School Saving Bonus Update

You will have received a few emails from the Department of Education over the last month with information on the new School Saving Bonus (SSB). This Compass post is to answer a number of the Frequently Asked Questions we have received at the school.

What is the School Saving Bonus?

It is an initiative from the State Government where most school-age students in 2025 will receive $400 to help with education costs. More information is here.

How Do I Access the Funds?

You should have already received an email for each of your children with an access code to log in to the SSB Portal. The email was sent from Department of Education Victoria <noreply@comms-mc.education.vic.gov.au> - it did not come directly from Menzies Creek Primary School.The emails were only sent to the first parent in the family ("Parent A"). They were not sent to both parents. Please check your spam/junk folders if you have not received it. 

What Children Are Eligible?

Eligibility is defined by the Department, see the SSB website for more information.

How do I use the SSB funds to purchase uniform?

Menzies Creek Primary School has not been set up as a uniform supplier but if you allocate the funds to Activities we can then transfer the money to uniform from school and provide you with the school uniform requested.If you require any uniform from State Schools relief (non-logo uniform) you will need to allocate the money in the portal to them and detail with them directly.

How can I use the SSB funds to pay for school activities (camps & excursions)? 

This will be the most popular for Primary Schools, if you choose to allocate to Activities then the easiest way is to put the full $400 straight across to School activities and it will sit on your family account until it has all been allocated to events of parent choice, a simple email to the school and we will allocate the funds to any event requested. 

The SSB Funds are intended for 2025 school activities. You will need to log in to the SSB Portal and transfer the funds to the school using the School Activity option. Please see the help guides on the SSB website for information on how to do this – we cannot do it for you or on your behalf at the school.It will take some time (at least a week) for the funds to be available at the school. Due to this delay, you will not be able to use the funds for 2024 activities. The funds do not expire, so you will not lose them.

My Child is in Year 6, how do I access the funds?

Funds for Year 6 students are only accessible through their high school. The SSB is intended for 2025 activities, so you will need to contact your child’s high school to use the SSB funds.

I have more questions.

Please see the resources for families on the SSB website, including user guides and videos available in many languages.https://www.vic.gov.au/receiving-school-saving-bonus