Energy Bill Relief for households
What it is
The Australian Government and state and territory governments are working together to provide targeted electricity bill relief to eligible households and small businesses.
How much you can get
How much you get depends on where you live.
If you live in NSW, Queensland, South Australia or Tasmania, you can get $500 per eligible household.
If you live in Victoria, you can get $250 per eligible household, plus a one off $250 direct payment through Victoria’s 2023 Power Saving Bonus Payment.
If you live in the Northern Territory, you can get $350 per eligible household.
If you live in Western Australia and are currently registered with the Electricity Concession Extension Scheme (ECES), you will get a $500 electricity credit split over 2 payments. All other Western Australian households can get a $400 electricity credit.
If you live in the ACT, you can get $175 per eligible household. Your bills will also be lower owing to the ACT’s Large-scale Feed-in Tariff Scheme which will lower the average bill by $152.
Who can get it
You can get bill relief if you are the primary electricity account holder, or another named account holder on your electricity account.
You must also hold an eligible concession card or receive an eligible government payment in the state or territory you live in.
Your household can only get one bill relief credit, even if there is more than one eligible person living there. You can only get bill relief for your principal place of residence.
If you are eligible and aren’t named on the bill and you pay for electricity, contact your electricity provider to change this to get the bill relief (this is not necessary if you live in Western Australia).
How to get it
You don’t need to do anything right now.
In most cases your electricity provider will automatically apply the bill relief to your electricity account and this will reduce the amount you owe on your next bill. How and when this happens depends on where you live. Each state and territory may do things a little differently.
If you already get help from your state or territory
If you already get an existing electricity bill concession scheme in your state or territory you don’t need to do anything. You will start getting the bill relief from 1 July 2023.
If you are eligible for help from your state or territory but do not get it
If you think you are eligible for an existing electricity bill concession scheme in your state or territory but aren’t receiving it, contact your electricity retailer to apply. You will then also receive the new bill relief from 1 July 2023. For most jurisdictions you will need to be an account holder or named on the household electricity bill to be eligible.
If you have an eligible card or get a payment from Services Australia
If you have an eligible card or get a payment from Services Australia and you aren’t already eligible for help from your state or territory, you don’t need to do anything. Services Australia will contact you in September 2023, to tell you what to do. Read more about existing schemes and eligibilities.
If you have an eligible card from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
If you have an eligible card from the DVA and are not eligible for current state or territory electricity rebate schemes, you don’t need to do anything yet. The DVA will contact you from July 2023 to tell you what you need to do.
If you live in an embedded (or on-supplied) network
If you live in an embedded network and your household is eligible for the bill relief, you will not automatically receive bill relief but will be able to access a direct payment through your state or territory government.
Typically, you live in an embedded network if you get your electricity from your strata or landlord in a caravan park, apartment building or retirement home or village.
If you live in a household that receives energy bills, but you don’t have a direct relationship with the retailer (e.g. you are a tenant or subletter in a sharehouse) you don’t necessarily live in an embedded network.
More information about what to do will be provided by your state or territory government from July 2023.
When you will get it
When you will get bill relief depends on the state or territory you live in.
Depending on which state or territory you live in, you might get your bill relief on a single bill or spread across multiple bills.
If you live in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory or the ACT, you will get bill relief quarterly in the 2023-24 financial year.
If you live in Western Australia, you will get bill relief on your electricity bills in July and December 2023.
If you live in Tasmania, you will get bill relief on your electricity bills in the September and June quarters of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years.
If you live in Victoria, you will get bill relief in instalments in 2023-24.
Read more
Eligible cards and payments for the Energy Bill Relief Fund for households
