The new Schoolkids Bonus
The Schoolkids Bonus
Alicia and Ben have two children, Jess and Charlie. Jess is in high school and Charlie is still in primary school.
Alicia and Ben have a combined income of $90,000. They receive Family Tax Benefit Part A for Jess and Charlie.
Previously, Alicia and Ben had to wait until the end of the year to claim their Education Tax Refund (ETR). Last year they claimed $250 for Jess's and $50 for Charlie's school books.
From 2013, they will receive $820 for Jess and $410 for Charlie per year, paid in two instalments in January and July, making them $930 better off. They plan to use Charlie's Schoolkids Bonus to pay for some extra maths tutoring and Jess's to pay for her school camp to Alice Springs. As a transitional arrangement, they will receive the full 2011–12 ETR as an automatic payment in June this year.
Supporting parents with children's education costs
The Government is investing an additional $2.1 billion in a new Schoolkids Bonus. This will replace the existing Education Tax Refund (ETR) to provide more families and students with timely and flexible support. For the first time, eligible families will be guaranteed $410 for each primary school student and $820 for each secondary school student a year.
Helping more families with the cost of schooling
To date, for 2010–11 around 284,000 families have missed out on the ETR and 774,000 have claimed less than the full amount. The Government is now investing in the Schoolkids Bonus to make sure that nobody misses out. The new Schoolkids Bonus will be paid automatically to all eligible families, meaning that around 1 million families will now receive extra support with the cost of schooling.
Compared to the average ETR claim across all eligible families in 2010–11 (to date), families will receive an increase of $201 per primary school student and $426 per secondary school student. In particular, low–income families who may not have been able to afford up–front educational expenses will now be able to access an automatic payment.
Guaranteed assistance to families
