Remote Australia Online

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress in a sample of remote mining and construction workers in Australia. Design, setting: A cross-sectional, anonymous Wellbeing and Lifestyle Survey at ten mining sites in South Australia and Western Australia, administered at meetings held during 2013–2015. Participants: 1124 employees at remote construction, and open cut and underground mining sites completed the survey. Main outcome measures: General psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K10) and self-reported overall mental health status; work, lifestyle and family factors correlated with level of psychological distress. Results: The final sample comprised 1124 workers; 93.5% were men, 63% were aged 25–44 years. 311 respondents (28%) had K10 scores indicating high/very high psychological distress, compared with 10.8% for Australia overall. The most frequently reported stressors were missing special events (86%), relationship problems with partners (68%), financial stress (62%), shift rosters (62%), and social isolation (60%). High psychological distress was significantly more likely in workers aged 25–34 years (v ≥ 55 years: odds ratio [OR], 3.2; P = 0.001) and workers on a 2 weeks on/1 week off roster (v 4 weeks on/1 week off: OR, 2.4; P < 0.001). Workers who were very or extremely stressed by their assigned tasks or job (OR, 6.2; P = 0.004), their current relationship (OR, 8.2; P < 0.001), or their financial situation (OR, 6.0; P < 0.001) were significantly more likely to have high/very high K10 scores than those not stressed by these factors. Workers who reported stress related to stigmatisation of mental health problems were at the greatest risk of high/very high psychological distress (v not stressed: OR, 23.5; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Psychological distress is significantly more prevalent in the remote mining and construction workforce than in the overall Australian population. The factors that contribute to mental ill health in these workers need to be addressed, and the stigma associated with mental health problems reduced.

Some of the most remote communities in Australia have participated in a technological revolution since the arrival of mobile phone networks in 2003. We follow this journey in four largely Indigenous communities in Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands, from the first 2G network, to 3G, and finally to mobile broadband and smartphones, looking at its impact on communication, Internet access, new media use and social networking. In seeking to understand this phenomenon, we conclude that aspects of the design of the mobile system have contributed, including the flexibility of the technology to adapt to the needs of varying social groups, the small portable nature of the devices which allows them to serve a traditionally mobile people and to be kept as personal devices, a billing system which serves low income people, and the multifunctionality of the technology which provide entertainment while also supporting their use of Facebook.

Despite substantial investment in detection, early intervention and evidence-based treatments, current management strategies for diabetes-associated retinopathy and cardiovascular disease are largely based on real-time and face-to-face approaches. There are limited data re telehealth facilitation in type 2 diabetes management. Therefore, we aim to investigate efficacy of telehealth facilitation of diabetes and cardiovascular disease care in high-risk vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in remote/very remote Australia.

World Heritage listing aims to provide protection for the precious natural and cultural sites on Earth. Listing can also increase awareness and visitation, particularly as 'presentation' is a tenant of the World Heritage Convention. Management, based on empirical research, is therefore required to ensure an appropriate balance between these, often conflicting, aims of protection and presentation. Many World Heritage studies have considered iconic, accessible tourism destinations with visitor congestion issues and threatened heritage values. To provide a balanced understanding of World Heritage tourism further research is required, particularly focusing on various site types. This paper reports on a survey of the motivations of visitors to the Australian Riversleigh World Heritage Fossil site, as well as their experiences and satisfaction. The outcomes of the research have informed the visitor interpretive plan developed by the State Government responsible for delivering on the Convention requirements for the Riversleigh site.

Participation of students from regional and remote areas of Australia in higher education has remained static over the past 25 years. Regional students have lower rates of participation overall than their city-based peers, and are underrepresented in higher status disciplines and institutions, and at postgraduate level. Although the issues for regional students overlap significantly with those for low socio-economic status (SES) background students, developing solutions is made more challenging by the extent to which Australian cities concentrate economic and social resources. This chapter argues that policy on regional higher education has focussed on provision at regional campuses as the primary solution to increasing participation, rather than addressing deeper causal factors such as school achievement. Increased choice under the demand-driven system has seen students drift toward metropolitan campuses, although regional sites remain integral to providing local access. Reversing the long-term trend in regional participation requires a range of solutions that increase regional students’ options through increasing school retention and achievement, improving pathways from vocational education, realising the potential of learning technologies, and improving understanding of professional careers.

