Student travel subsidies

There are certain criteria which must be met to be eligible to claim subsidised fares (i.e. bus, train or air travel) and/or the road travel subsidy. This section explains who can apply for the student travel subsidies on behalf of a student(s) and the eligibility criteria the applicant and student(s) must meet for the subsidies to be payable.

To be eligible for the student travel subsidies, the student must comply with the following criteria:

• The student must be an Australian citizen or hold a current permanent residency visa.
• The student’s usual place of residence must be in Western Australia (but where they live in Western Australia dictates whether they are eligible for subsidised fares for air, bus or train travel, see below).
• The student must be younger than 26 years of age.
• The student must be dependent on their parent(s) (and the applicant must have primary or joint responsibility for the student's care and support).
• The student must not be receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy (older than 25 years) or ABSTUDY payments from Centrelink.
• The student must be considered to be enrolled full-time in their course or study; and
• If a tertiary student and have had some time between studies, the gap between secondary and tertiary studies must not be longer than 12 months.

The geographic eligibility criteria for subsidised fares for air, bus or train travel means that the family and student(s) must live within the defined remote area of Western Australia (see map).

The road travel subsidy is available to families living anywhere in Western Australia who use a private vehicle to drive students to their educational institution. The level of subsidy payable is based on the distance to the nearest educational institution (i.e. State government school with boarding facilities offering classes in the grade/level in which the student is enrolled) or transport hub (e.g. bus stop, airport, train station or school bus service), whichever is the nearest, but which is more than 56 km one-way from the usual place of residence.

Who is a dependent person?

A student is considered dependent if they live with an adult who is legally responsible (whether alone or jointly with another person) for the day‑to‑day care, welfare and development of the young person.

A young person is not a dependent child of another person (adult), if the other person is the young person's partner, if the young person has a child (natural, adoptive or relationship child) who is wholly or substantially dependent on the young person or is financially self-supported through paid work.

The applicant and student(s) is entitled to the student travel subsidies if they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Step 1. Only students residing in the defined remote area (see map) can receive subsidised fares for air/bus/train travel whereas students residing anywhere in Western Australia may be eligible for the road travel subsidy.

The applicant (usually the parent) is required to complete the registration form for their dependent student child/children. The registration form will be used to assess the eligibility for payments under the student travel subsidy scheme and the applicant must supply two valid forms of identification from the list below:

• Australian passport.
• Permanent residency visa.
• Australian birth certificate.
• Western Australian driver's licence.

If you do not have any of these, you can use:

• A Medicare Card.
• Certificate of Citizenship by Descent.
• An Australian Citizenship Certificate.
• An ImmiCard.

If the applicant does not provide the details of their Western Australian driver's licence as a means of confirming your eligibility they will need to provide a copy of one of the following documents to prove their your residential address:

• Current motor vehicle registration.
• Rates notice.
• Utility account (no more than 3 months old), or
• Electoral enrolment.

A copy of the student’s birth certificate, evidence of permanent residency, Certificate of Citizenship by Descent or WA driver's licence number will also be required upon registration.

To receive subsidised fares for air, bus or train travel, or some reimbursement of the costs of using a private vehicle to drive your child/children more than 56 km one-way to access educational opportunities, you first need to register by completing the Student Registration form (ODT55). Registrations should be made at the start of the school year.

The following information should help you complete the registration form appropriately. Registration forms which are not completed properly or in their entirety will be returned unprocessed, which may delay processing of travel vouchers and/or fare refund applications. 

If a child has previously been registered and is still attending the same educational institution that is on the previous registration form, a new registration is not required (for example, if the child has gone from Year 9 to Year 10 at the same school, a new registration form is not required). If a child is changing educational institutions (for example, going from Year 12 at secondary school to first year of university) a new form is required. Eligibility criteria still apply, and the Department of Transport may request proof to confirm a child’s eligibility at any time. 

If any of the applicant’s details change at any time, please advise On-demand Transport via email.

What is the usual place of residence?

