By Rachel Eddie and Alex Crowe
Uniform shops have demanded the state government pay up after being left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket by the $400 school saving bonus.
The Allan government’s cornerstone promise to cut the cost of living allowed parents to fund uniforms, textbooks and school camps for every state school student and for families with concession cards at non-government schools.
Schools were overwhelmed by questions from exasperated parents when the voucher launched.Credit: Getty Images
Providers such as uniform shops can then claim the money directly from the relevant school. During the school holidays, the Education Department handled the invoices.
But a month on, tardy bill payments have left at least two stores up to $35,000 out of pocket more than a month after they sent invoices to the department.
“Suppliers are wanting to be paid. BAS [business activity statement] needs to be paid; wages, rent, all those things need to be paid,” said Patricia Robinson, who sells uniforms to 20 Victorian schools through her B-CUT stores in Wodonga and Myrtleford. “It’s been a really stressful situation.”
Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson wrote to the government on Thursday demanding it pay up.
Government departments and agencies are required to pay invoices within 10 business days for contracts valued below $3 million. Failure to do so means suppliers can claim a penalty for lost interest.
Robinson said her first invoice went out before Christmas and the last one in mid-January. The Education Department paid B-Cut $19,000 on January 15, but was yet to settle the second $35,000 bill, she said.
With the tax office expecting her quarterly business activity statement on Friday to pay federal taxes and meet all her overheads, she has been left in a difficult position.
Robinson said a surge of parents wanting to spend their vouchers meant the shop had run out of stock, which takes several months to be custom-made and ordered in.
The sales were welcome, she said, but her business was now struggling to meet the needs of school families.
Patricia Robinson supplies 20 Victorian schools with uniforms through her store B-CUT.
“Obviously, there was a bit more sales, but I feel like it has just been condensed into a shorter space because of the state school bonus. I don’t have any more stock to make any further sales,” she said.
“It wasn’t thought out. It wasn’t planned.”
Brunella School Wear owner Elissa May said the Education Department owed her about $20,000 under the scheme for an invoice sent five weeks ago.
“There will be so many businesses that would have more massive chunks owed than that. But it all adds up,” she said.
”I’ve got no stock, I’ve got no money to buy stock. I can’t pay wages. I’ve got my BAS due and there’s no way I can afford that.
“It was like they threw a cat out the door and then shut the door behind them. Now we and the schools are the ones left running it.”
Wilson wrote to Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll on Thursday demanding the businesses be urgently paid.
“I understand that under the program they were advised invoices would be paid in five days, and that was the case during school terms when the individual schools were managing their invoices,” Wilson wrote in the letter, obtained by The Age.
“However, during the school holidays, invoicing was directed to the Department of Education, and these are the invoices that are outstanding.”
In a statement, she said the program was rushed and poorly targeted from the beginning.
“Local small businesses that have participated in this program in good faith are now facing cashflow issues because Labor cannot pay its bills on time,” she said.
When it rolled out in November, the $280 million scheme was marred by technical glitches that left Victorian schools fielding calls from anxious parents.
The department said it had paid 4878 invoices worth $37.5 million. “The Department of Education is making sure that all outstanding invoices are paid as a matter of urgency, either through schools or through the department,” a spokesman said.
“Uniform suppliers who have concerns regarding the payment of an invoice after the 10 days are encouraged to contact the school saving bonus support team.”
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