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Receiving the School Saving Bonus

With the School Saving Bonus, the Victorian Government is providing a one-off $400 to help families cover the costs of their kids’ school uniforms, textbooks, excursions and activities.

On this page

The School Saving Bonus will provide $400 in support for Victorian school-aged students in Term 4, 2024 for use on 2025 school costs.

Receiving the School Saving Bonus

The way you receive the School Saving Bonus depends on if your child, or children, attends a government school, or non-government school.

Video message from the Minister for Education

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus for government schools, watch the video below.

Minister Carroll: School Saving Bonus
View transcript

This video message from Minister for Education Ben Carroll includes captions in 13 languages.

To turn on the captions, click the ‘CC/Subtitles’ icon at the bottom right corner of the video and select the language you need. A video translation is also available in Karen.

Government school information

Accessing the School Saving Bonus

Parents and carers of students enrolled at a government school for 2025 will access their School Saving Bonus via an email sent from the Department of Education in November 2024.

The Department of Education and the Victorian Government will never ask you to provide your banking or financial details for the School Saving Bonus.

A School Saving Bonus email will be sent per child, so parents and carers with multiple children will get an email for each child in their family. The emails may arrive at different times.

The email contains a unique code for the $400 bonus and access to the School Saving Bonus online system.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus online system, download the step-by-step user guide (DOCX, 945KB) or watch this video. User guide translations are also available in 14 languages.

Please check junk or spam folders for this email. If the email is not in your inbox by 29 November 2024, please email school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au

Allocating the School Saving Bonus

Families can choose how they allocate and spend the School Saving Bonus funds using the online system. The School Saving 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.

Families can use the online system to choose how they’ll spend their School Saving Bonus.

The Bonus can also be used at your school’s designated textbook or uniform suppliers in-store or online, or through State Schools’ Relief until 30 June 2025.

If your school does not have a uniform, or if you would like to use your bonus for unbranded school uniform items, you can use the bonus through the State Schools' Relief.

If any amount is unspent as at 1 July 2025, it will automatically become a school activities credit for you to use through your school. This will help cover the cost of things like excursions and camps.

Families who do not want to use the School Saving Bonus can elect to provide this money to their school for use by other students needing support. Please contact your school directly.

Student eligibility

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

There is no application required for eligible government school parents to receive the School Saving Bonus.

Resources

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus for government schools, download the:

Non-government school information

Families of eligible students at non-government schools will also receive the $400 School Saving Bonus.

The Bonus will be allocated to eligible students once the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) process has been completed for 2025.

Talk to your school if this support applies to you.

Student eligibility

Non-government school students receiving the means-tested Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) in 2024 are eligible for additional support through the School Saving Bonus.

There is no application required for eligible non-government school students to receive the School Saving Bonus.

Resources

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus for non-government schools, download a letter to parents and carers from the Premier and Deputy Premier (PDF, 308KB).

A poster for parents and carers (PDF, 446KB) is also available.

You can also find the letter for non-government schools translated in information in your language.

Using the School Saving Bonus

Eligible families who have more than one child at the same school can combine their School Saving Bonus to use on one child, or for a specific school activity.

For example, a family with 3 eligible children will receive support to the value of $1,200 and the family can choose how they spend their School Saving Bonus for approved school expenses.

Unused money from the School Saving Bonus can be transferred to a sibling at the same school if one child finishes school, or can be transferred between government schools where a child moves to a new school.

The School Saving Bonus cannot be combined across different schools, and cannot be transferred between government and non-government schools.

Resources for school leaders and early childhood providers

School leaders

More information on the School Saving Bonus for school leaders and teachers is available via the Policy and Advisory Library (PAL).

Early childhood providers

Early childhood providers and services can download and share the following resources with families of children in Four-Year-Old Kindergarten:

You can also find the information sheet, letter and School Saving Bonus system user guide translated into 14 languages.

To learn more, see Accessing the School Saving Bonus.

Other support

The School Saving Bonus will be in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF). This helps to ensure that families most in need continue to get additional support.

The application-based Affordable School Uniform program, provided through State Schools’ Relief, is also available to families experiencing financial hardship or other forms of vulnerability and short-term crisis. This program allows schools to make multiple applications for support on parents’ behalf throughout the year if needed.

Information in your language

Contact us

To contact the School Saving Bonus team, please complete the enquiry form.

Alternatively, you can email school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au or call 1800 338 663 during business hours.

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Contact email: school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au

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