Free internet initiative to help struggling WA families extended for an extra year

A Federal Government program offering free NBN to disadvantaged school students has been extended for an extra year with a $4.3 million funding boost.

More than 400 families in WA have signed up for the School Student Broadband Initiative to connect to the internet at home for free, which will now be until the end of 2025.

A total of 384 of them have already been connected — a jump of 68 in the past month — and 54 others are waiting for the free service to be installed in the State.

Around 2500 vouchers have been issued to West Australians since the program launched in February but the take-up to redeem them has been slow.

To bolster numbers, a new National Referral Centre — led by Anglicare Victoria — has started to allow families to nominate themselves for the program instead of relying on community organisations to reach out to them.

The Initiative is being provided to up to 30,000 households nationwide if they have a school-aged child living at home and no active broadband service with the NBN network.

It saves struggling families hundreds of dollars and ensures children are not disadvantaged when they leave the classroom by having access to a reliable internet service at home.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland the program — the first of its kind in Australia — was aimed at helping households struggling with cost-of-living pressures.

“In 2023, Australian school students should have access to reliable, fast broadband to fully participate in online learning at school and at home,” Ms Rowland said.

”The (initiative) is already helping to change the lives of over 5000 families across the country. The flow on benefits for participants are immense, with families able to access essential services like telehealth from home for the first time.”

The additional funding takes the Commonwealth investment in the program to $8.8 million and the funding extension means families can continue to sign up for the program until December 31, next year.

To apply, contact the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 or visit www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet.