School Buses > Transport Assistance > Who's Eligible

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Thursday, 7 December 2023

Transport AssistanceWho's EligibleED Support Students

Education Support Students

To be eligible for Transport Assistance for travel to an education support facility including LDC, an education support student must, under normal circumstances:

be enrolled at an education support facility in a government or non government facility.
not able or competent to make their own way to the facility safely.
be regularly attending the facility.
be under 19 years of age.
attend the closest appropriate government (including an LDC) or non- government facility to a student’s residence.

Assessment/approval of a Transport Assistance Application

The determination of which types of programs and facilities are likely to best meet the needs of a student, is undertaken by Department of Education (DoE) in conjunction with the facility a student may attend. Based on DoE’s assessment of a student’s disabilities and needs, SBS evaluates the student’s eligibility for transport assistance according to whether the student is:

enrolled in a schooling program resourced and/or approved by the department of education services;
attending a schooling program at an education support facility on a regular basis, and
not competent to travel independently to the facility safely.

If a child is assessed against the eligibility criteria and does not meet it, you can apply for consideration as an out of policy application.

Regular Attendance

To be eligible for Transport Assistance in respect of travel to an education support facility, a student is normally expected to travel to and from their facility (i.e. to and from the one address) at least three full days per week (i.e. three mornings and three afternoons). Students who cannot travel to their facility regularly (e.g. because of their disability or medical condition) will only be approved for transport assistance in exceptional circumstances. If a student is unable to travel at any time or for any period, parents/carers should contact the bus staff at the earliest opportunity. There is a minimum requirement of trips taken per week. However, SBS is aware that because of a child’s disability and/or medical conditions may mean that a child cannot meet this requirement.

Age

To be eligible for transport assistance, student must be under 19 years of age. Students younger than 3 years and six months of age will only be provided with a conveyance allowance.

Travel by Education Support Vehicle

The vehicles used to transport education support students are often modified to accommodate the needs of students. In addition, because many education support students have mobility issues, they are usually picked up and dropped off on a door-to-door basis.

A student is only permitted to travel on an education support vehicle after the SBS has advised the contractor of the approval.

Student medical considerations

There are circumstances such as a medical condition and/or special needs of a student which makes it not feasible or safe for the student to be transported by an education support vehicle. The parents/carers of eligible students who cannot be transported by education support vehicles are usually entitled to a conveyance allowance.

Wheelchair and special equipment

Students travelling in a wheelchair or those who require special equipment to travel on an education support vehicle will not be transported until the appropriate restraint/equipment is available for use.

Medication

Some students require medication to be administered at set times during the day. However, drivers and bus aides may not legally dispense medication and accordingly such students can only be transported at times when they do not need medication administered.

Feeding

Some students have special feeding requirements (e.g. feeding via tubes) and cannot be moved after they have eaten. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate such students; however, it can be that the time required for the feeding and related resting period would make a service’s journey time excessive. In such cases, it may be that the student cannot be transported on the available services.

Transport to respite centres

Permission may be granted for students to travel on education support vehicles to and from respite care facilities including home based respite, subject to the following conditions:

The respite facility is within the relevant school's transport catchment area.
The journey to the respite facility does not cause the bus trip to exceed 90 minutes duration for any student on the bus.
A seat or space is available for the student on the bus.
Approval would not normally be given if the travel to or from home-based respite would involve deviation from the approved route.

Students behaviour on education support vehicles.

Students travelling on education support vehicles are expected to behave appropriately and in accordance with the general principles set out in the Code of Conduct and the Conditions of Travel which parents/carers acknowledge when applying for Transport Assistance. Whilst all students are expected to abide by the 'Code of Conduct', special consideration will be given to students with intellectual disabilities. In all cases, however, the safety of those travelling on education support vehicles is paramount and if a student’s behaviour endangers the health or safety of any person on an education support vehicle, their entitlement to travel may be suspended or withdrawn.

Notice of suspension or withdrawal of entitlement

If permission for a student to travel or their entitlement to transport assistance is suspended or withdrawn, SBS will notify the parent/carer and any other affected parties as soon as possible so that alternative transport arrangements for the student can be made. Contractors, drivers and bus aides.

Contractors, drivers and bus aides must fulfil their duties and conduct themselves in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, codes, relevant guidelines and the terms of the service contract. Any person who wishes to make a formal complaint about the conduct of a contractor, driver, bus aide or any other person involved in providing school bus transport assistance should advise SBS in writing.

SBS is responsible for taking any action against contractors, drivers and/or bus aides in relation to the service contract or the performance of contractual duties.

Care plan

Contractors transporting students to education support facilities must include information in their safety management plan describing any relevant medical conditions the student may have. This information must be contained in a ‘care plan’ which is appropriate to the particular student travelling on the vehicle and must cover, at least, the following:

A basic description of the medical condition of each student.
Any behaviour management issues relating to individual students.
Contingency arrangements if a parent or carer fails to meet the bus or is late (e.g. emergency drop-off addresses).
Location and contact details of the nearest medical facilities.
Contact details for education support facilities and respite centres.

An education support student who is entitled to Transport Assistance may receive Transport by a contract school bus and/or a Conveyance Allowance, paid to their parents/carers.

SBS will determine which form of Transport Assistance is appropriate and make available to individual students.

Transport Assistance is usually by contract school bus and where this is not possible or impractical SBS may offer a Conveyance Allowance.

Only in exceptional circumstances will other forms of Transport Assistance be provided by SBS.

There are a range of education support facilities that provide a variety of programs for students with special needs.

Government Facilities

Education support schools and associated satellite classes
Education support centres
Language Development Centres and associated satellite classes and
Western Australian Institute for Deaf Education

Education Support Schools

Click on the links below to view the current maps of the Education Support Schools catchment areas:

Atwell and Success School boundary

Aveley Secondary School boundary

Burbridge_Gladys_Newton_School_boundary

Butler School boundary

Byford School Boundary

Castlereagh_School_boundary

Coastal_Lakes_College_Secondary School_Boundary

Durham Road Primary School Boundary

Durham Road Secondary School Boundary

Kenwick_School_boundary for Years K - 6

Kenwick_School_boundary for Years 7 - 12

Malibu_School_boundary

Sir_David_Brand_School_boundary

South Kensington_Carson_Street_School_boundary

Language Development Centres

Students who attend a Language Development Centre (LDC) operated by the Department of Education are normally eligible for Transport Assistance in respect to travel to the nearest such facility within the Transport Catchment Area defined for that centre.

Click on the links below to view the current maps of LDC catchment areas:

Fremantle LDC Boundary Map

North East Metro LDC Boundary Map

Peel LDS Boundary Map

South East Metro LDC Boundary Map

West Coast LDC Boundary Map

Non Government Facilities

Non-Government education support facilities that are equivalent to the above Government facilities and approved by the Department of Education.

Exceptions:

Under SBS policy a student attending an inclusion program at a mainstream school is not entitled to Transport Assistance as an education support student, unless, they live in a rural area and meet the mainstream student eligibility criteria.
If students are capable of making their own way to and from an Education support facility, either by public transport, walking or cycling are encouraged to do so.

However, many students travelling to education support facilities have special needs and restricted mobility, which can exclude them from using some forms of transport. To enable students to access the programs available at an education support facility, the Government provides eligible students with a basic level of transport assistance.