Australian school students will be encouraged to visit the centre of the country’s democratic processes through increased travel grants.
The Federal Government is increasing the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program which provides financial assistance for students to visit Canberra and experience national democratic, historical and cultural institutions first-hand.
Education Minister Jason Clare said rebates had been extended for 2025 and will range up to $2040 per student, depending on the location of the school, with additional loadings for eligible schools in disadvantaged, regional, and remote areas.
Minister Clare said home schooling families were also eligible for the rebate.
“These additional rebates, for example, take the rebate amount for a student from a remote, disadvantaged school in New South Wales, 500-999km from Canberra, from $45 to $165,” he said.
“For a student from a very remote, disadvantaged school in the Northern Territory, 3000km or more from Canberra, the rebate has increased from $510 to $2040.”
He said a new online hub has also been launched to boost student knowledge of Australia’s system of government, legal system and Australian citizenship.
“The Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE) Hub contains more than 200 nationally coordinated, high-quality teaching resources that will save teachers time and support them to teach students from Years 3 to 10.”
Minister Clare said teachers had access to resources to help them run mock parliamentary debates and elections, quizzes, case studies and a range of other sources to support student learning.
