Premier's Back to School NSW Vouchers – Guidelines

Guidelines for the Premier's Back to School NSW Vouchers program, designed to support families with school-enrolled children with the cost of living pressures.

School excursions

Schools can accept vouchers for excursions, structured learning experiences, sporting or other extracurricular activities. Find out more about eligible expenses.

Text size

1. About the program

1.1 Administered by Service NSW and the NSW Department of Education on behalf of the NSW Government, the Premier's Back to School program (Program) aims to support families with school-enrolled children with the cost of living pressures.

1.2 The purpose of the Program is to:

(a) provide support to assist parents, guardians and carers with purchasing back to school supplies for their children;

(b) incentivise consumer spending on school equipment for children; and

(c) provide cash flow to school shops and retail businesses and not-for-profit organisations that provide school supplies (together, the Businesses).

2. Funding

2.1 The Program involves the provision of three $50 ‘Back to School’ vouchers totalling $150 per child.

2.2 The vouchers can be used towards the cost of school supplies and excursions at registered Businesses from 12 December 2022 until 30 June 2023. To be covered by the Program, the expense must be for a school child and listed in Appendix A (Eligible Expenses).

3. Eligibility

3.1 Customers

(a) To be eligible for the program, a child must be:

(i) a NSW resident; and

(ii) enrolled to attend school in 2023 (from kindergarten to year 12, including children who are home-schooled or enrolled in year 10 or year 12 equivalent qualifications at TAFE NSW).

3.2 Businesses

(a) To participate in the Program, Businesses must:

(i) operate in NSW;

(ii) have a valid bank account;

(iii) have a current and active Australian Business Number;

(iv) supply Eligible Expenses (for the avoidance of doubt, Businesses that supply other items in addition to Eligible Expenses are eligible); and

(v) be defined by at least one of the ANZSIC Codes in Appendix B, or if not defined by at least one of the ANZSIC Codes in Appendix B, otherwise meets the eligibility criteria at 3.2(a)(i)-(iv). 

4. Application process

4.1 Customers

(a) To apply, you must be either:

(i) the parent/guardian/carer of the child(ren), to apply on their behalf and a NSW resident; or

(ii) the child, to apply on behalf of yourself;

(together, the Applicants).

(b) Applicants must:

(i) log in to their MyServiceNSW Account and apply through the Service NSW application or website. Applicants applying as the child may need to lodge an application in person; and

Note: Applicants that do not have a MyServiceNSW Account can register for a MyServiceNSW Account or an Assisted MyServiceNSW Account by contacting 13 77 88 or visiting a Service NSW Centre or Mobile Service Centre. Please contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 if you are unable to lodge an application through a MyServiceNSW Account.

(ii) provide proof of identity document such as your NSW driver licence or Australian passport for the Applicant; and

(iii) state the name of the educational institution in which the child is enrolled or home-schooling.

(c) Only one Applicant can apply per child. Applicants can apply for multiple children in the same application.

(d) Where the school-enrolled child has parents, guardians or carers at separate addresses and spends time at both addresses, the parent, guardian or carer (as applicable) must appoint one person to apply for the full set of vouchers.

(e) If successful, the vouchers will be under the “Voucher” section of the Service NSW account and an email will be sent from Service NSW with the vouchers available to download and print. Customers applying for vouchers by contacting 13 77 88 or by visiting a Service NSW Centre may receive their vouchers via SMS, email or as printed paper vouchers.

(f) Applicants who do not have a current Medicare card or are experiencing difficulty with the requirements can contact Service NSW on 13 77 88.

4.2 Businesses

(a) Businesses must be registered as a Program provider through Service NSW Business Profile or website.

(b) Businesses may appoint an authorised representative to register for the Program on behalf of the Business. The authorised representative must provide:

(i) details of and proof of authority to act on behalf of the Business; and

(ii) an attestation that the Business will comply with the Terms and Conditions as if they are the Business.

(c) Businesses must:

(i) have a smartphone or tablet to scan and accept vouchers in person using the Business Profile. Service NSW will provide details of how to scan vouchers for Businesses accepted into the Program, or

(ii) integrate with the Service NSW API to accept vouchers online.

(d) Businesses that have provided incorrect or false details may be deregistered from the Program.

5. Voucher use

5.1 Service NSW will provide three $50 vouchers in the form of:

(a) digital vouchers,

(b) SMS codes, or

(c) paper vouchers.

5.2 Each voucher can be used separately, or multiple vouchers can be used in the same purchase. For example:

  • one voucher can be used at a Business for books, then two vouchers can be pooled together for one transaction at a Business for uniforms, or
  • all three vouchers can be pooled together for one transaction at a Business for school shoes.

