What discounts and rebates are available to help reduce your energy bill?

Rising costs of living mean more and more Australians are struggling to pay to keep the lights on and their homes warm.

Each state and territory offers some level of financial assistance, however, most payments have certain eligibility criteria.

Click the links below to see what’s available in your area and find out which schemes are eligible for you.

Ways to cut living costs

ACT

Retirees and veterans who need help with their electricity, gas, water or sewer bills may qualify for:

• Utility Concession: $750

ACT residents who require heating or cooling due to a medical condition, use a dialysis machine at home or rely on life support equipment at home may be eligible to:

• Medical Heating and Cooling Rebates
• Hemodialysis Home
• ACT Life Support Rebates

New South Wales

People in financial crisis who live in a stand-alone house or unit and need help paying for them electricity or gas bills may be eligible for:

• Energy Account Payment Assistance Scheme: vouchers $50

Digital vouchers are for those who are experiencing a short-term financial crisis or emergency.

Self-funded pensioners who hold Commonwealth Elderly Health Cards who need help paying for them electricity bills may be eligible for:

• Senior Energy Rebate: $200 per year

Retirees and veterans who need help paying for them electricity bills may be eligible for:

• Low-Income Household Rebates: $285 or $313.50 per year

The amount of the rebate and how it is awarded depends on whether you live in a stand-alone household or are billed by the strata manager or community/village operator.

Residents who hold concession card or Health Care Card and want them gas bill reduced can apply for:

• Gas Rebate: Up to $110 or $121 per year

Households can apply for a rebate through their gas account provider, while those billed by a strata manager or purchasing gas in LPG containers can apply through MyServiceNSW.

Residents who receive Family Tax Benefits who want help to cover their expenses energy bill can apply:

• Family Energy Rebate: $180 or $198 per year

The amount of the rebate and how it is awarded depends on whether you live in a stand-alone household or are billed by the strata manager or community/village operator.

People in NSW with a chronic medical conditions may be eligible for:

• Medical Energy Rebate: Up to $285 per year

Rebates are for people who have a diagnosis that they cannot regulate their own body temperature.

People in NSW who need use energy-intensive medical equipment at home may be eligible for:

• Life Support Energy Rebate

The rebate amount depends on the machine and the number of billing days.

Northern Territory

Residents who are part of the NT Concession scheme may be eligible for:

People aged 65 years and over who need assistance with living expenses may be eligible for:

• NT Senior Recognition Scheme: $500

Queensland

Retirees and seniors in Queensland living in homes or self-contained units may be eligible for:

• Electricity Rebate: $372.20 per year
• Reticulated Natural Gas Rebates: $80.77 per year

Those living in apartment complexes, residential gardens, retirement villages or grandma’s flats may also qualify for electricity and gas discounts.

The owner of the property is required to claim the rebate on behalf of the eligible resident.

Queensland household having trouble paying their electricity or gas bills may qualify for:

• Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme: Up to $720

One-time payments are to help cover a substantial decline in household income, or unexpectedly high expenses on essential items.

This scheme is available to concession card holders or those below the maximum income threshold.

Queenslanders with chronic medical conditions may be eligible for:

• Medical Cooling and Heating Electrical Concession Scheme: $372.24 per year

Rebates are for people who need cooling or warming to stop their symptoms from getting significantly worse.

South Australia

Concession cardholders and Centrelink payees may be eligible for:

People who living in housing or caravan park who need help with their energy, water, and sewer bills may qualify for:

• Residential Park Resident Concession: Up to $572.73 per year

People with medical conditions who require heating or cooling in the home may be eligible for:

• Medical heating and cooling concessions: $241.63 per year

Tasmania

Concession card holder who want help with their energy bill may be eligible for:

• Annual electricity concession: 140,740 cents per day
• Heating allowance: Two payments $28 per year

Facility heating allowances are tested and limited to one per household.

People with medical conditions who require heating or cooling to manage their medical condition may qualify for:

• Medical cooling or heating concessions: 42,155 cents per day

People using life support systems at home may be eligible for:

Read more about Australia’s energy crisis:

Victoria

Victorian households that hold concessional benefits may be eligible for:

One-time payments can be applied via the Victorian Energy Compare website.

Retirees, veterans and Health Care Card holders may qualify for the following:

Concession card holders who use non-electric energy for heating, cooking and hot water may qualify for:

Victoria who use life support machines at home who need help cover them electricity and water bills may be eligible for:

Western Australia

All household living in WA qualify for:

• household electricity credit: $400

Residents can apply for credit online before 31 October 2022.

Retirees, veterans and health card holders who need help with energy bills may be eligible for:

• Energy assistance payments: $318.37
• Dependent child rebate: $334.77 for one child and $87.72 for each additional child
• Rebate on the cost of making electricity bills: Depends on provider

household in high heat discomfort area may be eligible for:

• AC discount: $66.68 per month

The total amount of the rebate is calculated based on the location of the household and the number of eligible months.

WA that household need help paying their water, gas or electricity bills may be eligible for:

• Difficulty Utility Grant Scheme: Up to 85 percent of the bill paid

This scheme is for people in financial difficulty who have entered into a payment arrangement with their utility provider.

Retirees or Health Care Card holders who cannot control their body temperature, or live with dependents who cannot control it, may be eligible for:

• Thermoregulatory Dysfunction Energy Subsidy: $752 per year

Population dependent on life support equipment at home may be eligible for:

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

The ATO warns you can’t overclaim at tax time to help with living expenses.

#discounts #rebates #reduce #energy #bill