$500 before and after school vouchers extended in NSW

The $500 before and after school care voucher program has been extended for New South Wales families.

Parents of school-aged children are able to apply for the vouchers to cover the costs of before and after school care over the summer holidays.

"We know these have been an incredible success and made a real difference for families right across NSW," Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

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More than 263,000 vouchers have been redeemed since the program was introduced earlier this year with $100 million out of the $155 million scheme being used.

What do the vouchers cover?

The $500 vouchers are available per child and can be used to cover the costs of before and after school care.

Customer Service and Digital Government Minister Victor Dominello said families can choose one of the 940 registered providers to spend the voucher at.

"You can choose where you get the most bang for your buck," he said.

Dominello said before and after school care costs about $30 per session.

What's new is parents can give the vouchers to grandparents or babysitters who will be looking after the children over the summer holidays to use on out-of-school-hours care.

"You can't give it to somebody else as the voucher is for the child and the parent still applies for it," he said.

"But if the parent says they want to give it to the grandparent who is then going to look after the child in relation to before and after school care, they can then go to the registered organisation.

"Same for the babysitter."

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When are the deadlines for the vouchers?

Families can now apply for the vouchers until January 31, 2023.

The vouchers can be used for services up to June 30, 2023.

Who will benefit?

Families with children starting kindergarten in 2023 will now also be able to access the vouchers.

"It will be a significant help for parents with a child going into kindergarten," Perrottet said.

"That's the logic behind this extension."

The program is intended to help families with cost-of-living pressures and to help parents juggle work and family life responsibilities through the summer period.

How do I apply?

Families can go through the Service NSW app, website or service centre to apply for the vouchers.

"Customers can also use an easy-to-navigate tool on the Service NSW website to locate a participating BASC provider near them to make the process of redeeming their vouchers as simple as possible," Dominello said.