Recent research has identified the need for the development of a comprehensive in-vehicle information system for independent self-drive travellers (iVisit) in regional and remote Australia. The purpose of iVisit is to facilitate location based two way communication between travellers and relevant information providers (destination management organisations, emergency services, local government, or tourism businesses) in remote destinations. This paper looks at the feasibility of such a location based information system in remote areas and reports on the results of a workshop conducted with stakeholders of a particular remote destination in South Australia - the Oodnadatta Track. A detailed user needs analysis was conducted with workshop participants to develop a set of user needs specifications for iVisit. The paper argues that existing technical barriers to improved location based communication in remote Australia are likely to be short-term only. With rapidly changing communication technologies, the development of new and innovative information systems should be primarily concerned with organising and managing the required information architecture rather than focusing too much on specifying technological aspects.

With all the professional opposition to the ways in which the education transparency and accountability agenda has been prosecuted in Australia, one could be forgiven for thinking that the education profession is against accountability full stop. I believe that this is not the case and that there are things that we urgently need to do in Australia to improve educational accountability if we are to use it to drive good equity-focused policy, research and practice.

Objective: To describe the development since 2001 of visiting psychiatric services for the very remotely located indigenous communities in South Australia.Conclusions: The South Australian experience indicates that visiting psychiatric services can be provided in a sustainable and culturally appropriate manner for the benefit of Aboriginal people who live in the remotest places in Australia. These services are an important part of the broader response by the health sector to the mental and physical health needs of indigenous Australians. The work is professionally rewarding for clinicians.

Since 2005, the Australian Government has subsidized the production and distribution of Low Aromatic Fuel (LAF) as a deterrent against petrol (gasoline) sniffing in remote Indigenous communities. LAF is used in place of unleaded petrol as a fuel for vehicles and other engines. This paper reports findings from an independent evaluation of the LAF rollout.

This report presents findings of a research project commissioned by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)1 in 2017 to examine the continuing impact of Low Aromatic Fuel (LAF) as a deterrent to petrol sniffing in Australian Indigenous communities. It is based on fieldwork conducted in 25 Indigenous communities between December 2017 and October 2018. The study demonstrates the benefits of LAF in Indigenous communities, but also reveals limitations of the program. The main benefit is the contribution of LAF to reducing petrol sniffing or – where sniffing levels have already dropped following earlier introduction of LAF – to maintaining current low levels.These benefits flow on to other domains, in particular in reduced social disruption in the community and less harm to sniffers themselves. In most communities studied, these changes are now well entrenched. However, they are not irreversible. Many informants who are old enough to remember high levels of sniffing prior to the introduction of LAF believe that, should LAF cease to be available, these levels could return, together with the harms entailed. The findings of the study, when combined with evidence from earlier studies of the LAF rollout, also demonstrate that the benefits of the LAF program are sustainable. In light of these observations, we conclude that continuation of the LAF program is vital to the health and wellbeing of young people in Indigenous communities with a history of petrol sniffing.The limitations in the LAF program as revealed in this study are of two kinds. Firstly, the benefits of LAF are a function not only of the availability of LAF in a community, but also of the extent to which LAF supplants RULP as a vehicle fuel. This in turn depends upon whether RULP is available at a regional rather than merely a community level. Secondly, replacement of RULP with LAF does not, in itself, reduce demand for volatile substances or other drugs. This study shows that young people who want to sniff inhalants are able to access a range of products, in many cases despite concerted efforts by communities to make products such as deodorants, spray paints and glues inaccessible. There is also anecdotal evidence that some young people in some communities are sniffing LAF, despite its non-intoxicating properties. If the benefits of the LAF program as a supply reduction strategy are to be fully realised, the factors that drive demand for volatiles substances and other drugs among young people need to be identified and addressed.

