Summary of proposal
Party
Nationals
Policy Topic
Education
Portfolio
Education

The proposal would increase the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Allowance, with 6 options as described below:

Option 1: Increase the annual rate for Distance Education Allowance by $750 per child

Option 2: Increase the annual rate for Basic Boarding Allowance by $1,000 per child

Option 3: Increase the annual rate for Additional Boarding Allowance by $1,000 per child

Option 4: Increase the annual rate for Second Home Allowance by $2,000 per child

Option 5: Extend the annual rate for Distance Education Allowance to children aged between 3 and 4 years old

Option 6: Include a Distance Education Teaching Allowance of $6,000 per family per year to provide financial assistance toward the cost of providing a distance education tutor in the home classroom.

For each of the above 6 options, the relevant allowance would be indexed by either:

a)     the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or
b)     the CPI Education subgroup Index (CPI Education).

The proposal would be ongoing and would have effect from 1 January 2024.

16 January 2023