Public school camp costs reduced
The WA Government has announced that $2.4 million is being made available to help with the cost of public school camps.
More than 560 WA public schools are expected to be eligible to apply for a discount on camps run by the Department of Local Government, Sport, and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) or the Department of Education (DoE), with funding to be targeted at WA public schools in areas with families who are more likely to be experiencing cost-of-living pressures.
Funding of $1.5 million has been allocated to the DLGSC for the costs associated with its school camp subsidy program.
DLGSC manages five recreation camps, including four in greater Perth and one in Albany.
An additional $896,000 will be provided for a similar fee waiver program for DoE camps. This includes the Broome Camp School, as well as the leased camp sites operated by Fairbridge Western Australia Inc. located in Point Peron, Geraldton, Dampier, Kalgoorlie, and Pemberton.
The discount will be applied to overnight accommodation charges and applicable program costs.
Eligible schools will book as normal and the discount will be applied at the conclusion of the camp stay.
Schools with the lowest Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) will be eligible for the camp discount.
The discount will also be applied to eligible schools that have already made a booking.