Support for rural families and students

We provide support to families and students who live in rural and remote areas. There is assistance to help with some expenses relating to raising your children. If you are a student you may be eligible for assistance with the cost of relocating for higher education study.

Services to help people in rural, regional and remote areas

We provide a large network of Access Points and Agents in rural, regional and remote Australia to help people access our services. Our rural smart centres provide people living in rural Queensland and South Australia with a telephone service to help them deal with the challenges of being isolated and living away from more populated centres.

Our Mobile Service Centres help people in rural and regional communities who might not otherwise be able to access Government services. The Mobile Service Centres can help you get the payments and services you may be entitled to.

Assistance to help with child care costs

To assist you with the cost of using child care services there is:

• Child Care Benefit which helps cover long day care, family day care, occasional day care, outside school hour care, vacation care, pre-school, and kindergarten child care
• Child Care Rebate which covers 50 percent of out-of-pocket child-care expenses, up to a maximum amount per child per year, in addition to the Child Care Benefit.
• Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance which can help you meet the cost of approved child care by paying some of the 'gap fee' not covered by Child Care Benefit for the hours of care you need for approved activities such as job search, work, study or training

Assistance to help with education costs

There are payments like the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme, which help parents and carers who live in rural and remote areas with the extra costs of educating their children. There is also support for students in rural and remote areas to help with the cost of relocating for studies.

Youth Allowance provides assistance for young people who are studying full-time, undertaking a full-time Australian Apprenticeship or training and/or looking for work.

The Youth Connections Program helps young people who have not completed, or are at risk of not completing Year 12 and have barriers that make it difficult to study or work.

Other government and community support services

There are a range of government and community organisations that provide support services and useful information you may find helpful.

Australia.gov.au connects you to information and services across Australia including support for people in rural and regional Australia.