This book is a practical guide to the delivery of health care in rural and remote Australia. Drawing on personal experiences of rural practitioners, historical accounts, literature analysis and epidemiology, it discusses the economic, social and political forces that shape healthcare in rural and remote Australia. With limited current resources to support studies in rural and remote healthcare, this title bridges the gap offering valuable insight into Indigenous life and social determinants of health; and it is the perfect guide for those going onto rural placements.

Hospitals are frequently faced with high levels of emergency department presentations and demand for inpatient care. An important contributing factor is the subset of patients with complex chronic diseases who have frequent and preventable exacerbations of their chronic diseases. Evidence suggests that some of these hospital readmissions can be prevented with appropriate transitional care. Whilst there is a growing body of evidence for transitional care processes in urban, non-indigenous settings, there is a paucity of information regarding rural and remote settings and, specifically, the indigenous context.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has an evidence base but traditional models may not readily apply to people living in rural and remote regions. Aim: To outline published comprehensive and non-hospital based CR models used for people discharged from hospital after a cardiac event that have potential relevance to those living in rural and remote areas in Australia. Methods: The PubMed database was searched using Medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and the key word ?cardiac rehabilitation? limited to clinical trials. Articles were retrieved if they included at least two components of CR and were not based in an outpatient setting. Results: No CR models specifically developed for rural and remote areas were identified. However, 14 studies were found that outlined 11 non-conventional comprehensive CR models. All provided CR in a home-based setting. Health professionals provided support via telephone contact or home visits, and via resources such as the Heart Manual. Reported outcomes from these CR programs varied: ranging from an increase in knowledge of risk factors, to improvements in physical activity, decreased risk factor profile, improved psychological and social functioning and reductions in health service costs and mortality. Conclusion: Home-based, CR models have the most substantive evidence base and, therefore the greatest potential to be developed and made accessible to eligible people living in rural and remote areas.

Acute post infectious glomerulonephritis (APIGN) is predominantly a disease of poverty and disadvantage, complicating prior infection with Group A streptococcus. The highest documented global rate of this disease is seen in Indigenous Central Australians (98 cases per 100,000 people). Alice Springs Hospital services an area of Central Australia covering 900,000 km2 and a population of 48,000 people, of whom 44% identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. As the referral centre for Central Australia, Alice Springs Hospital sees a large number of children presenting with symptomatic Acute Post infectious Glomerulonephritis (APIGN). This study presents 5 years of admissions data to better understand the clinical course and burden of paediatric APIGN in Central Australia. Methods: This retrospective observational descriptive study presents all cases of APIGN diagnosed in children under 14 between 2010 until 2015. Cases of APIGN were confirmed using the Northern Territory Centre of Disease Control case definition guidelines. Case notes and electronic medical data were reviewed and data relating to clinical presentation, management and outcomes were collected. Results: 69 cases APIGN were diagnosed over the study period. All cases were in Indigenous children aged 1 to 12years. Preceding skin infection was identified in 65.2% of cases. Common complications included moderate hyperkalaemia (K³6) (15.9%), renal impairment (81.2%), oedema (60.9%) and hypertension (72.5%). Diuretic and antihypertensive therapy were used in 75.4% and 53.6% of patients respectively. Fluid restriction occurred in 65.2% of patients for a mean of 8.9 days. Long acting benzathine penicillin was given in only 34.8% of cases. Co-occurring infections were common, including scabies/headlice (47.8%), urinary tract infection (18.8%) and pneumonia (18.8%). Mean hospital stay was 10.46 days (2-37), 2 cases required transfer to a tertiary centre. Repeat complement levels were performed in 42 cases (60.9%) at a mean of 297days. There was no evidence of ongoing renal impairment in cases (mean follow up 1621 days following diagnosis). Conclusion: APIGN is a common presentation in Aboriginal children in Central Australia, and often requires prolonged hospital admission. Children admitted to hospital require close monitoring due to the frequency of renal impairment and associated complications. Skin infection is the major exposure to Group A streptococcus and community and public health measures to limit Group A streptococcal exposure continues to be a priority in Aboriginal Health. These data have been used to develop guidelines to assist with the management and follow up of paediatric patients in Central Australian with APIGN.

