NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is saying “thank you” to the state’s parents for their efforts adapting to life during the pandemic over the past two years, by gifting them with $250 vouchers to use on entertainment or accommodation.
The five vouchers worth $50 each will be available on the Service NSW app from today, February 7, 2022, and can be used for accommodation, entertainment and recreational activities, including museum visits or cinema experiences, until October 9, 2022.
“This is a testament and a tribute to all parents who have made an incredible effort over the last two years, particularly in circumstances of homeschooling which we all know has been incredibly tough over this difficult period of time,” Mr Perrottet said via Nine.com.au.
“We want to put downward pressure on family budgets, but importantly as well, we want to support those areas in those industries that have been doing it tough.”
The vouchers can be used at registered Discover NSW businesses, or as part of the Stay NSW program for accommodation providers, set to be launched on February 12. Parents will be able to pool multiple Stay NSW vouchers with family and friends to redeem $250 off the same booking.
The announcement of the new vouchers comes a week after Mr Perrottet shared that the state would be handing out $500 vouchers for every primary schoolkid in NSW to go towards before or after school care. Those vouchers will be available from February 28 and if you are eligible, will appear in your Service NSW app.
The $155 million programme was created as a much-needed stimulus for the out-of-school hours care industry, which has taken a hit over the last two years of the pandemic due to lockdown and restriction uncertainty and parents working from home.
The vouchers will cover the parent gap fee, the portion paid by families after the Commonwealth-funded childcare subsidy is applied. The daily cost of before or after-school care ranges from $20 to $40, and the gap fee for middle-income parents is about half that. Though the vouchers won’t cover vacation care, they will cover roughly 60 sessions of before and after-school care.
“Before and After School Care (BASC) services are more important than ever as families return to work following the holidays,” the Premier had said.
“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 forgoing paid work. 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.”
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