Year 9 Da Vinci Expeditions

After reading about the Expedition options, please complete the following submission of information in relation to your Da Vinci Expedition preferences.

While all of the expeditions are designed to offer equally wonderful learning experiences, where the values of the Da Vinci program and of the Positive Education model are at the fore, they each have their own individual environments, cultures, experiences, and educational highlights.

Note that Expeditions will be held in the final two weeks of Term 3 in 2026. Specific dates will be confirmed as soon as possible. Longer Expeditions may finish in the first days of the school holidays. 

Once you have chatted as a family, children should ensure that their expressions of interest focus on learning outcomes, not just locations. Indeed, all the locations are stunning in terms of what they have to offer students.

Forms must be submitted by 4:30pm on 31st of October. There are limits to group sizes and once we lock in contracts with providers we are unlikely to be able to make changes. As such, late submissions will only be honoured where we have capacity on a desired expedition.

We ask for preferences and remind students and their parents/carers that not everyone will be able to get their first preferences, so students should be willing and wholly enthusiastic about all their preferences. Remember that all expeditions are pulled together with the same intentions and all offer an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience. 

Allocations for Expeditions will be released by 7th of November and a $500 deposit will be due on 14th of November.

Once your child has been allocated an expedition,  they will not be placed on a waitlist for another Expedition.

Allocations are drawn from preferences, and are not made based on friendship groups 

We expect Expedition travellers to be open minded about building new relationships with their peers

We strongly advise avoiding 'all or nothing' approaches for Expedition selection

The Expression of Interest you submit on behalf of your child should be thoroughly considered before it is submitted. Once an allocation has been made, they will not be placed on a waitlist for another Expedition

When making your selection with your child, please ensure that you have considered the following:

1. Preferred expedition and connection with desired learning outcomes

After considering the reasoning as to why these expeditions provide value and enhancement to your child’s education, you may wish to consider where your child's interests lay and which of the expeditions best lends itself to your child’s individual strengths and learning intentions. 

2. Cost

These expeditions are an investment in your child's learning and we understand different families have different capacities for this. Families should only express interest in expeditions that fall within their budget. We will not place your child on an expedition which is predicted to exceed your budget and will allocate the most appropriate expedition in relation to the learning outcome that is within your budget as identified in the Expression of Interest.

3. Duration

If on the Expression of Interest form you have submitted preferences that exceed the amount of time your child is comfortable to be away from home, we will allocate them to another appropriate expedition. 

4. Additional considerations

Are there any other relevant considerations that may affect your child’s participation and learning in the expeditions? While medical conditions or physical ability should not exclude a student from an expedition, in order for your child to get the most out of the experience it is wise to choose the option(s) where the itineraries are appropriate to limitations. If you wish to discuss how we can support your child or the suitability of different programs, please call us on 8695 9000. 

In addition

Unless expressing interest in the local program as the only suitable choice for your child, you should not list the same expedition for all three preferences. 

Your child should be willing to attend any of the expeditions listed on their expression of interest. They are all excellent opportunities.

Offers for expeditions will be released on 21 October. In the event that expeditions reach capacity we will do our best to place your child on a suitable alternative. Should your preferences be submitted late there may be limited availability remaining.

In the event of oversubscription, once the application period has closed we will allocate names randomly selected from the pool of applicants who submitted their expression of interest form by the indicated deadline, TBC

Once this has been completed we undertake a check to ensure equitable distribution of preferences have been received. Occasionally, students whose expression of interest was received by the deadline do receive their third or fourth preference, but we do encourage students not to be disheartened. Many unexpected things can come out of these expeditions and students have the chance to be exposed to and find pleasure in new experiences that they wouldn't have otherwise. 

When completing the allocations, overriding criteria which may determine placement include:

1. Cost

If you have indicated your maximum budget, we will not place your child on an expedition which is predicted to exceed your budget. We will allocate the most appropriate expedition in relation to the learning outcome that is within your identified budget.

2. Duration

If on the expression of interest form you have submitted preferences that exceed the amount of time your child is comfortable to be away from home, we will allocate them to another appropriate expedition.

3. Additional considerations

If there are any other relevant considerations that may affect your child’s participation and learning in the expeditions please advise us as soon as possible.

Offers for Expeditions will be released on October 31st . In the event that expeditions reach capacity we will do our best to place your child on a suitable alternative. Should your preferences be submitted late there may be limited availability remaining.

To secure places a deposit must be paid via Compass by 7th of November. Without a timely deposit student preferences and the quoted price cannot be guaranteed. 

Deposits amounts will be $500.

Please note, payments should be considered as non-refundable, as we immediately pass payments onto our Expedition providers to pay for program expenses such as flights and accommodation, which are generally non-refundable.  If withdrawing from an expedition once payments have been made to providers, students must submit medical certificates. We always do our best, but refunds cannot be guaranteed. If for any reason the school needed to cancel an individual expedition, every effort would be made to place your child on a different expedition. If for any reason the school were obliged to cancel the expedition program (eg: changes to DFAT Travel Advice ), refunds would be provided to the full extent possible.