Allied health professionals play a critical role in enhancing health outcomes in primary and tertiary settings. Issues affecting the recruitment and retention of allied health workers in rural and remote areas are multifactorial. Access to relevant and effective continuing professional development is argued to be a recruitment and retention strategy for health professionals in non-metropolitan areas, however trial of the effectiveness of professional development programs and identification of enablers and barriers to participation is needed. The Allied Health Rural and Remote Training and Support (AHRRTS) program aimed to provide an integrated program of education and professional support activities for allied health professionals working within Queensland Health in rural and remote locations. The aim of this study was to explore enablers and barriers to access to, and effective participation in, the AHRRTS program from various allied heath stakeholders’ perspectives.

This chapter presents a brief snapshot of Australian Indigenous culture and history and discusses the challenges and opportunities of providing school psychological services in remote Indigenous communities in Australia. It is a unique and rewarding experience to work as a school psychologist in this context. Available research on this topic is limited, and some of the information presented are ‘pearls of wisdom’ gleaned and shared by the three authors’ (Edwards, White and Wright) extensive practical experience as educators and school psychologists working in rural and remote Australia, with Indigenous students and their families. The chapter is specifically intended for psychologists considering working in remote Australia, and who are not Indigenous themselves.

Rural and remote Australia continues to experience worse health outcomes and poorer access to health services compared to inner metropolitan Australia. Geographic maldistribution of the health workforce is a significant barrier to access to health services in rural and remote communities. A key mechanism to address this maldistribution and to produce graduates with regional, rural and remote career intentions has been to provide students with positive clinical placement experiences in these settings. There have been a number of national initiatives to support health and medicine students to undertake regional, rural and remote clinical training opportunities, funded by the Commonwealth government through programs such as Health Workforce Australia, the University Rural Departments of Health, Rural Clinical Training and Support and Clinical Training Funding and most recently the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program. Despite these and other initiatives, providing students with positive clinical placement experiences in these settings remains an ongoing challenge. The cost of providing, safe, quality, clinical training within regional, rural, remote settings and geographically isolated services is more expensive than providing equivalent training in metropolitan settings, and securing adequate supervision for students is often difficult. This is particularly relevant for allied health students, where accreditation requirements can prevent inter-professional supervision and practice, which is often the only viable supervisory model in rural and remote locations. Within northern Australia, James Cook University (JCU) has a long history of commitment to developing a professional, work-ready workforce to service the health needs of rural, remote, tropical and Indigenous Australia. JCU developed the first of the new medical schools in Australia in 1999 and has rolled out a range of health professional programs including: clinical exercise physiology, dentistry, occupational therapy, nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy, psychology, speech pathology and sports and exercise science. JCU has an explicit mission to address the health workforce needs of northern Australia and operates a distributed regional education model that provides significant regional, rural and remote clinical placement experiences for students. This paper will explore the key barriers and facilitators to providing safe and effective clinical placements in rural and remote locations and the impact of these placements on the rural and remote workforce, particularly within northern Australia.

