Victorian government expands school saving bonus

THE one-off $400 school saving bonus, announced by the Victorian government as part of this year’s state budget, has been expanded to include more items ahead of its roll out in November.

The payment, which is designed to help ease cost-of-living pressures for families with students going into the 2025 school year, initially sought to cover the cost of uniforms, camps, excursions and other extracurricular activities.

However, following an announcement last week by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Education Ben Carroll, the $400 bonus payment can now also be spent on textbooks.

At a cost of $287 million, the school saving bonus is expected to help up to 700,000 Victorian students.

“Getting a world-class public education in Victoria will always be free,” Mr Carroll said.

“But supplies and extracurricular activities can really add up for families.”

Ms Allan said the Victorian government knows “how tough it is for a lot of families right now” and the school saving bonus would help give “busy families one less thing to worry about”.

The $400 payment will be made available to all students at government schools and to concession card holders at non-government schools in November.

It will be applied for each child, so a family with three school-aged children will receive $1,200 to put towards eligible school supplies and programs.

Bellarine MP Alison Marchant welcomed the announcement.

“Our $400 School Saving Bonus will help ease the pressure on household budgets – giving parents across the Bellarine one less thing to worry about,” she said.

During Term 4, families will receive a code granting them access to the one-off school saving bonus, which will allow them to choose how they wish the funds to be allocated.

For uniforms and textbooks, this will take the form of vouchers which can be redeemed at a school-approved uniform and textbook supplier, while the funds families wish to allocate toward school activities – such as camps, sports, excursions, graduations and other eligible programs – will be managed through the school.

These vouchers can also be used to purchase second-hand supplies directly from schools and can be combined if families have children at different schools but use the same supplier for uniforms and textbooks.

Families of students at government schools do not need to apply for the bonus – access will be granted automatically – and more information on how to access the payment will be made available in the coming weeks to allow families time to plan for the upcoming school year.

For eligible students at non-government schools, the $400 payment will be provided directly to each school and will be managed in consultation with the student’s family.

The application process will mirror that of the Victorian government’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund.

For more information, visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus