New government initiative offering free NBN for up to 30,000 families

An Australian Government initiative will offer free NBN connection for 12 months to up to 30,000 families who currently have no home internet.

From late February, eligible families with school age children will be selected by participating schools, educational authorities and charity organisations including the Smith Family, Catholic Network Australia and Catholic Education WA.

Free NBN services for families under the initiative will be provided by several retail service providers including Aussie Broadband, Belong (Telstra), Exetel, Field Solutions Group, Launtel, Lemonade Broadband (Connected Australia), SkyMesh, Superloop and Vodafone (TPG).

The initiative will kick off during the first school term in 2023 with the year of free service starting the day the service is activated for each family.

The government is kicking in with a $4.5 million grant to support the initial implementation and delivery of the initiative which is looking to address digital exclusion and education.

The initiative will offer 50Mbps fixed line services along with Sky Muster Plus services if families live in remote areas. all plans will have large or unlimited data quotas.

“Aussie Broadband has always believed in the power of connectivity to combat inequity, and it’s why we were proud to be one of the few RSPs to help drive the Government Initiative pilot program,” Aussie Broadband chief strategy officer Jonathan Prosser said.

To be eligible:

– A family with a student in their first year of compulsory primary school to year 12 is nominated by a participating organisation.

– The nominated family has no active NBN service.

– The student has access to digital skills training and devices to safely use the internet.