Families with school aged children could be eligible for free internet under new government scheme

The Federal Government has announced plans to provide eligible families with school age children free internet in an attempt to “boost education opportunities and narrow the digital divide”.

The government said it had invested $8.8 million to provide up to 30,000 eligible families, who do not have access to the internet, with a free National Broadband Network (NBN) service.

The School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) will offer the free internet service until December 31, 2025.

According to the SSBI, an eligible family must have a child living at home who is enrolled in an Australian school, have no active broadband service over the NBN network, live in a home where they can access a standard NBN service and not have had an active NBN service during the last 14 days.

“Devices such as phones, tablets or computers are not included as part of the initiative,” the SSBI said.

“A router/modem will be provided to families by their chosen participating internet service provider to connect them to the NBN.”

Families can also be nominated for the free service by a participating nominating organisations such as The Salvation Army, The Smith Family and St Vincent De Paul.

To check your eligibility, click here.

Scammer warning

Applicants signing up for the free internet service have been warned that scammers “may try using the SSBI to impersonate a participating entity, such as NBN Co, to extort money”.

“It’s important to know that you will never be contacted and asked to provide bank details or to pay money to participate in SSBI by NBN Co. If you receive a suspicious phone call, report it immediately to the ACCC’s Scamwatch website.”