Each year commonwealth, state, and territory governments allocate millions of dollars to alleviate differing kinds of disadvantages among local communities in Australia. This paper is concerned with the allocation of resources to remote and rural areas by the Commonwealth Government on a national basis. Current formulas and resource allocation methodologies are not accurately identifying those populations that have the greatest degree of disadvantage in accessing goods and services. Impediments in allocating resources include an absence of an objective measure of relative access to services and a reliable definition of rural and remote areas. The Service Access Frame (SAF) is a three-dimensional objective model that quantifies the relative access of any population center to activities and services. The three components of the model include population center size, time cost distance unit, and economic resources. The three parts combine to provide a profile and a score for a population center that identifies the level of services to be expected, the cost for persons accessing the service from another area, and the population center's ability to pay for the service. This model will allow policymakers to allocate resources on the basis of identified need rather than geographical location. It also provides a tool by which current formula and resource allocations to rural areas can be tested and evaluated. Sixteen figures are attached. (LP)