Conveyance Allowance Program

Policy

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that schools support eligible families to receive financial assistance with the cost of transporting students to and from school where the student:

• lives in rural and regional Victoria and attends their nearest appropriate school/campus or
• attends an eligible specialist school.

This policy applies to both government and non-government schools.

Summary

The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost of transporting children to and from school.

The conveyance allowance may be available to students attending government or non-government schools and:

• travelling by public transport or by private car, motorbike, bicycle or bus, and
• whose nearest school is not serviced by a free school bus provided under the School Bus Program

Schools are responsible for communicating to parents/carers the travel options that are available for students in the area to travel to and from school.

Schools are also responsible for the day-to-day administration of the conveyance allowance, and must:

• provide to families information about conveyance eligibility and payment rates
• provide to families relevant application forms (refer to Resources tab)
• take steps to ensure, as far as is practicable, that all applications from families for the conveyance allowance are received by the school in the year prior to the year in which the families are seeking to have the conveyance allowance paid
• submit applications from families to the department through the online Student Conveyance Allowance System (SCAS)
• where applications for the conveyance allowance are approved through SCAS, disburse monies received to parents/carers (unless otherwise arranged in agreement with a student’s parents/carers to be retained by the school).

Details

VRQA registration

Schools must ensure the school and each campus and/or special setting is registered with the Victorian Registration and Qualification Authority (VRQA) on the VRQA State Register and that the school/campus physical and postal address is correctly listed. If details are not correctly entered into the VRQA State Register, or for further information:

• government schools must contact New Schools and Education Plans at school.reorganisation@education.vic.gov.au
• non-government schools must contact the VRQA at vrqa.schools@education.vic.gov.au or on 03 9637 2806

Victorian Student Number

Applications for the conveyance allowance need to include the student’s Victorian Student Number (VSN). The Student Conveyance Allowance System (SCAS) draws the VSN from the Victorian Student Register (VSR) database, so any incorrect entry may result in applications being inaccurately assessed or delayed.

The VSN is a randomly generated 9-digit number assigned to all Victorian students as a unique identifier. Every student under 25 years of age is given a VSN when they first enrol at a Victorian education or training provider or are registered by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) for home schooling.

A student’s VSN can usually be found on everyday communications from their education and training provider (school), for example, enrolment confirmations, academic reports or the student profile section of the school’s student management platform. Parents and students can also request their VSN and related information directly from their education provider.

For further information, visit the VCAA website page: The Victorian Student Number.

For school enquiries about VSNs, contact the Victorian Student Register team at vsr@education.vic.gov.au

For school enquiries about specific VSN errors in Student Conveyance Allowance System (SCAS), contact the Conveyance Allowance Unit at conveyance@education.vic.gov.au

Communication with parents

Schools must:

• familiarise themselves with this policy and the Guidance in order to respond to general enquiries made by parents about the program
• communicate the travel options that exist in the area to parents at enrolment
• provide application forms (in Resources) to eligible families
• communicate closing dates for applications applicable each term. Closing dates for applications apply each term and are listed below under the heading ‘Application Processing’ as well as on the SCAS homepage (accessible by staff with user access).

Communication with the Conveyance Allowance Unit

Schools must respond to any queries or requests for information from the Conveyance Allowance Unit (CAU) within 7 days of the request.

Instrument of Specification: Transport Services and Travelling Allowances

Criteria for determining whether a school is appropriate for a student have been specified by the Minister under section 104(1) of the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (the Regulations) – Instrument of Specification: Transport Services and Travelling Allowances. Further information about eligibility criteria is set out in the Guidance tab.

Claim periods and application processing

There are 4 claim periods with each period corresponding to one of the 4 terms of the school year.

Schools must process all applications through the SCAS prior to the closing dates for each claim period as set out below. This means that a school must submit a claim 4 times a year (once in each claim period) if a student is to receive the allowance for the entire year.

Closing dates for 2026

Information about SCAS and the administration of the conveyance allowance is in the Guidance tab in processing applications (using SCAS).

Definitions

CAU
Conveyance Allowance Unit, located within STAB, Financial Services Division, Finance, Policy and Infrastructure Services.

Designated Neighbourhood School (DNS)
Designated neighbourhood schools can be identified at Find My School.

Nearest appropriate school
The nearest ‘appropriate’ school for government school students is the nearest government school/campus to a student’s primary residence that is suitable at their year level, measured by the shortest practicable route, or the student’s DNS.

The nearest ‘appropriate’ school/campus for students attending non-government schools is determined by the denomination of the school. The nearest ‘appropriate’ school/campus for non-government school students is the nearest non-government campus to a student’s primary residence of their chosen denomination that is suitable at their year level, measured by the shortest practicable route.

SCAS
Student conveyance allowance system.

Shortest practical route
Using residential property coordinates, SCAS determines a route between the student’s address and the school/campus attended. SCAS uses the shortest distance between two points using all-weather public roads drivable by car.

Student Transport and Allowance Branch
The STAB branch oversees the policy development and operational delivery for the School Bus Program, Students with Disabilities Transport Program, and the Conveyance Allowance Program.

STU
Student Transport Unit, located within STAB, Financial Services Division, Finance, Policy and Infrastructure Services.

TV
Refer to Transport Victoria.

VRQA
Refer to Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.

Related policies

• Enrolment
• Finance Manual – section 5 School Council Financial Assurance Program
• Minimum Standards and School Registration
• School Bus Program
• Students with Disabilities Transport Program

Relevant legislation

• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) – Section 5.10.1; Schedule 5 (sections 1.3 and 1.4)
• Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic) (Regulations) – Regulation 104(1); Part 10
• Instrument of Specification (PDF) (made pursuant to Regulation 104(1) of the Regulations)