$400 School Savings Bonus

School Savings Bonus – What's Next

Thanks to all the families who have now confirmed their contact details – we appreciate your prompt response! If you are yet to do so, now’s the time. The Department of Education will start emailing families as of 18 October.

About the School Saving Bonus

The Victorian Government is providing a one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. This support will help cover the cost of school uniforms, textbooks, and school activities like camps, excursions and sports.

The School Saving Bonus is in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) and the Affordable School Uniforms Program.

The School Saving Bonus will be provided to schools and families in Term 4, 2024. 

Who receives the School Saving Bonus?

The School Saving Bonus is available for parents and carers of all Victorian government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025, except for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.  

Accessing the $400 School Saving Bonus

You do not need to apply for the School Saving Bonus. The Department of Education will email you in November 2024 with your $400 School Saving Bonus. You will be able to access it via an online system.

You can decide how to best use the School Saving Bonus for your family's needs. You can choose how to allocate the $400 in the online system.

The bonus can be used towards 2025 school costs, which may include: 

• camps, trips, excursions and incursions 
• swimming and sporting programs 
• outdoor education programs 
• graduations
• school uniforms
• textbooks

The bonus can be used at your school’s approved textbook or uniform suppliers either in-store or online, or through State Schools’ Relief. The list of suppliers may include a school uniform or bookshop. Any amount that you choose to allocate to textbooks and uniforms will be valid until 30 June 2025. It will then transfer to your child’s school account for future activities.

Funds will roll over for use in future years if it is not all spent in 2025.

Families with more than one eligible child 

Families who have more than one child at the same school can combine their School Saving Bonus payments to use on one child, or for a specific activity. So, for example, a family with three children who are all government school students would receive support to the value of $1,200 and choose how they spend those funds. The School Saving Bonus cannot be combined across different schools. 

More information 

Learn more about the School Saving Bonus at the link below.