Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is available for parents and students, including Education Maintenance Allowance, Youth Allowance Scheme, ABSTUDY and student scholarships.
School Start Bonus
The School Start Bonus provides financial assistance for families of Prep and Year 7 students to help them meet the costs of sending their child to school.
The initiative was introduced by the Victorian Government in 2006. The Bonus is a one-off payment of $300 for each student starting Prep or Year 7 to assist in purchasing school and sports uniforms, school bags and books.
For further information, see: School Start Bonus
Education Maintenance Allowance
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) provides assistance to lower income families to help with the costs associated with sending their children to school.
If your child is under 16 years of age and you receive an eligible Centrelink benefit and a Health Care Card or pension card, you may be entitled to an Education Maintenance Allowance from the Victorian Government.
The allowance is split evenly between you and your child’s school. In 2009 the total allowance for a primary school student is $221 and $443 for a secondary school student.
The school’s portion of the allowance is usually spent on textbooks, stationery and school camps for your child. The parent portion can be used to help with meeting other schooling costs such as uniforms or excursions.
You can get an application form and details about deadlines from your school.
New in 2009 you have the option to receive your EMA payments directly into your bank account.
For further information, see: Education Maintenance Allowance
Youth Allowance Scheme
Youth Allowance helps if you are a young person who is studying, undertaking training or a New Apprenticeship, looking for work, or sick.
For further information, see: Centrelink - Youth Allowance Scheme (http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/youth_allow.htm)
ABSTUDY
If you are an Indigenous secondary or tertiary student or a full-time New Apprentice, ABSTUDY may help you stay at school or go on to further studies. It consists of a fortnightly living allowance as well as additional components to help with the costs associated with attending school.
For more information, see: Centrelink - ABSTUDY (http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/abstudy.htm)
Student scholarships
Thirty different scholarships are made available to nurture the talents of young people. This equates to around 175 awards, as some scholarships have more than one award.
Scholarships are offered to primary and secondary students and range in value from $250 to over $2000. They can be applied for online between November and December each year.
Scholarships are generally awarded on the basis of:
- excellent academic achievement
- outstanding participation in the school and local community
- financial need (determined by parents being eligible recipients of the Education Maintenance Allowance).
For more information, including closing dates or online applications, see: Student Scholarships (http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/scholarships/default.aspx)
Child Care Benefit and Family Assistance
For information about Child Care Benefit and Family Assistance, contact Centrelink (http://www.centrelink.gov.au)
Education Tax Refund
The Education Tax Refund helps eligible families and independent students meet the cost of primary and secondary school education. For more information see the Australian Tax Office's Education Tax Refund - What You Need to Know web page (http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/).