School Bus Program

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, 2 and 3 (eligible student), or
• meet criteria 2 and 3 and be granted an exemption to criteria 1, or
• fall into a special category permitting travel, despite otherwise being ineligible (special category traveller), or
• be permitted to travel upon paying a fare (fare paying traveller).

Eligible students, students granted an exemption 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 where a service is closer or an equal distance 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 align, 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 and Planning 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 order of priority of access applies:

1. Eligible government and non-government school students previously approved to travel.
2. New eligible government school students.
3. Government school students granted an exemption.
4. Eligible non-government school students.
5. Non-government school students granted an exemption.
6. Ineligible students who are considered a special category traveller.
7. Fare paying travellers who are government and non-government school students.
8. Fare paying travellers who are members of the general public.

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 or school

If a student changes residential address, a new application must be made to the coordinating school and re-assessed against all criteria.

Eligibility criterion 1 – Nearest appropriate school

Nearest appropriate school is measured by the shortest practicable route, driveable by car, from the student’s residence (not including private driveway) to the school administration gate.

Government schools

To be eligible for the SBP, government school students must attend their nearest school/campus appropriate to their year level.

Non-government schools

To be eligible for the SBP, non-government school students must attend their nearest appropriate school/campus appropriate to their year level.

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 (that is, where students may be considered eligible despite not attending their nearest appropriate government or non-government school)

Students not attending their nearest appropriate government or 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 school

If the nearest appropriate 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 appropriate school will 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. These students will be considered to be attending their nearest school/campus for the purposes of this program.

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 schools

Students attending their nearest appropriate single-sex school/campus are considered to be attending their nearest school for the purposes of this program.

Attending a DE-recognised accelerated learning program (government schools only)

Students who are attending a Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) program (previously recognised by DE) are considered to be attending their nearest government school/campus.

Progression through a split campus school

For continuity of education, a student progressing from a junior to senior campus of a government or non-government school is considered to be attending their nearest school/campus irrespective of another government or non-government school of the same year levels being closer.

School amalgamation or opening

Students enrolled at a school/campus that ceases to be their nearest due to an amalgamation or school opening are still considered to be attending their nearest school/campus for the purposes of this program.

Eligibility criterion 2 – Reside 4.8 km or more from the school

To be eligible for the SBP, students must reside 4.8 km or more from the school/campus they attend. This distance is measured by the shortest practicable route, driveable by car, from the student’s residence (not including private driveway) to the school administration gate.

Eligibility 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 (that is, in a shared custody arrangement) to access a bus service from one or both of their addresses.

If a student is eligible for a school bus service from one of their residential addresses or the student is attending their nearest school but resides less than 4.8 km from the school from one of their residential addresses, they may be permitted to access a bus service from either one or both of their residential addresses at no cost.

A student not meeting the eligibility criteria from either address, may still be able to access a service as an ineligible traveller, either as:

• a fare paying traveller
• a special category traveller (see section ‘Special category travellers’).

Priority of access to the service/s 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/s full time, coordinating principals need to consider the priority of access to services advice where spare capacity is limited.

Each student only counts as one eligible student over the whole network. A student may therefore only contribute to a case for the addition, modification or retention of the service from their primary address which must be eligible. In situations where there is an equal time spent at each address, the parents/carers must specify a primary address.

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 (for example, Vocational Education and Training (VET) or other senior certificate pathways).

Coordinating principals may approve students attending offsite training to access 2 bus services.

Consideration may be given on a case-by-case basis to alter bus services for government school students attending an alternative education setting (refer to section Provision of bus services: Extensions and variations to existing services).