The Australian Government runs travel schemes for residents of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, to help pensioners and students with travel to and from the mainland.
The IOT Pensioner Annual Free Trip Scheme provides eligible pensioners in the Indian Ocean Territories (IOT) with access to Australian mainland services not available in remote areas. Pensioners who are permanent residents of CI or CKI, who have a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) issued by Centrelink are entitled to receive one free return airfare to Perth per calendar year.
Under the IOT Student Subsidised Travel Scheme, secondary students and tertiary students not receiving any type of Centrelink Youth Allowance who meet eligibility requirements can receive assistance to travel to attend their full-time studies.
Both schemes aim to provide a comparable level of assistance to that received by students and pensioners in remote areas of WA and are operated along similar guidelines to the WA Government schemes.
Information on eligibility, guidelines for the scheme and how to apply are available below:
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DocumentPensioner Annual Free Trip Scheme (189.25 KB)
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Document
Eligible residents need to ensure applications are submitted at least one month prior to the first intended date of travel to allow for the timely processing of applications. Applications must be mailed or e-mailed to the Travel Assistance Officer at the department's Perth office.
Address enquiries and applications to:
Travel Assistance Officer
Indian Ocean Territories Perth Office
PO Box Z5048
Perth WA 6831
T: 08 9220 5108