LABOUR DAY

On Monday 10th March 2025, it is a public holiday, to acknowledge Labour Day. Labour Day in Australia celebrates workers’ roles in contributing to the nation’s economy. It is an annual public holiday. It commemorates the granting of the eight-hour working day for Australians.

The history of Labour Day spans over a century. It remembers those who struggled and succeeded to ensure decent and fair working conditions applied in Australia. During the mid to late 1800s the working day was long and arduous, where some employees would work up to twelve hours a day, six days a week. Many Australians saw the need for better working conditions and in the 1850s there was a strong push for this.

On April 21, 1856, the stonemasons at the University of Melbourne marched to Parliament to push for an eight-hour working day. An agreement with employees for a forty-eight-hour week was eventually reached and Australians welcomed the eight-hour day.

SCHOOL PHOTOS - 26th MARCH

The impulse for all of us to save our recorded memories is a powerful force which is why school photos have been treasured since schools began. School photos are a record of time and place, of friendships, a record of a child’s growth and a wonderful way for parents to share their loved one with the wider family circle.

Please make sure your child is in the correct school uniform and, if hair is long, please tie it back with a dark blue or black ribbon or band. Remember to wear black shoes and the correct colour and length socks.

CAMPS, SPORTS, AND EXCURSION FUND (CSEF)

The Camps, Sports, and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like school camps or trips, swimming and school-organized sport programs, outdoor education programs and excursions and incursions.

Payments for 2025 are $125.00 for eligible primary school students and $225.00 for eligible secondary school students. The payment is made directly to the school.

Families holding a valid means-tested concession card such as:

• Veterans Affairs Gold Card
• Centrelink Health Card
• Pensioners Concession Card

Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school. A special consideration category exists for: 

• families on a bridging visa, temporary protection visa, are in community detention or are asylum seeker families – a letter from Australian Red Cross or similar welfare institution, visa grant notice or ImmiCards is required as evidence.
• students in temporary out of home care arrangements, including statutory kinship care – a letter of support from the institution facilitating the arrangement (for example Mackillop Family Services) or the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing is required as evidence. Copies of court orders are not required.

Applications for special consideration can be made through the standard application form

• from March onwards each year where the parent/carer’s concession card is assessed as valid on the first day of Term One; and
• until 27th June when the parent/carer’s concession card is assessed as valid at the end of Term Two.
• Year Seven and Prep students in government schools who receive funds are also able to get support for school uniforms. For more information regarding this initiative, see State Schools' Relief.

Applications can be entered from 30th January 2025. Parents/carers wishing to apply for CSEF payments for 2025 must submit their application form to the relevant school by 27th June 2025. Please refer to the link attached for application form. Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund application form.