Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:
- school camps or trips
- swimming and school-organised sports programs
- outdoor education programs
- excursions and incursions.
Who can apply?
Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A Special Consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families over terms one and two.
Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school.
Eligible means-tested cards
Means-tested concession cards must now be valid on either:
- the first day of Term 1 (Monday 30 January 2023)
- the first day of Term 2 (Tuesday 24 April 2023)
Below is a list of means-tested cards that are accepted:
- ABSTUDY - Schooling Applicant (ABA)
- ABSTUDY - Secondary/Tertiary (ABY)
- Age Pension (AGE)
- Austudy Payment (AUS)
- Bereavement Allowance (BVA)
- Disability Support Pension (DSP)
- Health Care Card (HCC)
- Job Seeker (JSP)
- Newstart Allowance (NSA)
- Non-Agency Payment (NAP)
- Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP)
- Parenting Payment (PP)
- Partner Allowance (PTA)
- Sickness Allowance (SKA)
- Special Benefit (SPL)
- Widow Allowance (WDA)
- Widow B Pension (WID)
- Wife Pension Age (WFA)
- Wife Pension Disability (WFD)
- Veterans Card (Gold)
- Youth Allowance (YAL)
Payment amounts
Payments amounts for 2023 are:
- $125 per year for eligible primary school students
- $225 per year for eligible secondary school students.
For ungraded students, the rate is determined by the Date of Birth
- $125 per year for students born on or after 1/7/2011
- $225 per year for students born on or before 30/6/2011.
Payments are made directly to the school and are tied to the student.
- from March onwards each year where the parent/carer’s concession card is assessed as valid on the first day of term 1; and
- until June 23 where the parent/carer’s concession card is assessed as valid at the end of term 2.
Payments are for the application year and cannot be claimed for previous years.
Use of funds
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:
- school camps or trips
- swimming and school-organised sports programs
- outdoor education programs
- excursions and incursions.
The CSEF payment cannot be used towards books, stationery, school uniforms, before/after school care, music lessons, or formals/graduations.
Schools will need permission before allocating CSEF funds and a credit note will stay on the family account until the family advises the school how they want the funds allocated.
Year 7 and Prep students in government schools who receive funds are also able to get support for school uniforms.
For more information regarding this initiative, refer to State Schools' Relief.
How to apply
Submitting an application
Applications can be entered from 30 January 2023. Parents/carers wishing to apply for CSEF payments for 2023 must submit their application form to the relevant school by 23 June 2023.
However, a parent/carer will only be required to submit an application form to the school in the following circumstances:
- the parent/carer is applying for the CSEF payment for the first time – i.e. an application form was not lodged with the school in the previous year; or
- circumstances have changed – e.g. there has been a change in the care arrangement of the student, a change of name or CRN, or a new sibling has commenced at the school and the parent/carer wishes to apply for the CSEF payment for the new sibling.
Where a parent/carer is not required to submit a new application, schools can copy the previous year’s application on the CSEF system to the current school year.
Schools must retain application forms for a minimum of seven years.
CSEF applications may be audited by the department.
Application forms
Schools can accept and process applications until 23 June 2023.