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What ABSTUDY helps with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can get ABSTUDY Fares Allowance to help with travel costs for orientation visits. This could be for students currently in Year 5 or 6. They need to meet the criteria for the higher rate of ABSTUDY when living away from home.
It includes travel, accommodation and meals for a student’s return trip with a family or community member to:
- 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.
There’s no limit on how many orientation trips a student and their family or community member can get help with. They can go to multiple orientations at different schools.
When they’ve 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.
How to plan orientation visits with ABSTUDY
Before they can get help with orientation travel costs, parents and guardians need to claim ABSTUDY for their child. You should send parents and guardians information about claiming as soon as they contact you. Learn more about how you can help families claim ABSTUDY.
Once we assess their ABSTUDY claim, you’ll be able to book orientation travel with ABSTUDY for them. You may need to provide proof of the orientation activity you’re planning that the student needs to travel for.
Learn more about arranging orientation travel with ABSTUDY Fares Allowance.
How to arrange staff travel to a community
Sometimes it makes sense to have a staff member from your school travel to a community before students enrol.
You can get ABSTUDY help with this travel to either:
- conduct interviews or other selection processes before students are accepted into your boarding school or hostel
- engage with the student’s family if they or a community member cannot visit your boarding school or hostel.
The student’s parents or guardians will need to claim ABSTUDY first.
We may then approve up to 2 staff members to travel to and from the community if:
- there are at least 6 students in the community you need to meet with
- it’s cheaper for you to travel than for the students to travel.
To request staff travel, follow the process to book travel with ABSTUDY Fares Allowance.
We’ll then make the travel and accommodation bookings and send you the itinerary and details.