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Orientation travel
Before enrolling in high school
Before moving away from home for high school, students can get ABSTUDY help visiting boarding schools and hostels. To be eligible, these students need to meet the conditions for the higher rate when living away from home.
The help includes travel, accommodation and meals for a return trip from home to do any of the following:
- attend a school or hostel open day
- make other orientation visits to the school or hostel
- attend an interview before acceptance into a boarding school.
A family or community member, supervisor or travelling companion can also get this help if they’re travelling with the student.
There’s no limit on how many orientation trips ABSTUDY can help with. Students can get help to go to multiple orientations at different schools.
When families have chosen a school, ABSTUDY can pay for more visits to the same school. This is if the student is moving away from a remote town or community for the first time.
Before enrolment, educational institution representatives can also get help with travelling to a student’s community in special circumstances.
During and after high school
Students can get help travelling for orientation activities, interviews or another selection process either:
- before moving between different boarding schools or hostels
- before starting a tertiary course of at least one year, after completing high school the year before.
The help includes travel, accommodation and meals for a return trip from home or the student’s current term address.
A dependent traveller, family or community member, supervisor or travelling companion can also get help for these trips if they travel with the student.
Special purpose visit travel
When high school students are living away from home, their family or community members can get ABSTUDY help with visiting for either:
- school events
- helping the student stay in school, if they’re feeling homesick or having trouble adjusting.
School events may include any of the following:
- an award or graduation ceremony
- a sporting event
- a school play
- a parent teacher interview
- NAIDOC Week events.
Students may also get help with travelling to school events away from their place of study. Some non-student travellers can also get help if they travel with the student.
This help is for return trips between the traveller’s home and the event location. It includes travel, meals and accommodation.
Trip limits
We can help with the cost of travel for up to 3 return trips per year. This limit does not apply to trips for any of the following:
- NAIDOC week events
- graduation events
- visits to help students who are feeling homesick or having serious trouble adjusting to school or boarding away.