Welfare groups such as The Smith Family are running financial assistance programs to ensure poorer families can be better prepared for the back to school pocket pinch.
CEO of the Smith Family, Lisa O’ Brien told SBS their ‘Learning for Life’ initiative aims to provide brighter futures for children whose parents cannot afford to put them through school.
"We've bought for the kids some of the things they need for school and till today there are things that they still need that I just can't afford to buy them. It's not enough we only have $420 to spend on their school needs," she said.
That figure covers excursions, camps and discretionary items such as school photos.
Despite some help being available, the Smith family says it cannot meet the demands.
With the Education Maintenance Allowance scrapped last year, some families will miss out on assistance to send their kids to school.
The Al Shammeri family who migrated from Iraq early last year said they are struggling.
Nasr Al Shammeri told SBS: "We've bought for the kids some of the things they need for school and till today there are things that they still need that I just can't afford to buy them. It's not enough we only have $420 to spend on their school needs."
The Al Shmmeri family aren’t alone, in Australia more than 600,000 students live in households where only one parent works.
For the Al Shammeri family, it’s always been a dream to give their children a proper education, but the cost, Nasr says is still too much even with help.
Nasr says, "We came here to make our dream come true of giving our children a better education and for them to graduate for a better future. But in reality for many migrants and poorer families, it's very hard because of the cost issue."
Some welfare groups claim the cost of going back to school affects the quality of learning for disadvantaged kids.
Lisa O’Brien said: "We know that if kids aren't fully fitted out they struggle to engage with their learning and it has a very adverse effect on their education and performance."
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