Financial Assistance
Subject to various criteria, parents may obtain financial assistance through a variety of government and non-government sources which
provide funding or scholarships, including the following.
| FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TYPE | DETAILS |
| Scholarships & Allowances for Rural Students |
NSW Dept of Education site providing information about LAFHA, BSIS, AIC (also listed below) |
| Abstudy |
A group of payments for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students or apprentices. |
| Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) |
A group of payments for parents and carers of children who can't go to a local state school. This could be because of geographical isolation, disability or special needs. To get this, your child must meet living, age and study requirements and either is geographically isolated, has a disability or special education need or has no reasonable access to a government school. |
| Boarding Scholarships for Isolated Students (BSIS) |
Boarding Scholarships for Isolated Students (BSIS) provide assistance to eligible students who are disadvantaged by a low family income
and geographic isolation. Scholarships are available to students in Years 7 – 12 who need to board to attend NSW public specialist
high schools including agricultural boarding schools. For 2025; Early Round Applications close - Wednesday 13 November 2024 (Term 4, Week 5) |
| Bush Children's Education Foundation of NSW | BCEF bursaries are structured to bridge the gap between the cost of rural boarding and funding received through NSW and Commonwealth Government allowances. These include Assistance for Isolated Children, Living Away From Home Allowance, Assistance for Isolated Students, Youth Allowance and Boarding Scholarship for Isolated Students. |
| Connellan Airways Trust - General Grants |
Connellan Airways Trust General Grants are designed to support improved social and economic outcomes for people of Outback Australia.
General Grants enable successful applicants to access opportunities for increased education, health or wellbeing, improve social and
economic outcomes by expanding skills, increasing remote livability and reducing isolation. Locations categorised as very remote or remote are eligible to apply. Outer regional locations may also be considered. To see if your residential address fits the location criteria, please refer to this Eligibility Guide. |
| Isolated Children's Parents' Association (ICPA) | ICPA is a voluntary, non-profit, apolitical parent body dedicated to ensuring all geographically isolated children’s educational needs and aspirations are not disadvantaged because of where they live. |
| Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) |
The Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA) provides assistance to eligible NSW families whose children have to board away from home to access secondary education. Eligibility relates to family income & distance from a secondary school (public or preferred religion). Other circumstances taken into consideration include medical conditions, impassable roads, inability to provide adequate supervision outside school hours and a change of residence when the student is in Year 12. |
| School Drive Subsidy |
The School Drive Subsidy is administered by Transport for NSW and is available to NSW residents in areas where there is no public transport, to drive an eligible student all or part of the way to school. The subsidy is only intended to partly offset the cost of using a private vehicle to drive the eligible student and is not intended to cover all costs. |
|
Youth
Allowance |
A payment if you're up to 24 years old and studying or doing an apprenticeship. |
| Farrer School Foundation Scholarships |
From time-to-time Scholarships may be available through the school's registered charity, the Farrer School Foundation Inc. When available, applications will be accessible via the Foundations website and promoted throughout the region. Recipients of scholarships, bursaries or prizes will be determined by members of the Farrer School Foundation Management Committee and may include Indigenous students, students from socially or financially disadvantaged backgrounds and those aspiring to achieve excellence in their chosen areas of study. |
| 2023 ICPA Financial Assistance Guide | This guide, currently showing 2023 rates, is produced by the Isolated Children's Parent's Association of NSW who have kindly granted permission for Farrer to publish it on our website. |
