NSW families to receive $500 vouchers for each primary school aged child

The NSW Government will offer families $500 vouchers to help cover before- and after-school care costs as schools return after the summer holidays.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the $155 million program will give parents more options and provide a boost for the out-of-school hours care industry, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Before and After School Care (BASC) services are more important than ever as families return to work following the holidays,” Mr Perrottet said.

“It’s been a challenging past couple of years for parents of school-aged children. Many have had to juggle the demands of supervising their kids’ education at home while working remotely, or even forgoing paid work.

“These vouchers for before and after school care will help alleviate some of the financial pressures on NSW families and provide greater flexibility and more options for those who need to work.”

How will the $500 voucher for kids work?

The $500 voucher will be offered to families for each primary school-aged child they have. The vouchers are designed to cover the “parent gap fee”, which is the cost of BASC after the Commonwealth Child Care Subsidy is applied.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, after-school care can cost between $20 to $40 per day. Middle-income parents pay about half of that after the Child Care Subsidy is applied.

What can the vouchers be spent on?

The vouchers can be spent with participating out-of-school care providers across New South Wales. Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said each voucher would cover about 60 sessions of care.

Providers can start registering for the program from February 7, though families will need to wait a little longer to be able to apply.

How to apply for the voucher

Mr Perrottet said families could apply for the vouchers through Service NSW from February 28.

Like the NSW Dine & Discover program, once received the vouchers can be stored and redeemed through the Service NSW app. Families can present the voucher QR code to be scanned by a BASC provider, or they can use a unique voucher code to redeem the voucher.

Catholic schools returned today, while public schools will commence on Tuesday.

As part of the NSW back-to-school plan, students and staff at primary schools, high schools and childcare centres will undergo rapid antigen testing twice a week for at least the first four weeks of term.

Masks are mandatory for high school students and all staff, and are encouraged for children in primary schools.