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.
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,” 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.”
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.”