The usual place of residence is the principal family home and is where:

• The student normally lives or would normally live but for the need to live away to attend school
• Where the student and family normally live during school holidays, and
• Where the applicant (parent)/applicant's partner lives for more than half the calendar year.

Who is a parent?

A parent is defined as:

• A natural, adoptive or foster parent with whom the student normally lives and on whom the child/children is wholly or substantially dependent
• The partner of the student(s) parent with whom the student(s) normally live and on whom the child/children are wholly or substantially dependent
• A legal guardian on whom the child/children is wholly or substantially dependent, or
• Any other adult who has primary or joint responsibility for the student(s) and on whom the child/children is wholly or substantially dependent.

Parent as the applicant:

• If a student normally lives with both parents in the usual place of residence or principal family home, either parent can be Parent 1.
• If the student(s) normally lives with one parent in the usual place of residence, that parent is Parent 1.
• If the student(s) lives with one parent and the parent's partner, the student is also taken to be in the care of the partner and so either the parent or the partner can be Parent 1.
• If the student(s) parents are not co-habiting and the student lives at different times with each parent, Parent 1 is defined as the parent officially recognised as having primary care of the student (e.g. grant of custody, receives majority allocation of Family Tax Benefit, holds a Medicare Card for the student(s), principal financial responsibility for care, etc).

Travel voucher application or request for refund form (ODT56)  

Subsidised fares can be accessed using a travel voucher or by requesting a refund for certain air, bus or train travel costs for eligible students living in the defined remote area (see map). This is the most practical way to ensure ease of booking and little or no out of pocket expenses. Travel vouchers may be requested up to three (3) months prior to the first date of travel. It is strongly recommended that travel voucher applications are submitted no later than one (1) month before the proposed travel. 

If an applicant chooses to book and pay for air, bus or train travel rather than applying for a travel voucher, they may apply for a reimbursement by completing form ODT56 and emailing it to On-demand Transport along with a copy of the e-Ticket or tax invoice, showing the amount paid. Applicants who have not previously applied for a refund, or whose details have changed will also need to submit form ODT58 – Customer account creation/maintenance - travel subsidies form. Completed refund applications must be submitted no later than one (1) month after the last date of travel on the e-Ticket or tax invoice. Refund applications will not be accepted or processed after this time.

Travel voucher and refund applications that are incomplete (including those not formally endorsed by the educational institution) or not received within the timeframes specified, will not be processed.

Conditions:

1. A Travel voucher application or request for refund form (ODT56) must be completed for each student.
2. For travel by air, the student is entitled to an amount no greater than the best fare of the day (including GST) on the date the travel is booked for the most direct route between the student's principal family home and Perth.
3. Additional costs such as booking fees, credit card fees and charges for additional baggage will not be reimbursed.
4. Travel is subject to the availability of bookings with the airline. If a booking is not available for the date specified on the travel voucher, the travel date may be changed. However, if the travel date needs to be changed by more than two weeks, the applicant must contact On-demand Transport 
5. If a trip is cancelled, you must notify On-demand Transport via email immediately so the travel entitlement can be reinstated. Reinstatement of the travel entitlement will depend on the cancellation conditions of the booking.
6. The Department of Transport will not pay any fees that result from cancelling or changing travel arrangements, or from not booking early enough.
7. The purpose of the scheme is to facilitate travel from the student’s home to school and to ensure the student is able to travel back home to spend time with immediate family. Travel dates must therefore coincide with the start and end of term dates. Travel requests more than two (2) weeks either side of these dates will only be approved at the Departments’ discretion in exceptional circumstances.
8. Refund forms must be submitted after the last date of travel.
9. Subsidised fares may also be available to escorts of eligible students who, due to disability, are unable to travel alone.

Form ODT58 is only required when requesting a refund or reimbursement for air/bus/train or road travel costs.

Form ODT58 collects your bank account details for electronic transfer of refund or reimbursements for student travel subsidies. 

Applicants only need to complete this form once, unless bank account details change.

Applicants must inform On-demand Transport via email if any of their details change.