Community
6 September, 2024
Bonus can be spent on textbooks
FAMILIES receiving the $400 School Saving Bonus will now be able to spend the money on more items.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Education Ben Carroll last week announced that the $400 bonus can now also be spent on textbooks.
Prior to the announcement, the money was to cover the cost of uniforms, camps, excursions and other extracurricular activities throughout the year.
From this week, schools and families will also get more information on how the $400 School Saving Bonus can be accessed later this year, so families have time to plan and budget for the 2025 school year.
“We know how tough it is for a lot of families right now,” premier Jacinta Allan said.
“We’re giving busy families one less thing to worry about with $400 for school costs like uniforms, excursions and textbooks.”
The once-off bonus will be available in November 2024.
It will be applied for each child, so a family with three school children will receive $1,200 in support to spend on school costs.
The state government has worked to make the process of getting and spending the $400 School Saving Bonus as easy and as flexible as possible for busy families and schools.
No family of a child in a government school will need to apply for their bonus: it is free, automatic and universal.
In term four, families will receive a code granting them access to the bonus.
They will get to choose how much of the funds they want allocated to a uniform and textbook voucher, and how much they want to use on school activities – like camps, sports, excursions, graduations, and other eligible programs.
The voucher for uniforms and books will be redeemable at a school-approved uniform or textbook supplier, while funds that families allocate to school activities will be managed through the school.
The voucher can be combined if families have children at different schools but use the same supplier for uniforms and textbooks.
Families can also use the voucher to buy second-hand uniforms and textbooks directly from schools.
For families of students at a non-government school, the $400 will be provided directly to each school – to be managed in consultation with the student’s family and in line with the intent of the program.
Non-government school families who are eligible for the means-tested Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (including healthcare and concession card holders) are eligible for the School Saving Bonus.
Their application process will be the same as that for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund.
The School Saving Bonus was announced as part of a $287 million package in the 2024/25 state budget and will help up to 700,000 students – including around 44,000 non-government students.
The government is also tripling the Glasses for Kids program, and providing free, nutritious breakfasts at every government school.
For more information on the $400 School Saving Bonus, visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus .
