Regional Education Commissioner Issues for Consideration - 2023

Early Childhood Education and Care

Issue for Consideration 1

Recognising the significant need for developmental assessments and early intervention support services for children in regional areas, the availability of assessments should be evaluated, and assistance provided for the expansion of support services into regions where there is little or no access.

Issue for Consideration 2

Extend the Assistance for Isolated Children – Distance Education (AIC-DE) allowance to 3–4-year-olds undertaking an approved pre-compulsory distance education program to reduce the financial burden for remote families who have no option other than to deliver the preschool program themselves.

Issue for Consideration 3

Improve availability and flexibility of alternative ECEC delivery models in regional and remote communities where centre-based day care is not viable. This may include considering alternate funding models and enhancements to current ECEC services that are most suited to remote areas, such as:

• increasing the current legislative limits on educators and children in an approved Family Day Care venue, such as a council building, to allow two approved Family Day Care educators to care for no more than 14 children
• allowing for an In Home Care educator to care for children from more than one family at the same time in remote areas
• exploring a system for providing block funding for ECEC in regional and remote areas where fluctuating demand can create financial instability
• expanding access to mobile childcare services and mobile playgroups
• exploring solutions to support the provision of high-quality care in thin markets, such as delivery of online education combined with in-person care.

Schools

Issue for Consideration 4

Increase regional students’ access to a greater variety of secondary school subjects through in person and distance education measures, such as:

• offering subsidised courses to regional teachers to undertake upskilling in specialist areas
• establishing a program to support schools entering into ‘cluster’ arrangements to share teaching and curriculum resources
• expanding funding to partnership programs linking metropolitan schools and regional schools to share resources, for example the City-Country Partnership Program
• supporting programs that provide students with opportunities to undertake specialist subjects at another school
• expanding the services of Regional University Study Hubs to include support services for secondary students, including enabling distance learning or opportunities to access specialist subjects

Issue for Consideration 5

Establish a Distance Education Teaching Allowance (DETA) to support Home Tutors educating geographically isolated students via distance education where there are no alternatives. 

Issue for Consideration 6

Increase the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Basic Boarding Allowance to ease financial pressures caused by increased boarding fees for geographically isolated students and their families.

Issue for Consideration 7

To limit unintended financial consequences for regional families and employers, consider exemptions to the Fringe Benefits Tax for:

• essential supervisory employees’ on-site boarding school accommodation
• employer contributions to employees’ boarding school expenses.

Issue for Consideration 8

Create a Year 12 school leavers Teacher Aide program to assist regional schools facing a teacher shortage.

Tertiary Education

Issue for Consideration 9

Recognising that VET and Higher Education offer parallel pathways to success, support informed student choice and aspiration by resourcing schools to provide properly targeted, expert careers advice.

Issue for Consideration 10

Improve the administration of the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) by:

• removing the ‘no gap year’ requirement
• providing students with the financial support prior to relocation rather than after they commence their studies.

Issue for Consideration 11

Amend the Independent Youth Allowance eligibility criteria for regional students so that regional and remote students who need to relocate from home for tertiary study, beyond an appropriately determined distance, qualify as independent (replacing the current criteria that requires a regional or remote student to have worked at least 15 hours a week for a minimum of 2 years or earned 75% or more of wage Level A of the National Training Wage Schedule over a 14-month period to demonstrate independence).

Issue for Consideration 12

Consideration be given to developing a financial support program for students on compulsory placements to improve higher education attainment rates in the regions.

Issue for Consideration 13

Enhance and expand the Regional University Study Hubs program, including by exploring options such as:

• collaborating with state and territory governments to identify potential opportunities to house Regional University Study Hubs on existing TAFE sites and expand access for VET students
• enabling appropriately determined university regional campuses to host a Regional University Study Hub
• developing an appropriate model to deliver ongoing support and governance oversight for the full network of regional Hubs.

Issue for Consideration 14

Significantly increase the number of Commonwealth Supported Places for regionally-based end-to-end medical schools to address critical medical workforce shortages in regional areas.

Issue for Consideration 15

Immediately address the critical veterinary workforce shortage in regional and remote Australia through both short and long-term strategies, such as:

• HELP fee relief to encourage early career veterinarians to work in rural areas
• changes to admissions processes to ensure places for students with a commitment to regional and remote practice
• changes to the funding and models of training (e.g. financial support for rural placement)
• consider housing (or other) incentives to attract veterinarians to regional areas of need.

Issue for Consideration 16

Acknowledging the significant social and economic contribution regional universities make to their local communities, change the eligibility requirements of the Growing Regions Program to allow regionally headquartered universities to apply for funding.

Cross-sector

Issue for Consideration 17

Noting the importance of timely and relevant careers advice to students and its pivotal role in building aspiration and improving attainment rates:

• undertake a national audit to investigate the accessibility, effectiveness and quality of current careers advice delivery to primary and secondary school students, including identifying good practices
• consider how local councils, Regional University Study Hubs and other community organisations can implement strategies to improve the timeliness, accessibility and quality of careers advice.

Issue for Consideration 18

Encourage educators to remain in, or relocate to, regional areas by offering local, accessible and subsidised professional development opportunities.

Issue for Consideration 19

Elevate First Nations ‘assistant teachers’ to ‘partner teachers’ in recognition of their unique skills and cultural knowledge.

Issue for Consideration 20

Develop a regional education linkage program that facilitates collaboration between regional schools, VET, universities, Regional University Study Hubs, business and industry, and community to build student aspiration and address access, attainment and workforce issues in our regions.

Issue for Consideration 21

Fund local councils to develop a strategy to keep young people connected to their regional community if they leave, facilitating a ‘pathway home’ for students to return to their region.