Learning objectives: Development of a sustainable Women’s health service in rural and remote regions. Community participation in implementing a new health service and the resulting community benefits. Activities and methods: Many rural and remote Qld communities have no women’s health services providing consultations across areas such as cervical screening, complex contraception, and management of gynaecological and sexual health issues. Problems can be complex and the need for confidentiality very high. Many women need to travel over 1000km to see a clinician for a consultation and for subsequent treatment. True Relationships and Reproductive Health (True), a specialist in reproductive and sexual services, supported by CheckUp and the Department of Health, has implemented a Women’s health Service for Queensland’s rural and remote communities where no such service exists. Outcomes and results: From commencement of just six pop-up clinics True is now providing pop-up services to fifteen communities. Community support has been phenomenal with one community fundraising to ensure all equipment needs were met in the local clinic. Appointment scheduling is supported at the local level and True’s clinics are always booked out well ahead of the visits. Clients appreciate the confidentiality which the service provides, while still being delivered locally. Clients report that they now undertake these important health checks, which in the past had been neglected due to the travel and costs involved. True’s pop-up clinical model has proved to be cost effective, sustainable service with 100% of clients reporting that they are highly satisfied with the service. Conclusion: The health benefits of proactive management mean that chronic disease can be prevented and less ill health days reported. Delivering a service into a local community overcomes reported barriers and ensures access to appropriate care for community members. Naturally, this supports the wellbeing and economic benefit for both the community and the individual.

How has the evolution of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) built technological confidence and competence in a Remote Indigenous Community? Throughout my career as a teacher, adult educator, administrator and leader, opportunities presented to work in many rich professional learning environments. The focus; promoting wellbeing of teachers and teacher aides within a Remote Indigenous Community (RIC) school. With the formation of valued relationships forged through experience (visioned through understanding indigenous culture, lifestyle, immersion and communication) within communities over time, I discovered hidden talents, opportunities and desires within members in this RIC. Therefore, this study explored opportunities for RICs sustainable learning environments skills through the development of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The concept enabled participant confidence and competence as PLCs are a relational and effective teaching strategy. It became the ideal strategy as Indigenous Australia's enthusiasm for computers is high but the fact remains that adoption rates of computer technology throughout indigenous communities is low. Therefore, recognising a possible aide (PLCs) that equips communities with a strategy possibly yielding success and forward movement within technology to improve confidence and competence. A descriptive participatory action research (PAR), case study and narrative facilitate as the primary methodology, locating the researcher as the primary facilitator. These approaches enable multiple views for holistic understanding. Planning and strategic techniques require utmost attention to unlock researched advantages when using this approach which suggests empowering participants and their progression is the centre-point of success with integrating technology and training perspectives. A discussion of major themes within this study aligned with literature and operational training course results. PLCs generated new possibilities and processes to help training methods and promote confidence and competence with technical understanding in Normanton Community. The PLC lead training course developed expressions of self-determination, confidence, collaborative learning, leadership and self-efficacy with some limitations. Through discussion and reflection, along with researching other support strategies PLCs were strengthened through Metaphoric Process and Causal Layered Analysis (CLA). Students progressed remarkably well and became instructional leaders as they gathered the knowledge and understanding needed to guide their aspirations and career goals with the emergence of unearthed confidence and competence with technology. Results revealed consistency in participant satisfaction and demand in gaining knowledge and skills within technology. PLC, Metaphoric Process and CLA facilitated successful training scenarios and constructed clear pathways to training sequences unlocking confidence and competence which support local and regional alignment through technical awareness within computer education in RICs.

Background: The Mount Isa Living with Lead Alliance runs a community awareness campaign aiming to reduce lead exposure in children living in Mount Isa. A broad range of informational and environmental strategies have been used to increase parental actions to reduce their children's exposure to environmental lead. The target audience of the health promotion efforts is community members, especially parents and carer of children less than seven years of age. Aims: This study aimed to examine the extent to which Mount Isa residents report hearing the Lead Alliance's campaign message, their knowledge level regarding home remediation strategies, and the extent to which they self-report acting on the health messages. Methods: A 32-item questionnaire was developed to assess parental and caregiver knowledge of reducing environmental lead exposure and evaluation of Lead Alliance’s campaign messages. In addition to online recruitment and data collection, i.e., by posting the survey link and study details on the community Facebook page, data were also collected through brief face to face survey. Survey responses were analysed by conducting basic descriptive statistical analysis including frequencies and percentage distribution. Results: A total of 272 surveys were completed involving participants from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. Most participants had heard “wet wipe, wash and eat well” messages, but new families had significantly less awareness of lead contamination sources. Only 32% of participants were aware of a capillary blood test. It was also found that LEADSmart school program and newsletter from Lead Alliance had less penetration than other campaigns. Conclusion: Media campaigns and free blood lead test are well known in the community, but the Lead Alliance campaign messages need to focus on new entrants and promote availability of capillary blood testing in the community. It is expected that the findings of this study will assist the Lead Alliance in directing future promotional activities aiming to increase community awareness of living safely with lead in Mount Isa.

