Student Internet Program FAQs

• What is the SSBI’s objective?

  The School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) aims to boost education opportunities by providing up to 30,000 Australian eligible families with school age children (K-12), with free nbn-powered broadband internet at home for one year.

• Are devices included in the initiative?

  Devices such as phone, tablets or computers are not included with the Initiative. A router/modem will be provided to families by their chosen participating internet provider to connect them to the nbn network.

• How is eligibility determined?

  To be eligible for the School Student Broadband Initiative, families must:

  • Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school in
  • Not have an active nbn® network internet service at home. Having a mobile internet service does not affect
  • Be referred by a nominating

  Live in a premises that can access the nbn network.

• Can a family struggling to pay the cost of their existing broadband connection be involved?

  To be eligible for the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI), families must not have an active nbn broadband internet connection. Families with other forms of internet connectivity, such as 4G or 5G wireless services over mobile, are eligible to be nominated by Nominating Organisations.

• How can a family get nominated? Who can they speak to?

  To be eligible for the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI), families must be identified and referred by a Nominating Organisation – such as Anglicare Victoria.

• How can my family learn more about keeping safe on the internet (e-safety)?

  Information on protecting against scams is available at https://www.esafety.gov.au/ and on the nbn website: Protect yourself from scams | nbn (nbnco.com.au)

  Additional e-safety materials are available here: Learn the basics | Cyber.gov.au; Cyber | Australian Federal Police (afp.gov.au).

• How is personal information of families being managed?

  nbn will only receive address information from nominating organisations to check eligibility of premises. nbn does not ask for personal information about families or students as part of the initiative.

  Participating internet providers are expected to manage the personal information of eligible families in the same way they manage information of existing customers.

• Do nominating organisations require family consent to perform an eligibility check?

  nbn’s standard ‘Check Your Address’ nbn network connection status and technology type checking function on nbn’s website (at https://www.nbnco.com.au/connect-home-or-business/check-your-address) can be used by anyone to check the connection status of any address in Australia. An address on its own is not personal information.

  If the Nominating Organisation (e.g., schools, education departments, charities, and community organisations) is collecting personal information (e.g., as name and/or contact details together with a residential address) from potential SSBI families it is the responsibility of those organisations to manage any relevant consent requirements and comply with all privacy laws.

• Where can families get information about safe internet usage?

  Families are encouraged to get information and resources to help use their home broadband connection safely from the eSafety Commission site: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

• What if a family is deemed ineligible for some reason by an internet service provider (RSP) once a voucher has been issued?

  In the event a family seeks to redeem an eligible voucher with an internet service provider as part of the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI), and that voucher does not work, the internet service provider should contact nbn for resolution.

• How long do SSBI services run for?

  An nbn-powered home broadband service will be provided to eligible students and their families for one-year. The 12-month period starts from the day they activate an eligible School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI), service e.g., if a family connects on 29 February 2024, they will have an SSBI service until 29 May 2024.

  The last date when eligible families can place an order to receive an SSBI service, using an eligible voucher, is 30 September 2023 (or earlier if 30,000 national orders are activated before this date).

• Will the family be contacted by the internet provider at the end of one year?

  Prior to the end of the one-year period nbn expects that the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) participating internet provider will advise a participating family of their options. Internet providers should not automatically place families onto a paid service without their consent.

• Where can families receive technical support?

  From their School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) internet service provider during the one-year service period.

• How many families can be nominated? Is there a quota?

  Up to 30,000 places for eligible families are available nationally and uptake will be monitored with the aim of enabling fair distribution across states and territories. Places are limited and nominated families are encouraged to activate their service as soon as possible upon receiving a voucher.

• Where can a family who has been nominated go to find more information about the initiative?
  • If they have been identified as potentially eligible, by contacting their Nominating Organisation
  • Visiting com.au/ssbi
  • Calling the [nbn] SSBI Help Desk on 1800 626 269
  • Visiting Australian Government website School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
• Do nominating organisations require family consent to support the family through the SSBI process involved in obtaining the eligibility voucher?

  Yes. It is the responsibility of the nominating organisations to manage any relevant consent requirements. Nominating Organisations, who will be collecting personal information, are obliged to comply with all privacy laws.

• What monitoring or research is involved in the initiative?

  nbn will provide the Australian Government and Nominating Organisations with the following:

  • Total number of nominations received by nbn (broken down by Nominating Organisation and geographical distribution across the states and territories)
  • Total number of families deemed eligible and ineligible (broken down by Nominating Organisation and geographical distribution across the states and territories)
  • Total number of families connected (broken down by Nominating Organisation, geographical distribution across the state and territories, and by internet provider).
  • Quota remaining per Nominating Organisation.

