| 4.21 Many parents have told me that
they appreciate the changes we made to the Baby Bonus
Scheme last year, when we extended it to the first and
fourth child, and to disburse the cash gift over two,
instead of six, years. They also suggested more ways
the scheme could be made more flexible. Parents said
that they liked the co-savings element of the Baby Bonus,
but indicated that they are sometimes not able to save
up to the maximum of $1,000 for the second child or
$2,000 for the third/fourth child every year. They wanted
flexibility to save more in years when they can afford
to, and to use the co-savings in more ways for their
child's educational and developmental needs.
4.22 We agree with this feedback. I have decided to
liberalise the co-savings portion of the Baby Bonus,
so as to encourage parents to save more for their children’s
developmental needs. Parents can now choose to save
more in one year and less in another, subject to the
total co-savings limit for six years.
4.23 Presently the Baby Bonus co-savings can be used
for infant care, child care and kindergarten. I will
widen the permitted uses to include health insurance
and early intervention programmes for children with
special needs. The details of these and other enhancements
to the Baby Bonus Scheme will be announced at the Committee
of Supply.
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