An elected Dutton-Littleproud Coalition Government will commit $40 million towards increasing the Basic Boarding Allowance paid under the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme, delivering much-needed support to rural and remote families across Australia.
The scheme helps parents and carers with the costs of sending their children to boarding school when there is no school close to home.
Leader of The Nationals, the Hon David Littleproud MP, said the rising cost of living under Labor was impacting families from geographically isolated areas, who are forced to make significant sacrifices to be able to send their children to school.
“Under Labor, the gap between boarding and tuition fees and the basic boarding allowance has been getting larger, so it’s actually getting harder for remote kids to get the education they deserve, reach their full potential and then come back and keep their communities going,” Mr Littleproud said.
Under the Coalition’s plan, the boarding allowance will increase by an extra $4,000 per student from $10,338 per year to $14,338 per year for two years commencing 2025-26.
After the first year of additional funding, a Coalition Government will undertake a review of the financial impact on isolated families. This review will inform decisions about future payments beyond the initial two years.
While the review is underway, the Coalition will change the indexation factor to the CPI Education sub-index for the 2026-27 year.
Shadow Minister for Regional Education Darren Chester said an increase to the boarding allowance is a critical component of closing the gap in educational outcomes between regional and metropolitan students.
“The increased Boarding Allowance will help ease the financial burden and support more young people to get a quality education and thrive,” Mr Chester said.
“The evidence shows there is a consistent link between where Australians live and their educational outcomes, with those living in rural and remote communities doing worse than students in urban areas.
“Families in regional Australia should not be worse off because of the Labor Government’s cost-of-living crisis and poor policies, and they should not be worse off than families in other regions because of the need to educate their children.”
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