The Improving School Enrolment and Attendance through Welfare Reform Measure (SEAM) is an Australian Government measure to trial the attachment of conditions to income support and family assistance payments. Its aim is to encourage parents (or those with responsibility for a child) to ensure that their children of compulsory school age are enrolled in and attending school regularly.
Questions and Answers
Q. How does SEAM work?
SEAM uses possible suspension of income support and family assistance payments to encourage responsible parental behaviour towards their children’s schooling. This approach is supported by individual case management.
The relevant state, territory or independent education authority can inform Centrelink in instances where a child is not attending school regularly. Parents are required to show they are working with the school and their child to try to improve school attendance. Families will be offered support from school and from Centrelink social workers before any consideration is given to have support payments suspended.
Q. What happens when parents fail to enrol their children or children fail to attend school regularly under SEAM?
If parents cannot demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps in enrolling their children or ensuring their children attend school, they may have their income support payments temporarily suspended until action is taken.
Where a child has unsatisfactory school attendance despite the best efforts of their parents, no penalty will be imposed on parents.
Q. Who administers SEAM?
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) has overall responsibility for implementing this measure, and will work collaboratively with FaHCSIA, the state and territory governments, school and parent associations to implement this measure.
For more information, please visit the
DEEWR website.