5.3 Multiple vouchers can be redeemed in the same transaction up to the total, even where the vouchers are issued for different children.

5.4 Each voucher can only be redeemed once. If the transaction is less than the total value of the voucher, the remaining balance is forfeited and cannot be used in another transaction. For example, if the transaction is $96.50 and two vouchers, totalling $100 are redeemed, the remaining $3.50 is forfeited.

5.5 Vouchers must be used during the operating period of the Program. Each voucher is valid until 30 June 2023.

5.6 Vouchers can only be used to contribute towards Eligible Expenses.

5.7 Vouchers may be used in conjunction with other discounts, at the discretion of the Business.

5.8 Vouchers may only be used subject to the following conditions:

(a) the voucher amount is fixed;

(b) vouchers cannot be reloaded or topped up;

(c) vouchers can only be used at a Business. Applicants should check the Business is registered on the Service NSW Business and Voucher Finder before using their voucher;

(d) vouchers are non-transferable and must be used by the Applicant who has registered to receive the voucher; and

(e) vouchers cannot be transferred or used by Applicants other than the registered Applicant and cannot be traded for cash including with any other person.

5.9 Vouchers cannot be:

(a) pooled together with vouchers from other programs – for example, with Before and After School Care, Active Kids, and Creative Kids vouchers;

(b) donated to charity or transferred to another recipient;

(c) exchanged for cash, a gift voucher or a credit note from the Business;

(d) used to pay for anything other than an Eligible Expense.

5.10 Customers

(a) Applicants are responsible for ensuring they can cover the cost of the Eligible Expenses, including if the Business does not accept the voucher or if the voucher has expired.

(b) Applicants may report businesses they consider to be non-compliant via the Service NSW application or website. This may lead to investigation and/or deregistration of the Business from the Program.

(c) Applicants who believe their vouchers have been fraudulently used may contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 to discuss.

(d) Applicants must not access any more vouchers than those to which they are entitled, being three $50 vouchers only per child.

(e) Vouchers will be made available to Applicants as a QR code which can be displayed in the Service NSW application or printed. A unique alphanumeric voucher code is also issued which can be entered manually if required.

(f) Applicants must use their voucher(s) at the point of sale with the Business by:

(i) presenting the voucher using their mobile device;

(ii) providing the voucher QR code; or

(iii) presenting the printed voucher.

(g) Applicants can view on their MyServiceNSW Account how many active vouchers they have remaining.

5.11 Businesses

(a) Businesses must recognise the voucher as one contribution to payment. Businesses must recognise vouchers pooled together with other payment methods. Businesses must allow payment by at least two different payment methods – i.e. one voucher and one other payment type if a bill is more than a voucher amount.

(b) Businesses must not accept vouchers in exchange for goods gifted to them.

(c) Businesses may, at their discretion, accept a voucher in conjunction with other discounts.

(d) Businesses are responsible for ensuring vouchers are applied to the cost of Eligible Expenses only.

(e) Businesses will not be reimbursed for fraudulent or invalid vouchers.

(f) Businesses may only seek reimbursement of vouchers for which they have actually provided goods.

(g) Businesses must not artificially inflate prices or ‘price gouge’ as a result of accepting vouchers. Businesses found to be engaging in these practices may be investigated and deregistered from the Program.

(h) Businesses that do not comply with these guidelines or the Terms and Conditions (including those found to be non-compliant during random audits, spot checks and mystery shops) will be deregistered from the Program. Such Businesses will forfeit the value of any remaining vouchers available to them at the date of deregistration. Payments will not be made to Businesses for transactions after the date of deregistration from the Program.

(i) Businesses must set up voucher registration prior to accepting vouchers.

(j) Businesses may redeem vouchers through an application on devices nominated by the owner of the registered Business’ Business Profile. Businesses can register/de-register multiple scanning devices from inside their Business Profile.

(k) Businesses can either scan the Applicant’s QR code or enter the accompanying serial number to redeem the voucher.

(l) Businesses will automatically be paid within 5 business days for the value of vouchers redeemed.

(m) Where goods have been pre-purchased or ordered for delivery, and the Business is unable to fulfil that order for any reason, the Business must allow the Applicant to use the value of the voucher to make another purchase for other goods, provided the purchase is made before the Program ends.

(n) Businesses will have until 16 June 2023 to register for the program.

6. Important information

6.1 These guidelines are correct at the time of publishing.

6.2 Service NSW may request further information as necessary to assess an application. Failure to comply with such request may lead to rejection.

6.3 Applicants and Businesses must declare the information provided in their application is true and correct. Penalties may apply for false or misleading information. Where false or misleading information is provided, applications may be referred to law enforcement.

