The Future of Education Equity Fund is once more available for Canberra families in financial difficulty to support their children at school this year, ACT education minister Yvette Berry announced today.

The one-off payment provides $400 for preschool students, $500 for primary school students, and $750 for high school and college students to buy books, uniforms, excursions, sport equipment and activities, tuition, music lessons, and other essentials.

“It’s there … so that no child misses out,” Ms Berry said. “No family wants to see their children miss out on any of the activities that a good education can provide. And the equity fund provides those opportunities for everybody to have a great education, regardless of their background.”

Cost of living pressures have compounded financial difficulties for many families, the minister observed.

“Families are having a particularly difficult time more recently… School should be a great equaliser. And so having an equity fund like this gives those families the chance to have their children starting at the same point as every other child.”

Families will need to show they are experiencing financial difficulty to apply.

“We’ve tried to remove as much of the stigma as possible, to make it as easy as possible for families to apply,” Ms Berry said. “We don’t want any families to feel any shame in any of this. This is about trying to support families where they need it and when they need it.”

School starts on Wednesday 31 January; the fund has been made available a fortnight before term one so parents can buy what they need.

The ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations welcomed the fund being made available early.

“It’s a difficult time for a lot of people,” executive officer Veronica Elliott said. “And so bringing the equity fund forward to January when people are going  out and purchasing all of the equipment for the beginning of the school year is really appreciated.”

Families have asked their schools and P&Cs for support, Ms Elliott said. “Parents are often worried about putting their hand up and saying I need some help, so they don’t actually come forward and announce that to their community. But they definitely are asking for more help.”

Families will be able to apply for the fund discreetly online – a “great relief”, Ms Elliott said. It also saves time. “If you’re working and not able to get into the school during school hours, you can do that easily at your convenience: on a weekend, in a school holiday, when it suits you.”

Ms Berry expects increased demand for equity funding as costs rise. In 2022, around 3,000 families accessed the fund; last year, there were 5,000 families – and that figure is unlikely to go down.

ACT public schools also provide free Chromebooks for senior secondary students, free Wi-Fi, hygiene products, and sports equipment. Some schools serve free breakfasts.

Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee, however, thought that the Labor-Greens government had missed an opportunity.

In her opinion, this announcement was “nothing more than a rehashed version of something that they had previously put forward on the table”. It would only support 5,000 students out of almost 82,000 in the ACT – barely 6 per cent. (In fact, Ms Lee noted, almost 9,000 children lived below the poverty line.)

But, Ms Lee said, the cost of living crisis had hit Canberra families hard: “We see an unprecedented number of Canberrans who are in that middle bracket doing it tough… These are the families that have previously not needed the same support as the low income Canberra families. These are the families that perhaps donated to the food pantries and the charities, and now they are the ones in need… Many Canberra families have faced significant increases in mortgage, in relation to utilities, groceries, power, petrol, and back to school costs. And these are the families that are not being helped.”

Applications for this school year will remain open until 29 November. To apply, visit www.education.act.gov.au/support-for-our-students/financial-and-resource-assistance-for-families

The Canberra Liberals will have more to say about the cost of living crisis over the next couple of weeks, Ms Lee said.