applications are being accepted, we’d like to see it continue and be expanded (more placements, continue to cover costs for those eligible families, and expanded application eligibility) as families may well be unable to either continue or commence funding connectivity services beyond end of June 2028, due to their circumstances, compromising educational accessibility and optimal learning outcomes which in turn leads to the student/s being unable to fulfill their potential.
