The $6 million 'Kids for the Reef' school excursion rebate program is offering Australian Government subsidies for school trips to the Great Barrier Reef.

The program is the heart of the Australian Government's Reef Educational Experience Fund (REEF).

The Kids for the Reef program is:

• open to public, private, independent and Catholic schools and to registered home educators
• available for eligible Year 4 to Year 12 students.

To qualify for the Kids for the Reef program, schools must book an overnight trip that includes a Reef-based experience with an Austrade-approved High Standard Tourism Operator (HSTO).

Kids for the Reef rebates are scaled according to how far a school is located from the departure point for its chosen Reef activity (as defined in the list of HSTOs or otherwise advised by your chosen HSTO).

Higher rebates are available to:

• outer regional, remote and very remote schools
• schools with a score of 1,000 or less on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA)
• schools taking First Nations students to the Reef.

Rebates are generally between $20 and $400 per student. In some cases, the amount may rise to $1,650 per student. All rebates are exclusive of GST.

This grant program is open to:

• Australian Government (public) schools
• non-government (private, independent, Catholic) schools
• home educators registered with the relevant state or territory authorities.

For the full eligibility criteria, please see Section 4.1 of the grant guidelines.

Schools must show that their trip includes an eligible activity that relates to the Australian Curriculum. Eligible curriculum-related activities can include but are not limited to:

• on-water experiences
• in-water experiences
• on-island experiences that directly interact with the Reef and contribute to its conservation
• cultural experiences
• other curriculum-linked reef education activities.

For full details, please see Section 5.1 of the grant guidelines.

• Phone: 13 28 78
• Email: tourism.grants@austrade.gov.au