Throughout the year, we’ve been following the work of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association – the ICPA – across Australia. In these short episodes, we’ll be catching up with each State Council President to hear how their delegations to Parliament have gone, what motions were carried from their State Conferences, and the wins and challenges they’ve faced along the way.
These conversations are a chance to celebrate the tireless advocacy of rural, regional and remote families who continue to champion equitable access to education – from early childhood right through to tertiary.
Today we’re in Queensland, where advocacy runs like clockwork: State Council treks to Brisbane three times a year – August, November and March – to follow through on motions and keep doors open.
As President Wendy Henning explains, the focus is practical and wide-ranging: real childcare access wherever families lay their heads (including stock camps), cutting red tape so teaching principals can actually teach, and ensuring home tutors in distance education have proper curriculum support materials – not wall-to-wall screens.
Queensland’s also working to widen subject access for regional high-schoolers, strengthen VET and post-school pathways (including residential college options amid the housing crunch), and tackle transport gaps like kindy conveyance.
The wins aren’t always flashy, but they’re real: seats at reference group tables, agencies inviting ICPA to their own table, and a united push – state and federal – to finally recognise the home tutor role in a state where 12 shires have no secondary school. Slow burns that lead to lasting change.
So, wherever you’re listening – in the ute, on the road, or out on the station – I hope you enjoy this snapshot of the ICPA in action in Queensland.
If you would like to join the ICPA in your State visit www.icpa.com.au.
