Chris Trevor (Flynn, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 and it is with a great sense of pride that I do so. The bill is designed to amend the existing Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 by introducing a refundable tax offset for eligible parents or carers who are faced with the cost of providing educational material for a child or children in their care. This bill introduces for the first time the notion of a tax offset for legitimate education expenses to reduce the tax liability of the taxpayer. I personally feel that this bill is at the very heart of the government’s agenda of investing in education and making life easier for working Australians.

The bill aims to introduce a 50 per cent education tax refund set at two distinct limits: one for pupils enrolled in primary school studies and the other for students enrolled in recognised secondary school studies. The primary school limit will see eligible parents or guardians able to claim a 50 per cent refundable tax offset each year, up to an amount of $750 per year per child for eligible education expenses. This would see an amount of up to $375 per year per child refunded back to parents or caregivers. The secondary school limit will be set at $1,500 and will also be a 50 per cent refundable tax offset, which would see up to $750 per year per child refunded back to Australian parents or guardians. The method behind the two distinctly different refund amounts is in recognition of the different cost burden between a primary-school-age child and a secondary-school-age child, with the latter being, in general terms, more costly. As a member with five children, all of varying ages—now with some off my hands, thankfully—I can certainly agree that, as a child gets older, their education and the resources they need to complete their education do become more expensive. For those whose children also play sport, that additional burden or cost is often prohibitive, though it should never be.

Perhaps my government could look at this aspect of cost to parents—namely, the rising cost of playing sport—from a tax deductibility point of view down the track. In addition, I take the point of the member for Mayo, Mr Briggs, in relation to the investing in our—

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