Effective communication and collaboration between schools and the communities they are in can bring about improved student achievement. However, it is often difficult for both the school and the community to establish a good relationship for collaboration to occur. There are many reasons for this: cultural and language differences make it difficult for shared understandings; priorities differ so that the goals of the two groups can't be reconciled; interests differ so that the issues one group considers important are not valued by the other. Many of these issues are invisible to the people in both groups so that reaching consensus can be impossible and so the benefits that children may experience do not occur. In a review of literature on school-community collaboration, Wildy and Clarke (2012, p. 3) reported that "programs which are successful have grown out of partnerships between communities and schools. Successful partnerships are initiated by either a member of the school community or of the local community". They noted that successful programs require interest, communication and support from both the school and the community. For remote school principals, the capacity to lead such change is hampered by the many pressures on them, their limited experience in the role, and an absence of support (Jorgensen & Niesche, 2011). The complexities involved in securing functional school-community collaboration are likely to make a successful outcome unlikely. This paper will present the findings from a small pilot research study on the implementation of initiatives to build strong school-community relationships in rural and remote Indigenous school settings. It will also discuss the challenges that may inhibit the establishment of successful school-community relationships/collaboration and furthermore, how these challenges can be addressed.

Context and aims: An innovative collaboration between public allied health services and primary healthcare service providers, including an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service, is implementing a project to provide an integrated sub-acute service across agencies and geographical boundaries in central and north-west Queensland. The project places the patient in the centre of the sub-acute journey, and aims to expedite the return to home communities, or as close as clinically feasible, for sub-acute care. The service model aspires to provide a seamless sub-acute service regardless of service provider and reduce duplication and gaps in existing models. A series of tools have been developed to improve processes and build capability and capacity across rural and regional sub-acute services. A framework has been developed that builds on the allied health rural generalist service model, including better use of assistants, telehealth, skill sharing and partnerships. A criteria-led decision-support tool and companion discharge communication process have also been developed to facilitate a predictive, inclusive and consistent transition between regional and rural hospitals, and then to primary health care services. Method: A two-year implementation phase commenced in 2018 that includes: Ongoing development and collective leadership from the multi-agency, multi -site collaborative; Mapping current services and undertaking a gap analysis; Introducing the decision-support tool and early discharge planning across sites; Identification and development of education and training resources; Application of the allied health rural and remote sub-acute framework. Results: The collaborative has established strong inter-agency and rural-urban partnerships that are changing the approach to sub-acute care in the region; The criteria-led intake and step-down transition tool and early discharge communication processes are in use across health and primary health care services to transition patients between phases of care and services; Rural allied health services are developing and implementing enhanced sub-acute service models; Conclusion: Co-design of sub-acute services across agencies, sectors and regional-rural teams presents opportunities to enhance service outcomes and the patient experience. This partnership can support service provided to fully capitalise on the scarce allied health resources in rural and remote communities.

