The Outback Queensland Education Experience Program offers a subsidy of up to $150 per student to eligible Queensland primary and secondary schools and registered home educators to explore the history and heritage of Outback Queensland while learning from rural communities and experiencing life on the land.
Students explore Outback heritage in Longreach
Queensland teachers take learning beyond the classroom and into the Outback with subsidy support through the Outback Queensland Education Experience Program. These excursions give students a firsthand understanding of rural life and Australia’s rich heritage…
We're here at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach and Outback Queensland.
Great subsidy for Queensland school children to come out here and learn about our history, our heritage, where they've come from.
You know, the bush built the city.
So when they come out here, they kind of get that sense that this is where it began.
And it's a completely different lifestyle from them, from the coast or the city to come out here and sort of just enjoy the freedom that we have.
Honestly, I think the highlight was being able to walk around and obviously being able to listen to like people speak about their like experiences with it and just seeing everything in there was just amazing.
It really shows us like the culture of Queensland and how Queensland all began.
I mean, reading it in a classroom, it's cool, but being here and being able to walk through it like it was frozen in time, it's just been amazing.
It's very important, particularly to Stockman's Hall of Fame that our charter is education.
They sort of get the experience of you know, what it must have been like to live in the bush for a start, but also outside in our paddocks and sort of kind of getting a bit of dirt on their boots to be honest.
To be honest, I've can't believe I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to be able to do this because I know not a lot of kids have been able to.
Students discover dinosaur history in Winton
Queensland students are stepping out of the classroom and walking through time in Winton, exploring Australia’s dinosaur history at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs.
We're here at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in Winton, Outback Queensland, and we're hosting Moura State High School today who've come out and visited us.
They've all jumped on a bus and done one of their school excursions to come out here.
I thought it was like how big the dinosaurs were and how like big the actual fossils were.
Oh yeah, the hands-on experience and we're looking at it behind the scenes is really amazing.
Yeah.
Just the size of everything.
On a computer you wouldn't be able to see all that.
The kids get a fantastic experience coming out here to western Queensland.
They see and get to touch some real dinosaur bones right here in our fossil laboratory.
They get to see some 95,000,000-year-old footprints in the building behind me and its traces of these sauropods plus two other types of dinosaurs and some non-dinosaur species as well.
So it, it really is something spectacular.
It's pretty cool to like learn about history of the dinosaurs and like how much we've evolved to get the animals of today.
You have to experience these things firsthand, see the environment that it is found in and seeing that natural Outback aspect is just amazing.
It really is about that support, the Government support to help the costs of the travel because the coaches, the diesel, the fuel they've got to put in the buses to get here, helps the parents out and everybody can still make these school camps and real genuine experiences happen.
Students experience the Great Darr River Rail in Longreach
Queensland students board a 2000 class rail motor for an adventure to Darr River with Outback Aussie Adventures, learning about the region’s natural and cultural heritage along the way.
We're here today in Longreach, Outback rural Queensland.
We're about to board the lovely Silver Bullet Heritage train, so the kids are going to go out to Darr River and experience a mulga walk, a Darr River billy tea, Smoko, whip cracking…the full authentic Outback experience today.
I think being in the Outback outside of the classroom is just fantastic because the guys that run the program, they know their stuff and they're industry experts in their field.
So it's a great place for the kids to ask as many questions as they'd like to ask and get that real firsthand knowledge from people that live and breathe Outback Australia.
Quite enjoyed the train ride.
I got to sit up front, saw a lot of interesting trees and cattle, saw a few kangaroos.
I think it always goes back to the students.
The benefit for them is to be able to get out here.
So having that support from the government is fantastic and definitely something that any schools across Queensland should do.
Try and sign up for these programs.
Get involved with these programs to minimise the cost and allow their students to get out here and experience it.
You learn so much more from hands on experience and seeing it for yourself.
So you can only get so much out of a textbook or out of a classroom.
Bringing them out to these rural areas is so important.
They get to see the country and learn about rural communities while here in the dirt.
