Late last week the Albanese Government and state and territory premiers agreed upon an energy price relief package to curtail rocketing electricity and gas prices for Australian consumers.
Such price rises are an ongoing sore point for many Australian households.
There are two steps to the relief package.
Firstly, a cap on the price of coal and gas.
Secondly, rebates for those on low or middle incomes.
Rebates will apply to people receiving Federal government support, including those on full or part Age Pensions and retirees who hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
The rebates are to be applied directly to power bills rather than in the form of cash handouts, following advice from Treasury that cash handouts could further fuel inflation.
The scheme is expected to be accessed through existing state and territory rebate schemes, with the states matching the commonwealth dollar for dollar on these payments.
It’s worth noting that this legislation is yet to become law, with Federal Parliament being recalled this week to debate and vote on it.
All up, the relief package is expected to deliver about $230 per household in savings.
You need to be receiving Federal government support such as an Age Pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card to be eligible for this support..
Watch as the Greens throw a spanner into this as part of their irrational hysteric hatred of anything that ‘may’ involve gas and/or coal.
Your dead right there, you can always rely on the Greens.
They’ll send this country to the wall..
Am I eligible
Hi Barry, as per the article, you need to be receiving Federal government support such as an Age Pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card to be eligible however this legislation is yet to become law, with Federal Parliament being recalled this week to debate and vote on it.
Hey Barry, read the bleeding article, cheesh.
I can always rely on you to provide clear and concise break downs of government announcements. Thank you. 🙂
What happens if only one partner has a Seniors Health card ? (I’m not old enough yet 😉
Hi Peter, thanks for getting involved in the conversation! It has not been specified however ordinarily the name of the person who has the card needs to be on the billing account so until we hear otherwise this is how we presume it will work.
The NSW Govt already offers a rebate of approximately $300 pa.
Is the new package in addition to this or will the NSW Govt absorb this into their”matching” contribution?
Why didn,t the government look into the solar back into into the grid rebate that providers dropped again and is now down to 7 cents which i am sure this is not the price they sell back to the householder .
Why not also remove GST from electricity prices and get an immediate 10% relief. Rising prices has simply put money in government coffers for too long already.
‘$230 per household in Savings’. A time frame would be most useful ie $230 per annum? $230 per quarter? $230 over 5 years?
I hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. In Victoria the card is not honoured for energy concessions, local Council Rates or Vehicle registrations. Where will this be left if the legislation is passed?
Hi Bruce, great question! This new announcement is separate to the standard CSHC benefits and will be paid to all cardholders across the nation.
Bruce,
Am 70, am a CSHC holder and, touch wood, in good health. Also in VIC. Because I am still working full time not eligible for anything for anything else from Centrelink. So far, the CSHC is a nice wallet stuffer because utilities, council rates, and VICROADS don’t recognise the CSHC.
I do look forward to the new legislation becoming enshrined so might see something.
What happens if your power is included in your rent?
Hi Shona, thank you for your question! It has not been specified however ordinarily the name of the person who is entitled to the benefit needs to be on the billing account which in this case it sounds like the power bill would be in the landlord’s name. Unless we hear otherwise this is how we presume it will work.
Thank you…thought that may be the case.
Do we apply for the rebate? How do we apply? Thank you
Hi Vicki, thanks for joining the conversation! As per the article “The rebates are to be applied directly to power bills rather than in the form of cash handouts” so there is no need to ‘apply’ it will happen automatically.