$400 student bonus cut, but these schools won sought-after upgrades

The Age

20-05-2025

Families will have to do without the universally available $400 School Saving Bonus as the government takes a more targeted approach to cost-of-living relief.
With more than a third of the $282 million allocated to the scheme this year still unspent, the government will instead put $318 million over the next four years towards free public transport for under 18s, in a move that will save families $755 on the annual cost of a student transport pass.
The direct support effort, outlined in Tuesday's state budget, will shift to disadvantaged school families.
Healthcare- or concession-card holding parents will be entitled to $400 per secondary student and $256 per primary-aged child next year to pay for camps, sports and excursions, in a move set to cost $152 million over the next four years.
Families with children at school have borne the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis, with education costs far outstripping every other area of household spending in the key CPI inflation measure since 2021, with schooling and associated costs soaring by 25 per in those four years.
There will be an extra 65,000 'get active kids vouchers' made available at a cost of $15 million, giving eligible families $200 to cover the price of sports registrations, memberships, clothing or equipment.
Other big-spending education budget items include $320 million to continue the disability inclusion program in government schools and $33 million next financial year for transport to specialist government schools, including new routes.
Students from non-English-speaking households will benefit from $56 million to be spent in the next two years, including more children in the English as a Second Language program.