Regional families will soon need to pay a minimum extra $628 per child per year for boarding school, with fees to go up incrementally over the coming four years.

WAFarmers President Tony York said while the price hike will be gradual, the ramifications will be felt immediately by regional families.

“The Royalties for Regions BAHA subsidy was a form of financial relief for families, many of which have no choice but to have their children board during their years of secondary education,” Mr York said.

“In the first year of this transition, an additional $157 will need to be included in the family budget for each child and while this doesn’t sound like a lot, it all adds up especially when you have multiple children boarding and the prices will continue to rise over the coming years,” he said.

“Some communities do not have a school within hundreds of kilometres from their home so the BAHA subsidy is critically important to the bottom line of the budget for many households.”

Mr York said WAFarmers agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiments of others who have expressed a view that the move was anti-regional.

“Living costs are rising across the state, with regional families having to take into account additional costs around transport and tuition when sending their kids to school,” York said.

“It is disappointing that these families are not only facing increased costs of living in general, but also a reduction in the BAHA,” he said.

“Relocation is not an option for everyone, so this change will be keenly felt.”

The WAFarmers president said the State Government had a responsibility to develop regional communities and work towards increasing the number of people in regional centres to ensure that agriculture has a sustainable future, and unfortunately there are many people choosing to split the family up to reduce costs.

“We hope the State Government reinstates the concession so that the burden on regional families can be eased and the educational needs of their children be met as easily as possible.”