6.4 Service NSW and the NSW Department of Education reserve the right to amend, alter or change these guidelines at any time, and it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that they check the relevant website prior to application.

6.5 The guidelines that apply to your application will be the guidelines that are current at the time your application is assessed by Service NSW.

6.6 Service NSW reserves the right to refuse an application where eligibility criteria are not met, or where the applicant does not or cannot provide sufficient information to determine if eligibility criteria have been met.

6.7 Applications submitted may be subject to audit activities by Service NSW or its agents, the purpose of which will be to determine compliance with program guidelines and Terms and Conditions.

6.8 Vouchers used other than in accordance with these guidelines and the Terms and Conditions will be repayable on demand.

7. Monitoring and evaluation

7.1 To ensure compliance with the Terms and Conditions, unannounced audits, spot compliance checks and ‘mystery shops’ may be conducted at random for Businesses participating in the Program.

7.2 Service NSW will seek feedback from Businesses on their reason for registering for the Program.

7.3 Uptake and usage will be reported live on a dashboard owned and hosted by Service NSW in order to monitor impact and issues and make changes as needed. The dashboard will be made available to relevant staff in government agencies including the Department of Customer Service, NSW Treasury and the NSW Department of Education. The information reported on the dashboard includes:

(a) number of customer registrations (including by age and postcode);

(b) number of Business registrations (including by industry type and postcode);

(c) number of vouchers redeemed (including by voucher type and location); and

(d) total value of payments completed, in process and requested.

8. Definitions

8.1 Terms or expressions starting with a capital letter have the meaning given in this section.

  • ANZSIC Code means the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification code.
  • Applicant has the meaning given in clause 4.1(a).
  • Back to School Provider means a Business that has successfully registered for the Program.
  • Business has the meaning given in clause 1.2(c).
  • Business Profile means the online portal provided by Service NSW for Business customers.
  • Eligible Expense has the meaning given in clause 2.2.
  • Program has the meaning given in clause 1.1.
  • School Excursions means excursions, incursions, extracurricular and/or after-school activities. 
  • Service NSW Business and Voucher Finder means the directory of all registered Businesses, provided by Service NSW.
  • Terms and Conditions means the terms and conditions applicable to the Program and published on the Service NSW website.

Appendix A: Eligible expenses

Eligible purchases are limited to the following:

  1. School uniforms, including:
    1. shoes and socks
    2. hats, and
    3. sports uniform and shoes.
  2. School equipment, including:
    1. school bags
    2. lunch boxes
    3. drink bottles
    4. umbrellas and/or raincoats
    5. necessary protective equipment (for students enrolled in specialised classes such as chemistry, who may require goggles or a lab coat), or
    6. tools or equipment specific to sports or other programs (for students participating in sports, art or musical classes, who may require sporting gear, art supplies or musical instruments).
  3. School-prescribed textbooks or other reading material.
  4. Lesson resources (such as art diaries, major work materials, elective subject resources)
  5. Other stationery, including but not limited to:
    1. exercise books
    2. pens/pencils
    3. coloured pencils/crayons
    4. textas/highlighters
    5. erasers
    6. pencil cases
    7. rulers
    8. sharpeners
    9. glue
    10. scissors
    11. calculators, or
    12. geometry sets.
  6. Technology for the purpose of school work:
    1. computers
    2. laptops
    3. keyboards
    4. headphones
    5. mice
    6. tablets.
  7. Customers may also use vouchers towards the costs of:
    1. School Excursions that are:
      1. paid to or via the the school in which the child is enrolled
      2. domestic, and
      3. taking place during the 2023 academic year (Note: vouchers must be redeemed before 30 June 2023)
    2. transportation to and from the school excursions, incursions and/or extracurricular activities covered by number 7.a. 

Appendix B: ANZSIC list

Code Industry
1351 Clothing Manufacturing
3736 Paper Product Wholesaling
4110 Supermarket and grocery stores
4251 Clothing retailing
4252 Footwear retailing
4259 Other personal accessory retailing (luggage/bags)
4260 Department stores
4244 Newspaper and book retailing
4272 Stationery goods retailing
4273 Antique and Used Goods Retailing
4279 Other store-based retailing n.e.c. (craft supplies, musical instruments)
5101 Postal services
9559 Other interest group services n.e.c. (P&C/NfP)
8021 Primary education
8022 Secondary education
8023 Combined primary and secondary education
8024 Special school education

Registration with other ANZSIC codes

If your business is defined by an ANZSIC code that does not appear on this list, you may be eligible based on our assessment of the school supplies your business sells. 

You can:

Related information

Last updated: 7 February 2023