Despite the adoption of the widening participation agenda in Australia, students from regional, remote and very remote communities continue to be underrepresented in higher education. Recent research has indicated that students from these contexts face additional challenges to participation in higher education and are less likely to perceive university study as useful for a rewarding career (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2010). Much of the available research considers rural youth as a homogeneous group and few studies account for the variability within and amongst regional and remote communities. Recognising that educational and occupational decision-making may vary from place to place, we analyse differences within and between areas and community types (agricultural, mining, Indigenous; growing, stable, declining; productivist, postproductivist (Corbett & Forsey 2017). In so doing, this paper brings new insight to understanding, and potentially ameliorating, the under-representation of this equity group in higher education. This paper presents preliminary findings drawing on recently collected survey and focus group data involving students in Years 3-12 from regional, remote and very remote areas of NSW. We investigate the emotional and material realities of students' lives in rural communities and how these realities shape their interest (or lack of interest) in university education. Findings from this project will provide robust evidence to help shape targeted university outreach initiatives that take into account students' actual interests, aspirations and understandings about their educational futures, and the diversity among students between and within regional, remote and very remote areas.

Internationally, access to higher education for underrepresented groups remains an enduring concern. In Australia, students from regional and remote areas have been inscribed in government education policy as an equity target group since as early as 1990. However, despite an abundance of research on the aspirations of young people from these areas and evidence of their interest in pursuing higher education, strategies to alleviate their underrepresentation have shown minimal success. This signals the need for a more nuanced understanding of the unique and complex ways in which specific contexts influence the formation and realisation of aspirations. Drawing on survey data involving more than 1200 school students, and interviews and focus groups with parents, teachers, and students, we present four case studies from diverse regional and remote communities in NSW. The case studies illuminate the vast spectrum of emotional and material realities that influence the formation and realisation of young people’s aspirations in regional and remote communities. In particular, we found that student aspirations are shaped by: community cohesion and tensions; restructuring of rural industries and shifts in the employment landscape; desire to remain in/leave the community; viability of educational and employment goals; the dis/connection between home and school; exposure to education and employment options; and access to compulsory and post-compulsory schooling. Through this analysis, we draw attention to the varying ways that young people from these communities imagine their futures and the pathways they see as viable. We argue that in order to develop successful and sustainable initiatives that address participation in higher education, policies need to part from hegemonic discourses of ‘rurality’ and instead seek to properly understand the diverse needs and desires of students in regional and remote areas. Such understanding is critical for supporting young people in achieving a broad range of career and education goals.

The recent release of the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education has provided a renewed platform for addressing continued disparities in educational outcomes for young Australians in non-metropolitan areas. One of the key priorities outlined in the Review is post-school transitions, echoing policy discourse centring on the underrepresentation of students from regional and remote locations in higher education and the ongoing designation of these students as an ‘equity target group’ for close to thirty years. Much of the research on this topic has focused on ‘barriers’ to access and the ‘unique challenges’ these students need to overcome to get to university, however, the numbers of students from regional and remote areas in higher education have not kept pace with their metropolitan peers. These findings signal that current strategies to improve higher education access for regional and remote students need rethinking and that different strategies are urgently required and long overdue. In this paper, we go beyond simple notions of getting students to university by providing a nuanced analysis of how students imagine their educational and occupational futures. Drawing on survey and interview data from 32 government schools in regional, remote and very remote areas in New South Wales, Australia, and employing Reid et al.’s (2010) concept of rural social space, we investigate students’ aspirations in relation to perceptions of their community. Our analysis of student survey data (n = 1525) examines the kinds of occupations to which students aspire and their assessment of the availability of this work in the community. Next, we analyse interview data from students (n = 133), parents (n = 30) and teachers (n = 40), in order to understand how these ideas are talked about and translate into hopes for the future. Overall, we identify three prevalent narratives: students who plan to ‘stay’, ‘leave’, or ‘leave and return’. Within these broader narratives, economic, geographic and demographic aspects of the rural social space operated in complex ways, influencing students’ aspirations and making occupational, and hence educational pathways appear possible, impossible, desirable or undesirable. We argue that widening participation initiatives need to be grounded in the rural social space by not only focusing on pathways to university, but also the kinds of occupational futures students imagine for themselves.