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What is the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS)?

It is a scheme run by the Ministry of Transport in conjunction with schools and transport companies to enable eligible students to travel to and from school at no cost to the parents or guardians.

Eligibility Criteria - School Students

The table below summarises the eligibility criteria for free travel under SSTS.

K - Year 2 All Eligible
Greater Than
Years 3 - 6 1.6 km Radius 2.3 km Walking Health or Safety
Years 7 - 12 2 km Radius 2.9 km Walking Health or Safety

The eligibility criteria are applied in sequence. That is, the year that the student is in is examined first.

  • If the student is in Kindergarten to Year 2 they are eligible regardless of any other factors.
  • If the student is in a year greater than Year 2 the Radial Distance is then examined.
  • If the Radial Distance exceeds that shown in the table, then the student is eligible.
  • If the Radial Distance is less than that shown in the table, the Walking Distance is then examined.
  • If the Walking Distance exceeds that shown in the table, then the student is eligible.
  • Health or Safety criteria only need to be examined when the age or distance criteria are not satisfied.

Click Here to see a more detailed explanation of the School Student Transport Scheme from the Ministry of Transport

Click Here to print the Medical Certificate in PDF format.

  • If free travel is denied on the above criteria there is also an appeals process .

There are also special rules governing students who are temporarily resident in Australia (28 kb PDF).

TAFE Students

To be eligible a TAFE student must be under 18 years of age on 1 January of the year of application, and

  • enrolled in a full-time TAFE course for a minimum of 20 hours per week.
  • not employed
  • living more than 3.2 kms from the college by the most direct practical walking route and
  • attending the college closest to their home where enrolment is available.

IMPORTANT

Do not be overly concerned about whether you qualify on the distance criteria since the Company has sophisticated software to check this.

The best thing to do is complete the Application Form and if after we have checked, you don't qualify on the distance criteria, we will contact you to explain the other alternatives.