Guidance
Recognising financial hardship
Schools must be proactive in sensitively identifying families who may be reluctant to access arrangements and refer them to their nominated parent contributions contact(s) to determine if support is needed.
While hardship is usually identified when families request assistance from the school’s Parent Contributions contact(s), some families may be reluctant to access support from the school.
Teachers are often the first to see indicators of financial hardship. Staff who have reason to believe that a student’s family may be experiencing hardship can bring this to the attention of the school’s Parent Contributions contact(s), to sensitively engage with the family and determine if support is needed.
Schools are encouraged to provide training and resources to teaching and administration staff so that they can identify signs of financial hardship.
Common indicators of financial hardship can include:
- students not owning the same or similar materials as other class members (such as bags, stationery or equipment)
- recurring decisions to not purchase, or participate in, extra-curricular items and activities
- uniforms that are incomplete or in poor condition
- students disclosing hardship or contributing factors to staff responsible for student welfare.
These can include, but are not limited to:
- sudden changes such as loss of employment or illness in the family
- disruption such as family breakdown or transitional housing
- crisis events such as family violence or natural disasters
- families who sought support for other department programs, such as the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund
- carers of children and young people in out-of-home care, and parents or carers who hold a financially means-tested card (such as a healthcare card)
- refugee status, for example, families seeking asylum who are on a Bridging or Temporary Protection visa.
Updated