- Secondary Assistance Scheme boosted to $535 a year for
eligible students
- Extra support for families on low incomes increases School Clothing
Allowance from $115 to $300, on top of the existing $235 Education Program
Allowance
- Extra support to assist more than 25,000 eligible families
with the cost of school uniforms in 2024 and 2025
- Cook Labor Government delivering continued cost of living
support for WA families
The Cook Labor Government
will provide an additional $185 for eligible secondary school students to
assist with school uniform costs, increasing cost of living support for school students
from low-income families to $535 a year.
Eligible families will receive
a $300 clothing allowance in both 2024 and 2025 - on top of the $235 Education Program
Allowance which provides additional funding to the child's school to support
their education.
This boost to the School
Clothing Allowance provides an additional $185 top-up payment in 2024 to Western
Australian families who
hold an eligible concession card and already received the $115 payment earlier
in the year. A further $300 will be provided at the start of 2025 to Western
Australian families who apply, to assist them with school uniform costs.
This follows the WA Student Assistance Payment, which
has made available $250 for all Western Australian secondary students, and $150
for all primary and kindergarten students.
The $9.4 million boost is
designed to help take pressure off Western Australian families with lower
incomes, and make sure remaining funds from the WA Student Assistance Payment are
used to deliver continued cost of living relief.
The enhanced Secondary
Assistance Scheme provides extra funds to low-income families with secondary
students at Western Australian public and non-government schools to support
their education and help them cover uniform costs.
The increase in the
Secondary School Clothing Allowance is on top of more than $762 million in
cost of living measures to support Western Australian households and small
businesses, including record support for families and more than $3.5 billion in
cost of living assistance delivered since 2017.
The additional Clothing
Allowance for 2024 will be paid to families of eligible secondary school
students in Term 3. For more information on the Secondary School Allowance
visit: https://www.education.wa.edu.au/secondary-assistance-scheme
Comments attributed
to Premier Roger Cook:
"Easing cost of living pressures is an important part of my
Government's plan to support WA families.
"Our WA Student Assistance Payment has now helped hundreds
of thousands of families with the costs associated with sending their children
to school.
"We want to make sure that any remaining funds from the WA
Student Assistance Payment end up in the pockets of WA families, and I'm sure
this significant increase in the Secondary Assistance Scheme will be a big help
for those struggling to pay for their child's school uniforms.
"Eligible families will now be able to receive $300 in
financial support per student to put towards their child's school uniform."
Comments attributed
to Education Minister Dr Tony Buti:
"We know that families have experienced rising costs,
particularly in recent times, for essential personal items for secondary
schooling such as school uniforms, shoes and books.
"The increase in the Clothing Allowance will provide
targeted financial assistance to low-income families that have had to manage
the rising cost of secondary schooling on top of other increasing day-to-day
costs.
"It is estimated that over 25,000 parents, guardians and
independent students will be eligible to receive the increased clothing
allowance in 2024 and 2025.
"For eligible parents and guardians that have already
received their $115 clothing allowance in 2024, a further $185 will be
allocated as a top up payment in Semester 2.
"Families don't need to do anything to receive their top up
payments.
"The Department of Education will provide further advice to
schools and families around the application process for 2025 and the payment of
the top up in 2024."
