Education opportunities for central Victorian children with a disability will be improved under a Coalition government, says Liberal candidate for Bendigo Craig Hunter.

Craig said the Coalition’s policy to introduce portable funding with an Education Card for disabled students would help deliver better opportunities for students and ease pressure on their families.

He also welcomed the first announcements of the Coalition's disability policy saying it will deliver action to secure a national agreement on the definition of disabilities.

“The Coalition will commence the Education Card from January 2012, based on agreed nationally consistent definitions, providing portability of the entitlement between schools or school systems,” Craig said.

“This will provide real choice to parents and a guarantee of a better education for students.

“The entitlement will follow the student and will bypass state educational bureaucracies, by being paid straight to education institutions.”

Craig said educational and employment opportunities and the provision of respite care facilities important for central Victorian families with disabled children.

“I am delighted that the first of a series of real action policies from the Coalition will provide greater opportunities and flexibility for families, children with disabilities and the schools they attend,” he said.

It is estimated that the roll-out of the Education Card will initially provide assistance to almost 6,000 disabled children and their families.

The Education Card will be introduced incrementally and in a targeted manner - commencing with those who need it most and with reference to the newly created disability definitions. Students most in need will get help first, with eligibility to be expanded as the federal budgetary position improves.