Bellarine families will be able to spend the School Saving Bonus on more items when the Victorian Government's once-off 400 School Saving Bonus can be accessed later this year, so families have time to plan and budget for the 2025 school year.
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 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 4, 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 287 million package in the Victorian Budget 2024/25, and it 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 will help ease the pressure on household budgets - giving parents across the Bellarine one less thing to worry about."
