Full List of Current Energy Rebates & Concessions

If you’ve got a relevant concession card (or in some cases a relevant Centrelink payment or income level) OR you're experiencing a financial emergency, there are potentially thousands of dollars in energy bill relief payments available to you in some states.

Since 1 July 2023, these rebate amounts have increased by up to $700.

So here’s a full list UPDATED to make sure you’re not missing out on any entitlements.

It's an absolute shemozzle! No wonder up to 40% of eligible people AREN'T getting them. So I've tried to summarise the $1000+ in new energy rebates here. Every state is different and some people have to APPLY to get them. Please spread the word https://t.co/YQhtfnpsqV

— Joel Gibson (@joelgibson) July 24, 2023

 

FEDERAL:

In the May 2023 Budget, the Federal Govt announced up to $2 billion in extra power bill relief for households, to start from July.

Here's our quick summary:

• If you ALREADY get a rebate from your state/territory Govt, you’ll automatically get an extra Fed Govt payment from July.
• If you DON'T get anything from your state at present BUT you get a Federal Government card/payment such as a DVA Gold card/Cth Seniors Health Card/carer’s allowance/Family Tax Benefit/Low Income Health Card, you’ll be contacted in either July (veterans) or Sept (others) to arrange an extra Fed Govt payment. More info here.
• In NSW, SA & Tas it will be $500 extra rebate, on top of current state rebates.
• In VIC it will be $250 from the Feds plus a $250 power saving bonus from the state.
• In QLD it will be $550 for ALL households and $700 for current rebate recipients.
• In WA it will be $400 for ALL households and $500 for those who currently get state rebates.

These new rebates are ON TOP OF existing state government rebates below. Full details here

 

NSW:

Low Income Household rebate: $285p.a.

Must have a:

• Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) or Services Australia
• Health Care Card issued by Services Australia (NB: these are available to JobSeeker recipients), or
• DVA Gold Card marked with either 'War Widow' or 'War Widower Pension', or 'Totally and Permanently Incapacitated' (TPI) or 'Disability Pension' (EDA).

NEW: If you get the Low Income Household Rebate, you can now claim up to 10yrs’ worth of rebates upfront to spend on solar panels or other energy-efficient appliances to cut your power bills. There are 30k places in the ‘Energy Bill Buster’ program. Register here.

Gas Rebate: $110p.a.

• Same eligibility as above

Family Energy Rebate ($180)

You must:

• have been the recipient of the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for the previous financial year and have had your entitlement to the FTB payments finalised by Centrelink.
• ensure the person in your household who's registered as the FTB recipient, lodges the application. The recipient is the person who receives correspondence on FTB from the Department of Human Services (DHS).

Seniors Rebate ($200p.a.)

• For self-funded retirees
• To be eligible you need to hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC). The income cap for this card increased from around $57k to $90k for a single in late 2022 so thousands more are now eligible!

Energy Accounts Payment Assistance Scheme ($50 vouchers up to $1600p.a. for electricity & gas)

You must be experiencing a short-term financial crisis or emergency that has impacted your ability to pay your current residential energy bill (in full or in part) due to financial hardship.

VIC:

NEW Up to $500 power saving bonus

The VIC Government is paying people to use its energy comparison website - $250 a pop! And they've announced a second round to start from 24 March 2023. This means if you've already collected $250, you can do so again after 24 March. And if haven't collected any payment yet, you can collect one before 24 March and another one after that date!

Annual electricity concession (17.5% of electricity usage and service costs up to annual bills of $2973, which equals up to about $500)

Must have:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Health Care Card (NB: these are available to JobSeeker recipients)
• Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card.

The concession is calculated after retailer discounts and solar credits have been deducted.

The concession does not apply to the first $171.60 of the annual bill. This is calculated as a daily rate on each bill.

Households with very high electricity bills (over $3000) need to apply for the Excess electricity concession to continue to receive a concession on their bill

Controlled load electricity concession (13% of controlled load electricity costs)

• Same eligibility as above

Excess electricity concession (17.5% of electricity usage and service costs over $3000)

• Same eligibility as above

Winter gas concession (17.5% of gas usage and service costs for 6mths).

• Same eligibility as above

The concession is calculated after retailer discounts are deducted.

The concession does not apply to the first $62.40 of the six-month winter period bills. This is calculated as a daily rate on each bill.

Households with very high bills (over $1,734 in the period from 1 May to 31 October) will need to apply for the Excess gas concession to continue to receive a concession on their bill.

