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The payment is designed to help ease cost-of-living pressures
the money will be made available as credit ... towards educational expenses in certain categories
The money can not be put towards school fees or used for household expenses
it appeared the $400 payment would cover uniforms, excursions and sports activities, but not laptops
So, seems to cover things that many hard-up families probably aren't paying for already, which means this won't ease the cost of living pressure for them at all.
Performative
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The payment is designed to help ease cost-of-living pressures and will also be offered to concession card holders at non-government schools.
Those categories include uniforms, school camps or trips, swimming or sports programs, outdoor education and excursions.
"Right now, parents are already planning for the 2025 school year and we're wanting to provide them with some support, recognising that the cost of living pressures has seen so much of what we need — the essentials in our daily life — go up [in price]."
The premier would not reveal any other details in Tuesday's budget, but echoed earlier warnings that it would not be a big-spending affair.
The president of the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals, Colin Axup, welcomed the payments but said it could mean extra administration duties for staff.
The Australian Education Union has welcomed the $400 payment for families, but says it does not go far enough to solve the bigger issue of widespread under-funding of public schools.
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