Supporting Families with Free Home Broadband

The Albanese Government’s number one priority is delivering cost-of-living help for hardworking Australian families. We have delivered tax cuts, energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, childcare and fee-free TAFE. We are also making sure families with school children who don’t have home broadband are not left behind.

Our School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) is connecting up to 30,000 eligible households with free home broadband via the National Broadband Network (NBN). Learning does not end at the school gate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and I saw this first-hand when we visited students at St John XXIII in Stanhope Gardens earlier this month.

At St John XXIII, and in classrooms across Australia, students are using technology and the internet to support their learning. Broadband facilitates educational outcomes and future opportunities. While many Australian families have home broadband, some do not. We know that affordability and cost-of-living pressures are barriers for some.

That’s why the Albanese Labor Government is investing $8.8 million to ensure no child is left behind. We extended this important cost-of-living measure through to 31 December 2025, meaning more Australian families can benefit from free home broadband for longer. This is making a real difference, saving families who sign up today around $1,000 – that’s real cost-of-living relief. More than 16,000 families – including 3,500 in NSW – are now connected, with more than a third of them living in rural and regional areas.

We are hearing from parents, schools, charities and community organisations around Australia about the positive impact this initiative is having.

One mum, on the disability pension after an accident four years ago, described the growing financial cost of having to use mobile data for broadband access, and how relieved she was that her child – the only one without internet at home – is finally online. There are thousands more stories just like this one.

I encourage families to reach out and find out if they are eligible to take part. Registrations close later this year – so don’t delay!

To be eligible families must:

• Have a child living at home and enrolled in an Australian school;
• Be referred by a nominating organisation or self-nominate through the National Referral Centre;
• Have no active broadband service over the NBN network
• Live in a premises where they can access a standard NBN service

For more information visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/SSBI or contact the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 (Mon-Fri 10am to 6pm)