Excess Gas Concession (17.5% of gas usage and supply for 6mths)

• Same eligibility as above

For domestic mains gas usage and service costs above $1,734 for the six-month winter period 1 May to 31 October 2019.

 

QLD:

$550-700 cost of living rebate 

• $550 will be automatically applied to ALL energy bills in 2023, with some households getting $700 - plus the existing payments below.

The Electricity Rebate ($372.20p.a.) 

The Reticulated Natural Gas Rebate ($80.77p.a.)

Must have:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card (and receive the War Widow/er Pension or special rate TPI Pension)
• Queensland Seniors Card
• Commonwealth Health Care Card (Electricity Rebate only)
• Asylum seeker status—residents will need to provide their ImmiCard details (Electricity Rebate only).

But there are some other restrictions: you can’t be the only concession card holder in a share-house full of full-time workers, for example. 

Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme (up to $720)

For an unforeseen emergency or a short-term financial crisis. You must:

• hold a current concession card, or
• have an income equal to or less than the Australian Government’s maximum income rate for part-age pensioners. Contact Centrelink for details of the maximum income rate.
• be part of your energy retailer’s hardship program or payment plan.

SA:

Energy Bill concession (Up to $241.63 p.a. For Electricity & Gas)

Must have eligible concession card or Centrelink payment.

Eligible cards:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• DVA Gold Card
• Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI)
• Extreme Disablement Adjustment (EDA)
• War Widow
• issued to a person with 80 or more overall impairment points under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
• Low Income Health Care Card
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

Eligible Centrelink payments:

• JobSeeker Payment
• Widow Allowance
• Youth Allowance
• Partner Allowance
• Parenting Payment
• Special Benefit
• Community Development Project (CDP)
• New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS)
• ABSTUDY
• Austudy
• Farm Household Allowance (FHA)
• War widow pension under legislation of the United Kingdom or New Zealand.

Cost of Living Concession (Up to $449)

On 1 July you must either:

• hold an eligible card
• receive an eligible Centrelink payment, or
• meet low income provisions.

Eligible cards:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Gold Card from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
• Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI)
• Extreme Disablement Adjustment (EDA)
• War Widow
• issued to a person with 80 or more overall impairment points under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth)
• Low Income Health Care Card
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

Eligible Centrelink payments:

• JobSeeker Payment
• Widow Allowance
• Youth Allowance
• Partner Allowance
• Parenting Payment
• Special Benefit
• Community Development Project (CDP)
• New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS)
• ABSTUDY
• Austudy
• Farm Household Allowance (FHA)
• War widow pension under legislation of the United Kingdom or New Zealand

Low income provisions:

From 20 Sept 2023, an applicant's income from all sources must not be more than the income limits shown below.

Status	Fortnightly income	Annual income
Single	$899.20	$23,379.20
Single with children	$952.50	$24,765.00
Partnered	$1,672	$43,472

WA:

Energy Assistance Payment ($318.37)

Must hold one of:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Health Care Card 
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card 
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card (TPI, War Widow and Dependent Child).

Dependent child rebate ($334.77 for one child and $87.72 for each additional child)

ACT:

Utilities Concession ($750 this year, plus a one-off bonus of $50)

Must hold one of:

• Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)
• Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card (HCC)
• Veteran’s Affairs Pensioner Concession Card or Gold Card Holders (Prisoner of War, War Widow or Totally Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) Embossed).

 

Tasmania:

Annual electricity concession ($574.73 p.a. + $119 Winter Bill Buster discount in 2022)

Must hold one of:

• DHS or DVA Pensioner Concession Card
• DHS Health Care Card
• ImmiCard (Bridging Visa E).

Heating allowance ($56p.a.)

Must hold:

• DHS or DVA Pensioner Concession Card.

A single pensioner must not have more than $1,750* in cash assets and married/de facto pensioners must not have more than $2 750.*

*Other conditions also apply.

 

NT:

Electricity concession (Up to $1200p.a.)

Must be a NT resident and hold one of:

Department of Human Services (Centrelink):

• Age Pension
• Disability Support Pension
• Carer Payment
• Parenting Payment (single)

Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA):

• Repatriation Health Card TPI/War/Widower (Gold Card)
• Repatriation Pharmaceuticals Benefits Card (Orange Card)
• Pensioner Card (Blue Card)
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

 

Check in regularly for the latest updates. As the money-saving experts, we’re working hard to give our million-plus members all the info you need to come through these tough times in good financial shape.

Any information is general advice, it does not take into account your individual circumstances, objectives, financial situation or needs. FiftyUp Club earns a fee for each customer that takes up the Origin offer.