Criteria determining eligibility for the School Bus Program
This section explains the criteria used to determine if a student is eligible to access the School Bus Program (SBP). To access a school bus service, a student must:
- meet all of the eligibility criteria detailed below — criteria 1 (or be granted an exemption to criterion 1), 2 and 3 (eligible student)
- fall into a special category permitting travel, despite otherwise being ineligible (special category traveller)
- be permitted to travel upon paying a fare (fare paying traveller).
Eligible students and special category travellers access SBP services at no cost.
Public transport
Students are expected to use public transport where a service is available within 1.6km (measured by shortest practicable route) of their home or closer to their home than the nearest school bus service. This applies to both students applying to access the SBP at no cost and to fare paying passengers.
Where school and public transport services overlap, students must be allocated to public transport services prior to school bus services, as long as this ensures a safe and economically responsible outcome.
In making travel allocations the Department and the Department of Transport consider:
- bus loadings and student safety
- student eligibility for transport assistance
- cost implications
- individual cases on their merits.
Student priority of access to services
With some services the demand for seats can exceed the carrying capacity of the bus. In these situations the following priority of access applies:
- first priority – eligible students (including those previously approved to travel)
- second priority – eligible government school students
- third priority – eligible non-government school students
- fourth priority – students who are eligible because they fall within an exemptions to an eligibility criterion or are considered a special category traveller (both government and non-government school students)
- fifth priority – fare paying travellers who are government and non-government students
- sixth priority – fare paying travellers (non-students)
(see fare paying section for order of priority).
The coordinating principal should give preference to students with special needs or those travelling both morning and afternoon five days a week. If after applying these criteria there is more seating available, preference should be given to those who have the greatest distance to travel and to the youngest students.
Change of address
If a student changes residential address, a new application must be made to the coordinating school and re-assessed against all criteria.
Criterion 1 — Nearest appropriate school
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To be eligible for the School Bus Program, government school students must attend their nearest school/campus appropriate to their year level — being the closest school determined by the shortest practicable route, driveable by car, from the student’s residential driveway to the school administration gate.
Exemptions (i.e. where students may be eligible despite not attending their nearest government school)
Students not attending their nearest government school may be granted exemption in the circumstances listed below. Siblings will be considered on their own merit on a case by case basis.
Students granted exemption in the circumstances listed below cannot, on their own, form a case for additions, retentions or modifications of services.
Lack of accommodation at the nearest government school
If the nearest government school/campus is not a student’s zoned school and the student is refused admission on the grounds the school is at capacity, students attending the next nearest government school will still be considered to be attending their nearest school for the purposes of this program.
Evidence of refused entry from all nearer schools is required to be submitted with the application to travel. This is usually in the form of a letter from the principal of each nearer school.
Subject choice for students in Years 11 and 12
Year 11 and 12 students may travel to a more distant school/campus if 2 or more of their chosen subjects, available at the more distant school/campus, are not available at their nearest school/campus or DNS. These students will be considered to be attending their nearest school/campus and eligible for the SBP.
Evidence that subjects are not provided at the nearer schools/campuses is required and must be submitted with the application to travel to the more distant school. This is usually in the form of a letter from the principal of each nearer school.
Single-sex government schools
Students attending their nearest appropriate single-sex government school/campus are considered to be attending their nearest school for the purposes of this program.
Attending a DET-recognised accelerated learning program
Students who are attending a DET-recognised Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) program are considered to be attending their nearest government school/campus. Students in this category are eligible to travel at no cost.
Progression through a split campus school
For continuity of education, a student progressing from a junior to senior campus of a government school is considered to be attending their nearest government school/campus irrespective of another government school of the same year levels being closer.
School amalgamation or opening
Students enrolled at a government school/campus that ceases to be their nearest due to an amalgamation or school opening are still considered to be attending their nearest government school/campus for the purposes of this program.
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To be eligible for the SBP, non-government school students must attend their nearest appropriate school/campus appropriate to their year level. ‘Nearest’ is measured by the shortest practicable route, driveable by car, from the student’s residential driveway to the school administration gate.
