Don't Forget to Claim Your Cash Rebate for "Creative Kids" in 2019

A range of budget measures in the NSW budget will help with the cost of living, including a new Creative Kids Rebate to save families $100 per school child to help meet the cost of creative extra-curricular activities.

From 1 January 2019, parents will be able to access both the $100 Active Kids voucher and the $100 Creative Kids Rebate each year for every school-aged child.

Parents will be able to access the rebate online or in person at a Service NSW centre.

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said easing the cost-of-living pressures for parents and helping children learn and experience new activities was central to Creative Kids.

“We want to give every encouragement and every opportunity for children to try new things and have the best start in life,” Mr Perrottet said.

“For a family with two children, Creative and Active Kids combined will save you $400 a year.”

The NSW Government is helping kids get creative with the new Creative Kids program.

From 1 January 2019, parents, guardians and carers can apply for a voucher with a value of up to $100 per calendar year for each student aged 4.5 to 18 years old enrolled in school.

The voucher may be used with a registered activity provider for registration, participation and membership costs for creative arts, speech, drama, dance, digital design, coding, and music lessons and activities.

The voucher can be used at any time during the calendar year it was issued.

To use the voucher, give the details to your registered activity provider.

The program runs year-round, so kids can get creative at any time. Further details HERE.

A $100 annual “Active Kids rebate” will also be paid to parents for each school aged child who engages in sport or swimming lessons. You can find more info on the active kids rebate here.

What a great initiative! I would love to see this in every state.

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53 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 09 Sep 2022
    11:10 am
How awesome if all states did this

- - MisChip said
  - 13 Jan 2019
    11:27 pm
It doesn’t seem like a lot of money. Not in comparison to the cost of the activities. I suppose it’s just a nice little bonus if you know about it.

- - musicmum said
  - 12 Jan 2019
    1:31 am
Wish it was available in Victoria.
- rachel1970 replied
  
  13 Jan 2019 , 8:54 am
  Me too, we always miss out down here!
- - mom101628 said
  - 11 Jan 2019
    9:57 pm
Never had rebates like this when my children were at school.

- - mom68673 said
  - 11 Jan 2019
    9:47 pm
What a great idea. It will help tremendously with those who want to enrol their children into activities but cant because of financial difficulties. Hopefully the government can make it across the whole of Australia.

- - mom176887 said
  - 11 Jan 2019
    9:46 pm
I see the article is about creative pursuits in activities (although many seem tobe commenting on using it for sports). Encouraging creativity is great especially if it can be applied to things that we really need – like new inventions and medical cures. Not to many will get jobs in creative arts per se. Also I’m not so sure that cultural dances etc. are of the same ‘value’ to society as other ‘creativity’, although there is research that music helps the brain develop in other areas too, so perhaps general stimulus for creativity in different pursuits can generally help the brain. Interesting policy. wonder how it will go!

- - mom339222 said
  - 11 Jan 2019
    9:44 pm
This would be great to see Australia wide not just NSW. Anything that encourages children and their parents to get out and get physical or creative is fantastic!

- - rnash02 said
  - 11 Jan 2019
    8:10 pm
This is fantastic! My 2 kids both do swimming and soccer and my daughter wants to learn an instrument.

- - Ellen said
  - 31 Dec 2018
    8:45 am
We’ll try to claim this for the music lessons of our 8yr old.
- Ellen replied
  
  12 Jan 2019 , 9:31 am
  We’ll most likely not able to claim it as she’ll probably goes to a therapeutic school.
  This rebate is beautiful, but rather luxe. To be honest I would rather see the government would cover all cost for psychological help for children !
- - ella12 said
  - 20 Dec 2018
    4:32 pm
Agreed. It should be across every state in Australia not just NSW.

- - KitchensDirect said
  - 20 Dec 2018
    11:58 am
I’d love to know why to know why this rebate is not extended to families across Australia?
- mom19782016 replied
  
  11 Jan 2019 , 8:34 pm
  Me too!!!!! We’d really benefit from this rebate but don’t live in NSW
- - sars_angelchik said
  - 20 Dec 2018
    8:46 am
what about the rest of Australia? That’d go a long way towards ballet classes.

- - rovermum said
  - 19 Dec 2018
    8:48 am
I don’t think the Government needs to provide money for such activities. I would rather infrastructure and essential services such as emergency services, education, medical, etc. receive more money.
- mom318672 replied
  
  19 Dec 2018 , 10:35 am
  I definitely think it should. Sports is so expensive these days, and there is plenty of money in the budget for infrastructure etc. The amount of parents I know that can only afford one sport, or only every second term etc due to money issues, this will help them out enormously!
- - rnash02 said
  - 19 Dec 2018
    5:47 am
This is great, with 2 children in swimming lessons, soccer plus a daughter that likes to dance and wants to learn a musical instrument.

- - ~Loui~ said
  - 19 Dec 2018
    1:22 am
This would be great to help out with rock climbing and horse riding lessons

- - mom265671 said
  - 18 Dec 2018
    9:42 pm
Why cant this be for all states. Great initiative!

- - Number One Mum said
  - 18 Dec 2018
    9:24 pm
Does Victoria has any grant’s like that for school age children as my Daughter Start’s prep next year ?????

- - musicmum said
  - 18 Dec 2018
    8:10 pm
This should be national.

- - mom101628 said
  - 13 Dec 2018
    10:58 pm
Pity we don’t live in NSW

- - MuthaNita said
  - 13 Dec 2018
    10:29 pm
I preferred the schoolkids bonus. No point offering these incentives to help with costs of living when most parents are paying off public school fees over half the year as they can’t afford to pay it upfront. Would be great if they focused on the needs before the wants. If I could use this to help pay for the $90 a year in sport fees and $90 a year for music that we’re paying for at school instead it would help so much more.