Parents and carers of children enrolled in all primary schools in NSW will benefit from a new $155 million program for Before and After School Care (BASC) services to provide greater support and access to BASC services.
The $500 voucher will assist families who use BASC services by covering the parent gap fee component of their session fees.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said BASC services were more important than ever as families returned to work following the holidays.
“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 foregoing paid work,” Mr Perrottet said.
“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.”
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said that both providers and users of BASC would benefit from this announcement.
“These vouchers are all about providing affordable access to care for families, particularly after a tough two years that have disrupted access to school and BASC,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Every family with children at a NSW primary school is eligible for one voucher per child, which will provide each child with approximately 60 sessions of free BASC.”
The NSW Department of Education has partnered with Service NSW to roll out the program, which will be delivered through Service NSW and will follow a similar premise to the current Dine and Discover Vouchers.
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said BASC providers will be able to register to redeem the vouchers from 7 February and parents will be able to apply for, and utilise, the vouchers from 28 February.
“This is a win for families as they can apply for, store, and redeem their new vouchers via the Service NSW app, similar to Dine & Discover and other vouchers like Active Kids and First Lap,” Mr Dominello said.
“Eligible families will receive their vouchers in their app just like the Dine & Discover program with providers able to quickly scan the QR code on the spot or use the unique voucher code to redeem.”
Providers and customers can register and apply online via a MyServiceNSW account, in the app, or by visiting their nearest Service Centre.