The Australian government has extended the Energy Bill Refund to $3.5 billion for 2024-25 FY to offset the electricity bill of eligible households and small businesses to support them amidst the high energy costs. The energy bill relief funds work in different states and territories.
Energy Bill Relief Fund Payment Date
The energy costs in Victoria and other prominent Australian states have been increasing over the years. The Australian government has taken the initiative to address this issue and resolve the high energy cost for the people through the Energy Bill Relief Fund.
Victoria State also comes under this fund, the eligible households and small businesses can reduce the energy cost and get relief from the high cost of living. According to the energy bill initiative, the household receives the payout in installments whereas the small businesses receive the one-time payment.
The Victorian households have already received the first installment of the Energy bill relief fund in August 2024, which later disbursed or will commence on the following dates:
- 01 October 2024
- 13 January 2025
- 01 April 2025
Most of the Victorian households did not need to do anything to receive their payments as their retailer had applied for the rebate. The small businesses have already received a one-time payment in August 2024.
Important Note: Embedded networks Households, living in residential communities, caravan parks, retirement apartments or villages would also receive the one-off payment, which was processed in August 2024.
How much will you receive via the Energy Bill Relief Fund?
The Victorians who qualify for the Energy Bill relief funds for their domestic use, household, or small businesses receive a rebate of up to $300 (for household or embedded networks) and $325 (for small businesses).
As we have mentioned earlier, the small businesses and embedded network households will receive the one-off payment, whereas the other households will receive the payments in installments. The eligible households receive the quarterly installment of $75 on the respective date mentioned above.
What makes you eligible for the Energy Bill Relief Fund?
The households or small businesses who meet the below eligibility requirements will receive the payment:
Households
- From your place of residence, you have an active electricity account with your energy retailer.
- Your electricity account is used for only domestic use, it should not be used for any commercial purpose.
- The concession card holder also receives the energy bill relief payments.
Households with embedded networks:
- You have an active electricity account with your area-embedded network operator; the embedded network includes retirement villages/apartments, caravan parks, residential communities, and generally areas where the electricity is billed in bulk for multiple households.
- The electricity is utilized for domestic purposes only and has no commercial use.
Small Businesses:
- You should be registered on the Australian Business Register and have an active Australian Business Number (ABN).
- Your annual consumption of electricity should be below 40 MWh.
- You must have a separate metered business tariff for commercial use.
The customers of WinConnect, Origin, and Momentum do not have to do anything, their retailers have automatically applied their Energy Bill relief fund payment to their electricity bill.
How will the payments be made to the eligible Households or small businesses?
The Victoria Energy Bill Relief Fund payment is directly applied to their electricity bills by their electricity retailer or embedded network operator. The Victorians can check if they have not received the payment on their electricity bill.
In your electricity bill, you should go to the Understand your bill section, where the retailer presents the breakdown of your bill or credits applied, there you can see the Australian Government Energy Relief. If you find the description in the bill, you can see the amount credited to your electricity bill.
The change of house or retailer does not affect your payment if you made an active electricity account with your newly shifted area on the relevant dates. People should know that households or businesses with multiple properties or addresses would receive the payout once only for one of the properties.
What to do if you do not receive your Energy Bill credit?
If you did not see the Australian government energy relief on your electricity bill for the respective installment date or month, you should immediately contact your retailer or operator and share your doubts.
The electricity retailer will address the problem or clear your doubts about your payment because maybe you are not eligible for the fund, or your payment is processed on your other property bill.
How to reduce your Energy bill and take advantage of the Energy relief?
The citizens should understand that if they reduce their energy usage or carefully use it, their energy bill will be reduced, or with the energy relief, they can make it lowest or zero and save money and the environment. So, to do your bit and save money on your energy bill, you can follow the below tips:
- When you buy electricity appliances, always look for energy-efficient appliances that will use minimal energy.
- When you can access natural light in the daytime, ditch the electrical light and save energy.
- When you leave home or office, always check if you have switched off all the appliances, lights, and other electrical things.
- If possible try to invest and install solar power plants or panels at your home to generate your electricity from renewable sources and contribute to greener energy.
The energy cost in winter will rise more, so make sure you work on controlling your electricity consumption and receive the rebate timely to offset your electric bill through the Australian Energy Bill Relief fund.
