Is there still an education tax refund in Australia?

The Education Tax Refund (ETR) was abolished with effect from the 2012 income year. It was replaced by the Schoolkids Bonus, which was itself abolished in 2016. There is currently no federal tax offset, rebate, or refund for school-related expenses such as textbooks, stationery, computers, or uniforms.

This means that primary and secondary school education costs for your children, including private school fees, tutoring, computers bought for school use, and uniforms, are not deductible or refundable under federal tax law.

Some states and territories may offer targeted assistance programs for school costs, but these are welfare payments rather than tax mechanisms. The only education expenses that remain deductible at the federal level are self-education expenses that are directly connected to your own current employment or carry on a business. For example, a teacher paying for a professional development course, or an engineer paying for a relevant postgraduate degree while working in that field, can claim those costs as a work deduction. These must be for your own education, not your children's.