Insurance is included for all participants once the deposit is paid. Please note, for domestic travel, Medicare is relied on as medical expenses (apart from emergencies) are not included in insurance however, any costs not covered by Medicare would need to be covered by parents/carers eg: out of pocket expenses if visiting a doctor's clinic.

The Expedition price is all inclusive, apart from visa and passport costs where required and some additional optional activities on some Expeditions as noted. If travelling by plane, all transfers from the Danks St Street Campus to Tullamarine are included. At the end of Expeditions that involve flights, parents/carers are required to meet their child at the airport. 

Also note that timely payment of the deposit is essential to secure your child's place. If deposits are overdue, preferences cannot be guaranteed. However, all the Expeditions will be excellent and enriching!

ESTIMATED COSTS FOR 2026

QUEENSLAND: REEF AND RAINFOREST - $5900

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: KANGAROO ISLAND AND FLINDERS RANGES - $4500 

EXPEDITION VICTORIA - $1100

NEW ZEALAND: CULTURE AND CONSERVATION - $5200

CAMBODIA: CULTURE AND COMMUNITY - $7700

BORNEO: JUNGLE TREK AND SEPILOK - $7700

Should you require a payment plan to help pace the payments for the cost of the trip (beyond the three scheduled instalments) these can be arranged in consultation with the accounts team. However, the balance for the expedition must be paid by the indicated final due date prior to departure. 

If seeking support for the deposit payment, please contact accounts immediately as we are unable to lock in contracts without deposit payments.

CSEF Funding: 

Families who receive CSEF funding are able to use this funding towards the cost of an expedition. To receive CSEF, you must hold an eligible Centrelink card. Please contact Front Reception if you have any enquiries about this.

School Saving Bonus:

Every student in a Victorian Government school will be allocated $400 from the Victorian Government that families are able to use for camps, excursions, books, and uniforms. Families might like to opt to allocate their government-assigned School Saving Bonus to an expedition. Information on this bonus is available here. 

Additional support 

Should you be able to use CSEF funding and require additional support for your child to attend an expedition, we may be able to assist. Please note, the Expedition for which we could provide support is the Gariwerd (Grampians) Expedition.

All enquiries in relation to financial assistance should be directed to accounts@albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au, or you can call Front Reception to speak to an accounts representative. 

Due to the complexity of the task and the tight organisational requirements, once your child has been allocated an expedition, that allocation is final. Only under exceptional circumstances will the college be able to consider moving a student from one expedition to another, and this can only be considered if the requested expedition has available places. 

The expedition program is incredibly popular, and expeditions are traditionally booked to capacity, limiting the possibility of movement after allocations have been made. 

For these reasons we encourage students to be open minded about the Expeditions on offer as all provide incredible opportunities. Parents are asked to help us manage student expectations, knowing that we will do our very best to ensure that each student received one of their 4 preferences.

The following reasons are the only criteria under which the college will consider requests to change an expedition allocation:

• Your family’s financial situation has changed

• Your child’s physical condition has changed, rendering them unfit to engage in the level of physical activity on a particular expedition.
  
  Should any of the above criteria be met and you wish to submit a request for the college to consider an expedition change, the process is as follows:
  

  1. Student to organise a meeting with the Leading Teacher for Curriculum at the Bay Street Campus
     

  2. If a move is possible, Camps Coordinator will forward the request to the Assistant Principal, Positive Education, for consideration.

• 3. Camps Coordinator will contact family to discuss viability of move
     

Requests to move to another expedition in order to be with a friend will not be facilitated. Students should come with an open mind and an interest in getting to know others. These experiences tend to build strong connections among peers who attend expeditions together, even if they didn’t already know each other. Preparation activities will also take place in the lead-up to departure to assist with building connectedness among the group. Students and parents should remember that learning to build new connections is a valuable skill, and encouraging and supporting students to step out of their comfort zone can be an empowering and rewarding  experience for them. 

Please note, payments should be considered as non refundable, as we immediately pass payments onto our Expedition providers to pay for program expenses such as flights and accommodation, which are generally non-refundable.  If withdrawing from an expedition once payments have been made to providers, students must submit medical certificates after speaking with reception. We always do our best, but refunds cannot be guaranteed. If for any reason the school were to need to cancel an individual expedition, every effort would be made to place your child on a different expedition. If for any reason the school were obliged to cancel the expedition program (eg: changes to government policy on covid ), refunds would be provided.

Also note that timely payment of the deposit is essential to secure your child's place. If deposits are overdue, preferences cannot be guaranteed. However, all the Expeditions will be excellent and enriching!