Parents with school children will remember that until May 2012, if you kept those receipts for the extra expenses, there could be an additional income tax refund.

In the May 2012 Budget that arrangement was abolished and a School Bonus substituted.  Payments were made by Centrelink of $410 a year for a primary school student and $820 for a secondary student.  The first payment occurred in July 2012 to parents where Centrelink was able to identify, based on age, an assumed eligibility and existing receipt of Family Tax Benefit A.

The next payment will be made in January 2013.

There are likely to be more than one million school aged children who qualify for Family Tax Benefit A.  But does Centrelink know whether the child is attending primary school or secondary school, particularly if they are changing?

Rather than waiting for hours on the telephone, it could be more convenient to visit the Department of Human Services website (the new name for Centrelink) and type in Schoolkids Bonus.  Parents can complete the process online and certify that the child is attending school (if they are lucky and the One Time Access is functional that day).  Unfortunately, more and more frustrated customers are just giving up!!

It is however worth persevering – do you have a loud speaker telephone on which you can listen to music in the background whilst on hold?