Helping Tasmanians deal with the cost-of-living crisis is Labor's number one priority.
That's why we've committed to automatically allowing parents to pay school levies quarterly or by direct debit discreetly, without having to request financial assistance.
The continuation of the long-standing Student Assistance Scheme is important, but the cost-of-living crisis is so wide-reaching that it is affecting families outside the eligibility criteria.
The government is encouraging these parents to ask for a payment plan, but they need to go to the effort and potential embarrassment of specifically requesting help, rather than it being an automatic and discreet option.
Our common sense option to have quarterly and direct debit payment options could be achieved with a simple tick-box option on the levy forms of all Tasmanian public school students.
With the cost of everything going up, it doesn't take much for a larger bill to push a family's budget over the edge.
Just like drivers have an easy option to pay their car registrations quarterly, parents should be able to do the same for school fees.
Our plan to ease the costs parents face of a suite of cost-of-living measures, including providing more support to get kids playing sport, expanding after school hours care, making it easier for parents to access childcare if they're studying themselves. These are in addition to our commitment to cap power prices which would save families close to $500 a year.
Labor's plan will be good for kids, good for parents, and importantly, good for family budgets.
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Education and Early Years
