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Bonus helps with school costs

13 May 2013
Community Wilcannia
Children and Schooling

Margo, a Barkindji woman from around Wilcannia in western New South Wales, is the girls’ full-time carer. This year, Kiesha, 12, joined her sister Natasha, 14, at high school.

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Margo, a Barkindji woman from around Wilcannia in western New South Wales, is the girls’ full-time carer. This year, Kiesha, 12, joined her sister Natasha, 14, at high school.

“It was a big jump for us when Kiesha started high school this year,” Margo said.

“It was hard to cover all the expenses so the Schoolkids Bonus payment in January came in handy. With teenage girls, there is always something to spend money on! When you’ve got two of them, it’s good to have that help.”

Margo and Gordon, who live at Maiden Gully, central Victoria, used the January funds to pay for most of the girls’ uniforms and books. They have planned how to use the July payments.

“One of the girls has got a school camp to Tasmania later this year. The payment won’t cover the whole amount, but it will help a lot. There are always expenses for excursions at school,” Margo said.

“The bonus helps them feel like everyone else, doing the same things as the others in the class. And it’s helped me get them organised for school.”

The Hynes don’t have a lot for extras. They rely on Gordon’s wage and payments Margo receives from The Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A, because Margo is registered as the girls’ full-time carer. As she receives FTB Part A she is also eligible for the Schoolkids Bonus.

Margo said she prefers the Schoolkids Bonus to its predecessor, the Education Tax Refund.

“I ended up not having all the receipts we needed to get the tax refund, so I couldn’t claim for everything. The Schoolkids Bonus is much easier, it just appears in your bank account,” Margo said.

Find out more

Making sure children attend school is critical to Closing the Gap.

The Australian Government’s Schoolkids Bonus helps Indigenous and non-Indigenous families provide their children with the things they need to attend school and participate in school activities.

The Schoolkids Bonus is worth $410 for each child in primary school and $820 for each child in secondary school per year. Half is paid in January to help with back-to-school costs and half in July to help with mid-year and ongoing expenses.