The aim of the Australian Government’s Country Areas Programmme (CAP) is to provide assistance for students who are disadvantaged by geographic isolation. Schools in isolated or remote areas can receive financial support under this programme to:

• provide activities that complement, support and enrich the curriculum, including the transition to further education, training and work
• provide information and communications technology for students
• provide professional development and support that addresses the needs of teachers in geographically isolated areas
• promote information to inform CAP school communities, including school networking and group activities.

To be eligible for this programme schools must be:

• remote (located more than 100km from the Melbourne GPO)
• rural (located in a population centre of less than 5,000 people)
• isolated (located more than 25km from a population centre of more than 10,000 people).