Families living in geographically isolated parts of Australia are faced with little or no choice but to send their children to boarding school to access equitable educational opportunities. In the lead up to the election, ICPA (Aust) is appealing to all parties to commit to addressing the increasing burden families face in meeting the disproportionate costs associated with educating their children.
While the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme (AIC) provides welcome relief to many families, it has not kept pace with the rising costs of boarding away from home. These costs are exemplified by ICPA data, which shows that boarding school fees have increased by an average of 26% across 5 States from 2015-2021, with the AIC increasing by just 8% over the same time. An immediate boost to address this shortfall is vital.
ICPA (Aust) is seeking an increase to all categories of the AIC for geographically isolated students to better support rural and remote families to cover the extensive and increasing costs of accessing equitable educational opportunities for their children.
ICPA Federal President Alana Moller said “For geographically isolated children boarding school is a necessity because of where they live. While we know that it is impossible for the government to provide a school everywhere, failing to adequately assist with the extensive costs of accessing compulsory education elsewhere, risks leaving these already disadvantaged students even more vulnerable. Children should not be condemned to an inferior education because their families live and work in rural and remote Australia.”
Read the ICPA (Aust) Pre-Election Media Releases here Media Releases | ICPA
Further information and comments please contact:
Alana Moller, Federal President
Suzanne Wilson, Federal Publicity Officer
