❓ Hon Martin Aldridge asks the Minister for Education and Training to list and detail subsidies and allowances for regional and remote families with children boarding for secondary schooling, following a media statement by Hon Darren West. The Minister provides a detailed response outlining the Boarding Away from Home Allowance (BAHA), student subsidised travel scheme, and the secondary assistance scheme.
AnsweredQoN 1262Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
BOARDING AWAY FROM HOME
ALLOWANCE
1262. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the article ''Boarding
boost pledge'' published in The Esperance Express on Friday, 25
October 2019, in which the member for the Agricultural Region Hon Darren West
states —
� the State Government provided many
other subsidies and allowances to support regional and remote families with
children living away from home for secondary schooling.
(1) Will the minister please list the subsidies and
allowances offered by the state government to regional and remote
families with children who are living away from home for secondary schooling to
which Hon Darren West refers in his media comment?
(2) What is the
criteria for each subsidy and allowance?
(3) What is the
annual financial value of each subsidy and allowance?
ALLOWANCE
1262. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the article ''Boarding
boost pledge'' published in The Esperance Express on Friday, 25
October 2019, in which the member for the Agricultural Region Hon Darren West
states —
� the State Government provided many
other subsidies and allowances to support regional and remote families with
children living away from home for secondary schooling.
(1) Will the minister please list the subsidies and
allowances offered by the state government to regional and remote
families with children who are living away from home for secondary schooling to
which Hon Darren West refers in his media comment?
(2) What is the
criteria for each subsidy and allowance?
(3) What is the
annual financial value of each subsidy and allowance?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) The
Boarding Away from Home Allowance is available to eligible parents and
guardians, consisting of four allowance
types with pro rata payments based on the length of time boarding. These are:
isolated children , for students boarding to attend school and the
parent/guardian is receiving the Department of Human Services—Centrelink—assistance
for isolated children boarding allowance or the second home allowance payment;
students in respite, for students boarding away from home for health-related
reasons and the parent/guardian is receiving AIC for short-term boarding,
payment of which is based on the number of days in boarding, but must be for
periods of 20 days or more over the year; the agricultural college special
subsidy, for secondary students attending and boarding at an agricultural
college and not in receipt of either a youth allowance, Abstudy boarding or AIC
payment; and the gifted and talented program, for secondary students enrolled
in gifted and talented programs at public schools boarding at City Beach
Residential College and not in receipt of either a youth allowance, Abstudy
boarding or AIC payment. The BAHA payment rate is $1 791 in 2019 for students
who board for a full school year.
Children living away from home for
secondary schooling may also be eligible for subsidies or allowances from the
Department of Transport Western Australia. The student subsidised travel scheme
provides financial assistance to students
from a geographical area known as the defined remote area to attend school or university, regardless of whether there is an educational facility locally
available and based on their individual circumstances.
In addition to BAHA, the state
government also provides the secondary assistance scheme to support eligible
low-income families and independent students from years 7 to 12 with secondary
schooling costs. The following are available
to parents, guardians or students holding an appropriate Centrelink Health Care Card or concession card, or a Department of Veterans' Affairs Pensioner
Concession Card: the education program allowance, whereby an amount of $235 is
paid to the public or private school; and the clothing allowance, whereby an
amount of $115 is paid to the parent or guardian, and parents, guardians and
public school students can elect to have the allowance forwarded to the school.
some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) The
Boarding Away from Home Allowance is available to eligible parents and
guardians, consisting of four allowance
types with pro rata payments based on the length of time boarding. These are:
isolated children , for students boarding to attend school and the
parent/guardian is receiving the Department of Human Services—Centrelink—assistance
for isolated children boarding allowance or the second home allowance payment;
students in respite, for students boarding away from home for health-related
reasons and the parent/guardian is receiving AIC for short-term boarding,
payment of which is based on the number of days in boarding, but must be for
periods of 20 days or more over the year; the agricultural college special
subsidy, for secondary students attending and boarding at an agricultural
college and not in receipt of either a youth allowance, Abstudy boarding or AIC
payment; and the gifted and talented program, for secondary students enrolled
in gifted and talented programs at public schools boarding at City Beach
Residential College and not in receipt of either a youth allowance, Abstudy
boarding or AIC payment. The BAHA payment rate is $1 791 in 2019 for students
who board for a full school year.
Children living away from home for
secondary schooling may also be eligible for subsidies or allowances from the
Department of Transport Western Australia. The student subsidised travel scheme
provides financial assistance to students
from a geographical area known as the defined remote area to attend school or university, regardless of whether there is an educational facility locally
available and based on their individual circumstances.
In addition to BAHA, the state
government also provides the secondary assistance scheme to support eligible
low-income families and independent students from years 7 to 12 with secondary
schooling costs. The following are available
to parents, guardians or students holding an appropriate Centrelink Health Care Card or concession card, or a Department of Veterans' Affairs Pensioner
Concession Card: the education program allowance, whereby an amount of $235 is
paid to the public or private school; and the clothing allowance, whereby an
amount of $115 is paid to the parent or guardian, and parents, guardians and
public school students can elect to have the allowance forwarded to the school.
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