Boarders attending °Ä²Ê¿ª½± may be eligible for various educational allowances provided by the Isolated Children Scheme, Queensland Government and New South Wales Government.
Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC)
If you live at least 16km from the nearest state school with the required year level and at least 4.5km from the nearest transport, you may be eligible for Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme. Payments are not taxed and are not income tested*.
Types of payments
- Boarding Allowance – made up of 2 components – basic and *additional boarding allowance which is income tested. Also eligible for students aged 17 who are participating in an approved tertiary course at an Agricultural, TAFE or similar college.
- Second Home Allowance
- Distance Education Allowance
Youth Allowance
Financial help for people aged 16 to 24 years who are studying full-time, undertaking a full-time Australian Apprenticeship, training, looking for work or sick.
Abstudy
Helps cover costs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who are studying or undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship.
Queensland Government Allowances
The Living Away from Home Allowances Scheme (LAFHAS) was introduced to address the needs of students based on rural and remote communities.
The scheme provides financial support through 4 allowances:
- Remote Area Tuition Allowance (RATuA)—helps pay tuition fees charged by non-state boarding schools
- Remote Area Travel Allowance (RATrA)—helps pay a student’s travel costs between home and boarding school during holidays
- Remote Area Allowance (RAA)—contributes to the cost of boarding at  a state high school campus, to complete approved agricultural courses equivalent to and in lieu of Years 11 and 12
- Remote Area Disability Supplement (RADS)—helps with additional boarding costs for students with disability.
New South Wales Government Allowances
The NSW Government has released a new Rural and Remote Education strategy to improve student leading in rural and remote schools across New South Wales. The School Drive Subsidy is also available in areas where there is limited or no public transport. The subsidy is intended to partly offset the cost of using a private vehicle to drive the eligible student all or part of the way to school.
Types of payments
- Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA)
- Boarding Scholarships for isolated students (BSIS)
- School Drive Subsidy
