Student Materials and Services Charges and Voluntary Financial Contributions
Information for Schools about Parent Payments
The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 ensures the provision of free instruction in the standard curriculum program, and empowers school councils to charge for goods and services used in the course of instruction and to raise funds.
School councils are responsible for developing and approving a school-level policy which covers essential education items, optional extras and voluntary financial contributions.
School councils can request payments from parents for student materials and services charges and for voluntary financial contributions.
These payments fall into three categories:
- essential education items which parents and guardians are required to provide or pay the school to provide for their child (e.g. for stationery, text books and school uniforms where required);
- optional extras which are offered on a user-pays basis and which parents and guardians may choose whether their child accesses or participates in (e.g. for school magazines or extra curricular programs or activities ); and
- voluntary financial contributions which parents and guardians may be invited to donate to the school (e.g. for grounds beautification, additional computers).
Principals and school councils have the responsibility of making sure that no student is disadvantaged if parents are unable to make payments.
Clear parent information is available online including frequently asked questions. See:
- About Schools - Life at School - Parent Payments in Victorian Government Schools.
- Free Instruction Fact Sheet - Legislative framework (PDF - 196Kb) - parent payments and voluntary financial contributions
Parent Payments Policy
The Parent Payments in Victorian Government Schools Policy provides information for school councils and principals regarding parent payments. The policy covers payments for essential education items, optional extras and voluntary financial contributions that schools may request, and the parameters, terms and conditions within which these requests can be made.
For further information, see: Parent Payments in Victorian Government Schools Policy (PDF - 374Kb)
Good Practice Templates
The following templates are provided to support schools in communicating with families about parent payments:
Parent Payment Sample Letter (Word - 35Kb)
School Level Parent Payment Policy (Word - 46Kb)
Parent Payment Charges and Payment Form (Word - 75Kb)*
*Explanatory Notes:
When customising this form for school purposes, schools are required to consider the following guidelines:
- Section 7.11.4 of the Victorian Government Schools Reference Guide which provides information about the requirements of setting up a tax deductible fund, located at www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/schadmin/schops/Resources/7-11.pdf
- The Department's EFTPOS Receipting in Schools Guidelines when developing and implementing a school-based EFTPOS policy, located at www.education.vic.gov.au/management/financial/policy.htm; and
- the privacy collection statement template to inform the development and implementation of the school's privacy statement, located at www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/privacy/collectionstatementcreator.htm.
More information
For more information on the financial assistance options available for parents and students, including the Education Maintenance Allowance, School Start Bonus, Youth Allowance Scheme, ABSTUDY and student scholarships, see: About Schools - Financial Assistance
See also: