WA families to receive cost of living boost

Monday, 18 March 2024 at 10:42

By Monique Welhan

Every Western Australian family with school-aged children are to set to receive a financial boost as part of the State Government's effort to ease the cost of living.

The WA Student Assistance Payment will provide parents with payments of $250 for each secondary student, and $150 for each primary student from Kindy to Year 6.

The program will help parents with the cost of school essentials - like books and IT equipment, sport and music costs, stationery, school shoes, uniforms, excursions and camps, plus other extra costs for families with school-aged children, including food and groceries.

The payments will be made available from the start of Term 2 through the ServiceWA app.

Eligibility will be validated through the student's unique WA Student Number (WASN), which can be found on a student's SmartRider, school report or NAPLAN results.

Parents and carers are encouraged to use the coming weeks to set up their ServiceWA account or check if an existing account is still active and linked with myGovID.

"Providing cost of living support to Western Australians is my number one priority," Premier Roger Cook said.

"Raising my kids in Kwinana, I know it's those extra costs during the school years that really have an impact - and I hope this support can alleviate some of those pressures.

"We know interest rates and higher day-to-day costs are putting pressure on WA families, and this initiative will help many families with the costs that come with having school-aged kids.

"It will provide that extra help to pay for a new backpack, school shoes, uniforms, calculators or even food in their kids' lunchbox."

For more information on the new WA Student Assistance Payment visit: education.wa.edu.au/wasap