This was done as part of the School Student Broadband Initiative, delivering real cost-of-living support for families doing it tough.

The School Student Broadband Initiative—launched in February last year—fulfils an election commitment to help narrow the digital divide for families who otherwise have no access to broadband at home.

Since its launch, the SSBI has:

• Connected 15,000 eligible families to a free NBN service across all states and territories, with more than a third living in rural and regional areas.
• Saved 15,000 families thousands of dollars each by connecting them to a free NBN service until the end of 2025, and
• Benefit students and families across a range of situations, including single parents and domestic and family violence victim-survivors.
• The initiative, which is being implemented by NBN Co. with $8.8 million from the Albanese Government, will end up supporting up to 30,000 families across the country.

To apply, families are encouraged to contact the National Referral Centre, run by Anglicare Victoria.

To be eligible, a family must:

• Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school.
• There is no active broadband service over the NBN network.
• Live in a premise where they can access a standard NBN service.
• I have not had an active NBN service during the previous 14 days.
• The government is also considering options to continue to support participating families at the end of 2025, including asking the NBN Low-Income and Digital Inclusion Forum to examine discounted products.

This article also appears on Comms Room. For more details, click here.

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