On 25 September 2007, a package of new drought assistance measures totalling $714 million to support farmers, small businesses and communities in rural and regional Australia was announced. Part of this package is the Drought Assistance for Schools funding which provides assistance in recognition of the financial and social pressures on families and schools located in Exceptional Circumstances (EC) declared areas.
The Drought Assistance for Schools funding is provided to rural and remote schools to assist with ongoing education expenses and the cost of educational activities such as student excursions, which may be cost prohibitive for families experiencing financial hardship as a result of the drought.
Drought Assistance for Schools funding may be used to assist with the cost of items such as text books, uniforms, subject levies, excursions, student attendance at extra curricular activities and other educational activities which directly benefits students.
Exceptional Circumstances are rare and severe events outside those a farmer could normally be expected to manage using responsible farm management strategies. Events triggering an EC declaration have an impact so severe and prolonged that they are likely to occur only once in every 20-25 years. An area or region becomes declared as experiencing an EC event by the Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Current declared EC areas or regions 
(315 KB) are available on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.
All rural and remote government and non-government schools providing primary or secondary level education located in EC declared areas, in towns with a population of less than 100,000, may be entitled to assistance of up to a maximum of $10,000 per year for the duration of the EC declaration. Each eligible school will receive a base entitlement of $1,000 plus a per capita allowance of $100 for every funded enrolled full time equivalent (FTE) student up to a maximum of $10,000. Drought assistance will be provided in the form of a single payment annually.
For the purpose of Drought Assistance for Schools funding the geographic location classification is based on the structure adopted by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and can be seen on the MCEETYA Reporting by Geolocations page.
Schools are not eligible for Drought Assistance for Schools funding if located in the “Metropolitan Zone” of the MCEETYA geographic location classification. The boundaries of regions classed as metropolitan zones in each State can be viewed on the link below.
All rural and remote schools in Exceptional Circumstances declared areas should refer to the updated ‘Drought Assistance Guidelines for Government Schools’ or ‘Drought Assistance Guidelines for Non-government Schools’, as appropriate.
A table of 2007-08 Drought Assistance for Schools funding paid to states and territories is now available.
It is anticipated that 2008-09 Drought Assistance for Schools funding will be distributed during the first half of 2009.