Launched in November 2024, the School Saving Bonus (SSB) is a Victorian Government initiative designed to ease school-related costs for over 680,000 government school students in 2025. Providing a $400 one-off payment, the SSB helps families cover essential expenses like uniforms, textbooks, and school activities.

Designed and delivered in just five months, the SSB put people at the centre by removing barriers, eliminating the need for applications and delivering personalised bonus codes directly to families. An intuitive online portal allowed parents to choose how funds were allocated, with any unused amounts automatically credited back to their child’s school account.

The project involved extensive internal and external collaboration, including partnerships with 112 approved suppliers, schools, not-for-profit organisations like State Schools’ Relief, and key community groups. Communications were translated into 14 languages, ensuring accessibility across Victoria’s diverse communities.

By April 2025, the SSB had processed over 743,000 transactions, saving Victorian families more than $157 million. Beyond financial relief, the SSB delivered real social impact, improving textbook access, increasing camp participation, and enhancing educational equity across the state.

The SSB stands as a scalable, inclusive, and people-first model for government service delivery.

Solar Victoria’s Loans Program is a first-of-its-kind, people-focused government initiative making renewable energy more accessible and affordable for Victorian households. By offering interest-free, fee-free $1,400 loans for rooftop solar panels, alongside a $1,400 rebate and loan of up to $8,800 for batteries, the program helps reduce energy costs while supporting the state’s renewable energy targets.

Unlike traditional government incentives, Solar Victoria delivers unsecured loans, embedding responsible lending, hardship support, and personalised customer care throughout the process. Designed with customers at the centre, the program offers flexible repayment, real-time support, and targeted services for vulnerable households, including those affected by financial hardship and family violence.

Delivered in close collaboration with State Trustees and Service Victoria, and supported by a dedicated in-house customer team, the program has achieved significant outcomes. Since 2019, it has supported over 183,000 households with $337 million in lending, reduced emissions by over 2.3 million tonnes, and delivered 94% customer satisfaction.

By lowering upfront costs, the program has empowered more than 400,000 households to transition to renewable energy, saving an average of $1,073 annually on energy bills. Solar Victoria’s Loans Program stands as a sustainable, scalable model delivering public value and real community impact.

Launched in July 2024, the VVED Diabetes Service is Australia’s first dedicated virtual emergency diabetes service, transforming how Victorians with diabetes access urgent care. Developed by Victorian Virtual Emergency Department at Northern Health and the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI) in partnership with Ambulance Victoria, Diabetes Victoria, and the Royal Australian Flying Doctors Service, the service enables people with diabetes to receive timely specialist care from the safety of home.

Through video consultations with diabetes specialists and new point-of-care ketone testing by Ambulance Victoria, the service provides fast, equitable care while reducing the need for ambulance trips and emergency department visits. Lived experience shaped every stage of design and delivery, with strong consumer involvement through Diabetes Victoria and ACADI’s Community Advisory Committee.

In its first six months, the service supported over 860 Victorians, with an 82.5% diversion rate, keeping people out of busy EDs while delivering care in a median time of just 12 minutes. Targeting priority populations, including First Nations communities and people in rural areas, the VVED Diabetes Service is already demonstrating positive health outcomes, high patient satisfaction, and system-wide cost-effectiveness.

This pioneering model is now being evaluated as a blueprint for diabetes emergency care across Australia.