CSEF Victoria Application for Kinship Carers: $400 Per Student for School Activities

What CSEF Pays For

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund pays $400 per eligible student per year in 2026 towards school camps, sporting activities, and excursions. The money goes directly to the school — it is not paid into your bank account — and the school allocates it against the child's activity costs throughout the year.

For a kinship carer paying for a child on a pension income, CSEF means the child does not have to sit out when classmates go on camp or join a sports program.

Who Qualifies

Two eligibility pathways:

Concession card pathway (most informal kinship carers): You hold a valid Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, or Veterans Affairs Gold Card on the first day of Term 1 or Term 2. The child must be enrolled at a registered Victorian school.

Out-of-home care pathway (formal kinship carers): A child in a formal out-of-home care arrangement can qualify without a concession card. Submit the CSEF application through the school.

For informal kinship carers, the concession card pathway is the standard route. The Foster Child Health Care Card (which is non-means-tested for non-parent carers) counts. So does a Pensioner Concession Card if you are on the Age Pension.

How to Apply

CSEF is applied for through the school, not through Centrelink or any government portal.

1. Ask the school office for the CSEF application form — most schools distribute it at the start of Term 1
2. Complete the form with your details and the child's details
3. Provide your concession card number and expiry date
4. Submit the form to the school office

The school verifies your concession card against Centrelink records and processes the application. If approved, the $400 is credited to the child's school account.

Deadlines

Applications are accepted from the start of Term 1. The annual deadline falls in late June — in 2026, applications close on 26 June. If the child starts at a new school mid-year, ask the new school whether it can submit an application before the deadline and confirm whether CSEF has already been paid for that year.

Eligibility is assessed on the concession card you hold on the first day of Term 1 or Term 2. If your card expires between those dates and you renew it, make sure the school has your updated card details before the deadline.

What CSEF Does Not Cover

CSEF is specifically for camps, sports, and excursions — not for school fees, uniforms, stationery, or textbooks. For those costs:

• State Schools' Relief provides free uniforms, shoes, and essential school supplies to families in financial hardship. The school principal or wellbeing coordinator applies on the child's behalf.
• School Hardship Subsidies — Victorian government school principals hold discretionary hardship funds that can waive essential learning item contributions, subject costs, and excursion fees beyond what CSEF covers.

The Victoria Kinship Carer Support guide covers CSEF alongside State Schools' Relief, the school hardship subsidies, and every other support available through the school.

See more Victoria guides →