  Where families provide consent to the Nominating Organisation, the following information will be captured by Nominating Organisations and provided to nbn to enable nbn to provide the information to the Australian Government for the Government’s own reporting purposes:

  • Home address.
  • Number of school students in the household; and
  • Student year information captured (limited to Primary, Secondary, Year 11/12).
  • This information will be captured for School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) evaluation purposes by the Australian Government.
• Can a family move to a new service provider during the 12- month period?

  No. A School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) home internet service is not able to be migrated or transferred to another SSBI internet provider.

  You can choose to disconnect and leave the initiative at any time within the 12- month period. If you cancel, you cannot re-join later.

• If I move home during the 12-month period, will I lose my free internet service?

  No. If you are eligible for the SSBI Offer and move house during the 12-month period, your chosen internet provider will work with you to continue your free internet service if the next home you move into can be serviced by nbn.

• I have a mobile phone plan with my service provider. Do I need to change to a different service provider to take up the SSBI Offer, if I’m eligible?

  Mobile services and home broadband services are two different types of services.

  If you are eligible for the free 12-month SSBI Offer, you can choose one of the internet providers that are participating in the SSBI and provide services to your home.

• If I am renting my home and I’m eligible for the SSBI Offer, is that going to be a problem?

  nbn has a detailed guide for renters who are connecting to the nbn network for the first time – please visit this website: Preparing to connect | nbn (nbnco.com.au)

• Are landline phones included in initiative?

  The Australian Government commitment is to deliver access to one-year free nbn broadband internet. Internet providers may include landline phone services as an additional service at their discretion.

• If I have a home phone, does this mean I am connected to the nbn network?

  Not necessarily as nbn does not connect every home in Australia.

  If you are uncertain if you have your home phone connected to nbn or over the existing landline network , it is recommended you contact your phone line provider or you can follow the steps below in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) ‘How do I use the nbn website address checker to check if my home is connected to the nbn network?’ to self check.

• How can internet providers and nominating organisations contact the nbn SSBI Help Desk and what support will be provided?

  nbn has set up a dedicated SSBI Help desk to support participating internet providers and nominating organisations.

  The contact number is 1800 626 269 and the operating hours are 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEDT).

  Participating internet providers can contact to get support for issues including:

  • Customer Eligibility Issues: If there are issues in determining SSBI eligibility, some of which are highlighted in these FAQs help desk can assist to resolve between participating internet providers and the Nominating Organisations
  • Poor Customer Experience: If participating internet providers recognise that an SSBI family may be getting a poor experience with nbn (e.g., lead time for installation) they can contact and help desk which will escalate with nbn to support family.
• How is a voucher made available and redeemed by an eligible family?

  The high-level process for a family getting a School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) service is outlined below:

  • Step 1: Nominating Organisation identifies a family with school aged students who they believe would likely benefit from having access to home internet.
  • Step 2: Nominating Organisation provides information about the program to family and secures consent to check their primary residential address via nbn for eligibility.
  • Step 3: Nominating Organisation provides address information to nbn to check that the premises is not currently connected to a service over the nbn network and is serviceable by the nbn network.
  • Step 4: nbn confirms the premises is eligible and provides the Nominating Organisation with a numerical voucher code to share with the family. nbn will also share with the Nominating Organisation information about available participating internet providers for the family to review and contact. Nominating Organisation sends eligible family an eligibility letter containing the voucher code and internet provider information.
  • Step 5: Eligible family selects and contacts preferred participating internet provider and uses their voucher code to redeem a free 12-month service.
• How do I use the nbn website address checker to check if my home is connected to the nbn network?

  To self-check if your address is connected to the nbn network

  1. Go to: nbnco.com.au
  2. Type your address into Check Your Address
  3. If the result shows:
     1. Check with your phone and internet provider about ordering an nbn powered plan
• Will a family or student be required to provide identification?

  Internet providers will have identification requirements. Identification may be required by internet providers to confirm the name of the account holder and the address where the internet service is to be provided.

  There is no requirement from nbn for families to supply internet providers with student proof of identification.

• Can a premises be in an nbn area but deemed too expensive for nbn to connect?

  There are some very remote areas what are within the nbn satellite footprint that will be excluded from participating in School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) due to connection costs. These are areas where nbn cannot access by road to connect the customer or to provide maintenance services.