School drop off and pick off is about to get a whole lot more rewarding for mum taxis! Thanks to the little known School Transport Assistance Scheme, you can get money from the government for every kilometre you clock driving the kids to school.
Not. Even. Joking.
A super savvy Queensland mum discovered it and we are so flippin’ excited that she did. She manages to get $433 back at the end of the year for her three kids, whom she drives just 3.26km to school each day!
Heck, $433 almost makes my kids’ daily fight about who gets the front seat worthwhile. Almost.
What is school transport assistance?
Basically, it’s a government-funded transport assistance scheme, offering subsidies to eligible families with full-time enrolled students travelling to school. The subsidy is available whether you drive your kids to school, whether they take a bus or even a ferry.
You may be eligible if you live within a certain distance away from the school. In Queensland, for example, it’s 3.2km for primary students and 4.8 km for secondary students.
3.2 km – that’s literally like a five-minute drive!!! We live exactly 5km away from my kids’ school and it takes us seven minutes to get there. But if the government wants to pay me for these 7 minutes, then SIGN ME UP!
How to apply
It’s different in every state but below are the websites to start the process. The QLD application form took about five minutes to complete and I needed my bank details and a computer handy to calculate the distance between my home and the kids’ school.
But, honestly, it was easy, peasy, especially compared to other government claims services (ahem, Centrelink).
Find your school transport assistance scheme:
- Queensland
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- South Australia
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
- Australian Capital Territory
- Northern Territory
What if I don’t drive?
You can still reap the rewards, even if your kids take the bus. Melbourne mum, Deb, for example, gets $186 every six months under the Victorian school transport allowance scheme. #winning
What if they go to private school?
Even if your kids go to private school or they don’t attend the nearest school to them, they could still be eligible.
What’s even cooler is that the School Transport Assistance Scheme simply rolls over every year without having to reapply. You just need to cast your eyes over the pre-filled form to make sure all is correct.
Crazy, right? How did we not know about this?
I’ve put in my claim today so fingers crossed for a quick approval and I’m $433 richer later this month. I could really use some new seat covers for the chauffeur-mobile.
1 Comment
Very cool for some families.
Sadly I’m in WA and it’s only applicable for a defined “remote” area of WA and you have to be travelling 56km or more ONE way to get it here! Lol, not my situation, but hopefully this helps out some other families in other states!