Mums At Work: Schoolkids Bonus Helping Families with Back to School Costs

Families and stores across Australia are feeling the benefits of the first Schoolkids Bonus cash payment rolling out this month.

With kids going back to school over the next fortnight, parents are out now shopping for things for school.

The Schoolkids Bonus - worth $410 for each child in primary school and $820 a year for each high school student - is helping to lighten the load for families. It is paid in two instalments – in January and July.

About $588 million has hit the bank accounts of 1.2 million families across Australia since payments began a fortnight ago.

That’s $588 million available to Australian families to be spent in local businesses like book shops, shoe shops, sports shops, department stores and stationery outlets on back to school items like school uniforms, shoes, school books and stationery.

Families can also set some money aside to pay for future school excursions or other future school related expenses like sports registration fees and music lessons.

The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and the Minister for Families, Jenny Macklin, today visited Officeworks in Milton, Queensland to talk to staff and local families about the how the Schoolkids Bonus was helping them out.

In the local government area of Brisbane, about 40,600 families have received the Schoolkids Bonus January payment worth a total of about $19 million.

The top 10 local government areas in Queensland for Schoolkids Bonus cash payments are Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Logan, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba, Redland.

Some families who claim their Family Tax Benefit at the end of the financial year will receive their payment then.

Families receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A, as well as young people in school receiving Youth Allowance, and others receiving certain income support or veterans’ payments are eligible for the Schoolkids Bonus.

Tony Abbott has promised to cut the Schoolkids Bonus - on top of his plans to get rid of the tax cuts and extra family payments this Government delivered last year to help with household costs.

For the latest information about the Schoolkids Bonus and other family assistance measures, visit www.australia.gov.au/schoolkidsbonus or like the Australian Families Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia.

Top 10 Local Government Areas (LGA) in each state and territory:

Queensland

LGA	Number of families	Total $
Brisbane	40,625	$19.0m
Gold Coast	30,847	$14.3m
Moreton Bay	25,880	$12.7m
Logan	22,551	$11.4m
Sunshine Coast	20,315	$9.6m
Ipswich	13,578	$6.8m
Cairns	11,282	$5.4m
Townsville	10,202	$4.9m
Toowoomba	9,545	$4.9m
Redland	7,564	$3.7m
Queensland total	256,139	$125.0m

New South Wales

LGA	Number of families	Total $
Blacktown	22,770	$11.9m
Fairfield	16,617	$8.4m
Bankstown	14,123	$7.5m
Liverpool	14,317	$7.5m
Campbelltown	11,861	$6.2m
Penrith	11,784	$6.1m
Wyong	11,038	$5.6m
Lake Macquarie	10,509	$5.2m
Wollongong	9,993	$4.9m
Parramatta	9,728	$4.8m
NSW total	380,719	$191.9m

Victoria

LGA	Number of families	Total $
Casey	20,456	$10.4m
Hume	14,033	$7.4m
Brimbank	13,456	$6.7m
Greater Geelong	12,725	$6.2m
Wyndham	12,307	$6.1m
Whittlesea	11,210	$5.6m
Greater Dandenong	10,460	$5.1m
Yarra Ranges	9,169	$4.6m
Melton	8,802	$4.4m
Frankston	8,649	$4.2m
Victoria total	295,930	$147.1m

Tasmania

LGA	Number of families	Total $
Launceston	4,573	$2.2m
Glenorchy	3,673	$1.7m
Clarence	3,260	$1.6m
Kingborough	2,160	$1.0m
Devonport	1,959	$960,000
Brighton	1,693	$840,000
Hobart	1,680	$740,000
Central Coast	1,475	$740,000
Burnie	1,456	$740,000
West Tamar	1,409	$730,000
Tasmania total	34,660	$17.0m

South Australia

LGA	Number of families	Total $
Onkaparinga	11,845	$5.4m
Salisbury	10,460	$4.8m
Playford	7,645	$3.6m
Port Adelaide Enfield	7,382	$3.3m
Tea Tree Gully	5,595	$2.6m
Charles Sturt	5,525	$2.5m
Marion	4,446	$2.0m
Campbelltown	2,531	$1.1m
West Torrens	2,426	$1.1m
Mitcham	2,180	$980,000
SA total	95,447	$44.0m

Western Australia

LGA	Number of families	Total $
Wanneroo	9,883	$4.8m
Swan	6,968	$3.4m
Stirling	7,201	$3.3m
Gosnells	6,457	$3.1m
Rockingham	5,857	$2.8m
Joondalup	5,316	$2.5m
Cockburn	4,141	$1.9m
Armadale	3,993	$1.9m
Mandurah	3,790	$1.8m
Canning	3,427	$1.6m
WA total	103,578	$49.4m

Northern Territory

LGA	Number of customers	Total $
Darwin	3,272	$1.6m
Palmerston	1,775	$860,000
Alice Springs	1,385	$660,000
East Arnhem	1,327	$640,000
Litchfield	823	$430,000
Roper Gulf	748	$410,000
Barkly	751	$370,000
Victoria-Daly	707	$360,000
West Arnhem	718	$340,000
Katherine	634	$320,000
NT total	13,811	$6.8m