Great news for many schools planning their Canberra trip in 2023 with the Australian Government announcing additional loadings to rebate amounts under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program.
The additional loadings to the rebates will benefit outer regional, remote and very remote schools and schools with an Index of Community and Socio-Economic Advantage (ICSEA) score at or under 1000 (excludes the new Zone 0 indicated below).
In addition, new zones have now been established, including a new Zone 0 for schools situated less than 150kms from Canberra now attracting a $5 rebate, and the combining of previous Zones 5 and 6 into a new Zone 5 (paid at the old Zone 6 rate), and Zones 7 and 8 into a new Zone 6 (paid at the old Zone 8 rate).
As announced earlier this year, 2023 will continue with the 50% increased rebates that were introduced in response to COVID.
The additional loadings to the rebates are indicated in the table below. The new rates apply to all schools which travel in 2023.
Table 1: Additional loadings to recognise regionality, ICSEA scores of less than 1000, and Zone 0
– * Zone 5 includes students from Tasmania due to air/sea travel expenses
– Remote islands get an extra $120 – this will be maintained through this proposal as it recognises additional flight costs.
– Additional loadings are calculated to include the already approved 50 per cent additional rebate amount.
Read the Minister’s announcement
Further information can also be found at www.pacer.org.au