Eligibility
Eligibility requirements for the subsidy:
- be a Queensland primary or secondary school or registered Queensland home educator
- excursion itinerary includes a curriculum-related Outback Queensland experience
- outback experience is undertaken in one of the following local government areas – Flinders, Richmond, McKinlay, Cloncurry, Mount Isa, Barcaldine, Blackall-Tambo, Longreach, Winton, Barcoo, Boulia, Diamantina, Murweh, Paroo, Quilpie, Bulloo, Croydon, Etheridge, Burke, Carpentaria, Balonne and Maranoa
- student or young person has not previously received the subsidy
- excursion has not yet occurred.
Eligible outback education activities may include:
- agricultural experiences, e.g. visiting cattle stations
- environmental education activities, e.g. sustainability workshops
- cultural experiences, e.g. guided Indigenous tours
- natural history and geology experiences, e.g. visiting fossil and dinosaur discovery centres
- historical and heritage experiences, e.g. touring museums
- arts and cultural programs, e.g. performances reflecting Outback life and culture
- rural and remote community engagement, e.g. attending local ticketed events.
Outback Queensland Experiences guidelines
Application
Applications should be submitted at least four weeks before the planned travel date and can take up to 10 business days to be assessed.
Schools and registered home educators can engage a travel agent, education travel company, transport provider or booking agency to help plan their excursion itinerary however applications must be submitted by Queensland schools or registered home educators. Applications from travel intermediaries or other parties will not be accepted.
Schools can submit more than one application for separate excursions for different students on different dates. However, if multiple year levels are undertaking the same itinerary on the same dates, only one application should be submitted.
Schools and registered home educators are responsible for arranging their excursion itinerary directly with providers and for ensuring all safety requirements are met.
Applications are open until 5pm 31 December 2029, or until all available funding has been allocated.
Subsidy rates
Funding is allocated to schools and registered home educators on a per-student basis, according to the round-trip distance travelled from the school or registered place of residence, as set out in the subsidy table below.
If student numbers decrease between approval and excursion participation, the final subsidy paid will be adjusted to reflect the actual number of students who participated in the Outback experience.
No subsidy will be paid for accompanying teachers, registered home educators and other adults.
| Total distance travelled (round trip) | Subsidy value |
|---|---|
| 500km to 999km | $50 |
| 1,000km to 1,499km | $75 |
| 1,500km to 1,999km | $100 |
| 2,000km and over | $150 |
Payment process
Following application approval, 50% of the subsidy will be paid to the school or registered home educator on receipt of a tax invoice or valid excursion receipt.
The remaining 50% will be paid after receiving the completed post-trip acquittal and final tax invoice or valid receipt.
All approved schools and registered home educators are required to complete their post-trip acquittal and payment claim within six weeks of the excursion.
The program should be acknowledged in the school communication about the excursion.
Itineraries
Each itinerary or excursion plan is designed to engage and inspire students. Given the vastness of Outback Queensland, each itinerary focuses on a specific sub-region and highlights hands-on learning opportunities. These itineraries are examples only and are not an exhaustive list of available activities. Schools and registered home educators should assess suitability for their group and educational requirements and modify them as needed.
- Two-day Longreach fly-in / fly-out itinerary
- Three-day fly-in / fly-out Roma itinerary
- Three day snapshot – Roma, Charleville, Cunnamulla , St George
- Five-day North West Outback itinerary
- Five-day Western learning loop
- Six-day North West Outback and Great Barrier Reef itinerary
- Six-day South West Outback
- Eight-day North West Outback itinerary
- Eight-day Central West Outback itinerary (Option 1)
- Eight-day Central West Outback itinerary (Option 2)
Make an enquiry
If you have any questions about the Queensland Education Experience Programs, or about how to apply for a subsidy, please contact Smarty Grants on (03) 9320 6888 or via email QldEducationExperiences@smartygrants.com.au. Their support desk hours are 9am–5pm AEST (Monday – Friday).
If you are a Queensland tourism operator and have any questions about the Queensland Education Experience Program or about how to become involved, please contact the Tourism Support Hub on (07) 3101 2002 or via email tourismsupporthub@detsi.qld.gov.au.