The nearest ‘appropriate’ school for students attending non-government schools is determined by the denomination of the school. The Education and Training Reform Regulations (ETR) 2017 provide scope for the Minister for Education to provide travel assistance to students attending their nearest ‘appropriate’ non-government school. The 2001 School Bus Review and the Regulatory Impact Statement for the Education and Training Reform Regulations stated that ‘appropriate’ was intended to be ‘appropriate religious denomination’.
Non-government school students will be approved to travel subject to spare seating being available. Once eligible non-government students have been granted access to a service, they have ongoing travel rights that are equal to those of eligible government students until they either finish their schooling or change address.
Upon approval, eligible non-government school students will be allocated to an existing service where spare capacity exists. Students who cannot be seated on existing services may be waitlisted until space becomes available.
Non-government school students cannot, on their own, form a case for additions, retentions or modifications of services.
Exemptions
Students not attending their nearest appropriate non-government school may be granted exemption in the circumstances listed below. Siblings will be considered on their own merit on a case by case basis.
Students granted exemption in the circumstances listed below cannot, on their own, form a case for additions, retentions or modifications of services.
Lack of accommodation at the nearest appropriate non-government school
If entry to the nearest appropriate non-government school/campus is refused on the grounds the school is at capacity, students may travel to the next nearest non-government school of that denomination and still be considered to be attending their nearest school for the purposes of this program.
Evidence of refused entry from all nearer appropriate schools is required to be submitted with the application to travel. This is usually in the form of a letter from the principal of each nearer school.
Subject choice for students in Years 11 and 12
Year 11 and 12 students may travel to a more distant school/campus of the same denomination if two or more of their chosen subjects, available at the more distant school/campus, are not available at their nearest appropriate school/campus. These students will be considered to be attending their nearest appropriate school/campus and eligible for the SBP.
Evidence that subjects are not provided at the nearer appropriate schools/campuses is required and must be submitted with the application to travel to the more distant school. This is usually in the form of a letter from the principal of each nearer school.
Single-sex non-government schools
Students attending their nearest appropriate single-sex non-government school/campus are considered to be attending their nearest appropriate school for the purposes of this program.
Progression through a split campus school
For continuity of education, a student progressing from a junior to senior campus of a non-government school is considered to be attending their nearest appropriate school/campus for the purposes of this program, regardless of another non-government school of the same year levels and denomination being closer.
School amalgamation or opening
Students enrolled at a non-government school/campus that ceases to be their nearest due to an amalgamation or school opening of the same denomination are still considered to be attending their nearest appropriate school for the purposes of this program.
Criterion 2 — Reside 4.8km or more from the school
To be eligible for the SBP, students must reside 4.8km or more from the school/campus they attend. This distance is measured by the shortest practicable route, driveable by car, from the student’s residential driveway to the school administration gate.
Criterion 3 — Be of school age and reside in Victoria
Students must reside in Victoria and be eligible to attend school. School is compulsory for all Victorian children aged between 6 and 17 years but children commonly attend school between 5 and 18 years old. In some circumstances, students may be as young as 4 or aged up to 20 and eligible to attend school. Refer to Enrolment for information on age eligibility.
Access to more than one bus service
Students may only access one bus service unless the coordinating principal approves the student’s travel because the student:
- resides at more than one address
- is attending a training program not at the school.
Where connecting bus services or bus interchanges exist, a student may be required to access more than one service to get to their school.
Students who reside at more than one address
Coordinating principals may approve students who reside at more than one address to access more than one service.
If a student is eligible for a school bus service from one of their residential addresses, they may be permitted to access more than one bus service at no cost.
A student not meeting the eligibility criteria may still be able to access a service as an ineligible traveller, either as:
- a fare paying traveller
- a special category traveller.
if they fall within either of these categories as described below.
Priority of access to each service must be allocated according to the student’s eligibility status from each address. As students travelling under these arrangements will not be accessing either service full time, coordinating principals need to consider the priority of access to services advice where spare capacity is limited.
An eligible student accessing more than one service only contributes to a case for the addition, modification or retention of the service from their primary address. In situations where there is an equal time spent at each address, the parents/carers must specify a primary address. Each student then only counts as one eligible student over the whole network.
Offsite training
A student may request permission to access more than one service to attend a registered training organisation or other Department-recognised training program that requires them to commute to an alternative location.
Coordinating principals may approve students attending offsite training to access 2 bus services.
Reviewed 01 December 2022