Regional Education Commissioner Issues for Consideration - 2024

Early Childhood Education and Care

Issue for Consideration 1

Improve availability and flexibility of early childhood education and care (ECEC) delivery and funding models in regional, rural and remote communities. This may include:

• designing a system to provide block funding for ECEC in regional, rural and remote areas where fluctuating demand can create financial instability
• exploring solutions to support the provision of high-quality care in thin markets
• 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
• considering the delivery of online education combined with in-person care in thin markets
• expanding access to mobile childcare services and mobile playgroups

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.

Schools

Issue for Consideration 3

Establish a Geographically Isolated Education Supervisors Subsidy (GIESS) to support Home Tutors educating geographically isolated students via distance education where there are no alternatives.

Issue for Consideration 4

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

Issue for Consideration 5

To ensure that all students living in remote First Nations communities where there is no secondary school can access secondary education options, consider demand-driven funding for boarding school scholarships for First Nations students from regional, rural and remote areas

Issue for Consideration 6

Elevate First Nations assistant teachers to ‘partner’ teachers as a reflection of the importance of their cultural knowledge and expertise, and to help create a sustainable workforce in First Nations communities

Issue for Consideration 7

To improve opportunities for school leavers to gain practical experience, and to assist regional, rural and remote schools to provide more support to teachers, explore the creation of an online portal where regional, rural and remote schools can advertise Teachers’ Aide roles and connect with interested Year 12 students and recent school leavers.

Issue for Consideration 8

Establish a national body for regional, rural and remote principals and primary and secondary education leaders to provide a forum to support and develop regional, rural and remote leaders and educators.

Issue for Consideration 9

States and territories to consider, through the Education Ministers Meeting, the transport needs of regional, rural and remote students to ensure access to appropriate and timely school bus services.

Issue for Consideration 10

Consider extending the implementation timeline for the release of the Direct Measure of Income calculation from the current two months to 14 months to provide regional, rural and remote schools and families with sufficient time to respond appropriately to any impact that may result from changes in the calculation.

Tertiary Education

Issue for Consideration 11

Continue to enhance and expand the Regional University Study Hubs program by exploring options including, but not limited to: 

• collaborating with local communities to identify opportunities to improve education outcomes for regional, rural and remote people through support for secondary students that is tailored to the education needs of each community
• developing an appropriate framework to deliver ongoing support and governance oversight for the full network of Regional University Study Hubs to maintain the high quality of delivery
• collaborating with state and territory governments to identify further opportunities to house Regional University Study Hubs on existing TAFE sites.

Issue for Consideration 12

In collaboration with a remote First Nations community, design and pilot an innovative program to support First Nations students to complete their nursing education On Country.

Issue for Consideration 13

Expand access to, and boost attainment of, tertiary education qualifications for people from regional, rural and remote areas, by undertaking a review of the regional, rural and remote Independent Youth Allowance eligibility criteria and making necessary adjustments to ensure that regional, rural and remote students who have no choice but to relocate for tertiary study are financially supported to do so.

Issue for Consideration 14

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

• removing the ‘no gap year’ requirement
• providing students with the financial support, or at least confirmation that the payment will be made upon verification of their tertiary study enrolment after the census date, prior to relocation rather than after they commence their studies.

Issue for Consideration 15

Extend the eligibility for the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) to include regional, rural and remote Australian Apprentices who must relocate from their place of residence to undertake their apprenticeship.

Issue for Consideration 16

Undertake an audit of regional universities’ physical and digital infrastructure to determine the scale of the investment needed to ensure regional universities have the facilities to support tertiary education access and attainment, whilst also enabling the universities’ social and economic contribution to their local communities

Cross-sector

Issue for Consideration 17

Create a new program in First Nations communities to establish Distance Assistance Study Hubs (DASHs) to support On Country distance education learning for First Nations students, potentially commencing through a pilot, based on the principles of the Regional University Study Hubs program.

Issue for Consideration 18

Acknowledging the importance of timely and relevant careers advice to students across all life stages, and its pivotal role in nurturing aspiration and building confidence and improving tertiary education attainment, improve careers advice through measures including, but not limited to:

• undertaking a national comprehensive assessment to investigate the accessibility, effectiveness and quality of current careers advice delivery, including identifying good practices
• developing a consistent national framework for careers advice across all life stages.

Issue for Consideration 19

Immediately address the critical veterinary workforce shortage in regional, rural and remote Australia through measures including, but not limited to:

• developing a Rural Veterinary Workforce Strategy
• providing HELP fee relief to encourage early career veterinarians to work in rural areas
• extending the eligibility of the Commonwealth Prac Payment to include veterinary science students
• supplementing university admissions processes to ensure places for students with a commitment to regional, rural and remote practice
• increasing Commonwealth funding to universities delivering veterinary degrees focussed on large animal and rural practice and/or end to end training in regional, rural and remote areas
• developing a network of rural veterinary practices and/or clinical training facilities that can provide teaching in collaboration with veterinary schools and the development of a rural-specific veterinary training pathway.

Issue for Consideration 20

Undertake an analysis of tertiary student graduate mobility to inform future policy design by obtaining a region-specific understanding of where regional, rural and remote students train and where they go on to work

Issue for Consideration 21

Expand the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) to eligible tertiary students to further increase educational access for students without affordable or reliable internet connectivity.

Proposal for consideration

Establish a ‘Regional Education Collaborate and Connect’ program to facilitate strong and sustainable connections between regional, rural and remote education providers, industry and community to:

• nurture the aspiration and build the confidence of regional, rural and remote students
• ensure regional, rural and remote people are better informed about, and supported to pursue, post-secondary education and career pathways
• increase tertiary participation and attainment for people in regional, rural and remote communities
• facilitate a strong and sustainable ‘homegrown’ workforce that can address region-specific skills and workforce needs
• work towards shared community goals, and ultimately seek to deliver stronger regional, rural and remote communities.