Up to 200,000 additional South Australian households will soon receive energy bill relief for the first time.
From today, retailers will begin applying the $500 rebate to a new cohort of South Australians – those receiving Family Tax Benefits.
This is the first time Family Tax Benefits recipients will be eligible for energy bill relief.
Others in the expanded cohort include people receiving a Carer Allowance and holders of certain Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) cards not currently eligible for the existing energy concession.
The relief will be paid as a quarterly amount of $125, which will show up when their next bill is issued.
Commonwealth Government agency Services Australia has been contacting new eligible households directly and inviting them to apply.
Around 200,000 existing South Australian energy concession recipients are also eligible for relief and these rebates are being applied to their bills automatically.
Those households receiving both the State government concession and one-off rebate will save up to $763.15 in 2023-24.
The Malinauskas Government committed $127.2 million for the National Energy Bill Relief Plan, matched dollar for dollar by the Commonwealth. The Federal Government has committed up to $1.5 billion nationally for the plan.
It’s anticipated that approximately 420,000 SA households could benefit, while up to 86,000 small businesses could receive rebates of $650.
The Default Market Offer prices (DMO) final determination released by the Australian Energy Regulator showed residential prices were expected to increase by about $439 (23.9 per cent) in South Australia in 2023-24. Eligible households may now see their energy bills drop by around 3.3 per cent in 2023-24 – or around 5.2 per cent if they also receive the SA energy concession.
For further information visit https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/care-and-support/concessions/household-concessions/energy-bill-relief
The Malinauskas Government can also announce that eligible businesses on embedded networks, such as those located in shopping centres, will also receive a $650 rebate.
Business SA had raised concerns some businesses would miss out because they do not have their own meter and bill from an energy retailer, and instead receive their bill directly from their landlord.
The government is currently liaising with interstate jurisdictions and the Commonwealth to determine how best to negotiate the administrative rollout.
It’s estimated that thousands of SA businesses will benefit from the extension.
Quotes
Attributable to Stephen Mullighan
This milestone significantly expands the number of South Australians able to receive energy relief.
It means a record number of households won’t have to dig as deep during what is already a tough economic climate.
We have targeted our funding to where it’s needed most, and eligible South Australians will certainly notice the difference when their next bill arrives.
The Malinauskas Government recognises that small businesses on embedded networks are experiencing the same difficulties with energy costs as other small businesses that are individually metered which is why we are also extending energy bill relief to these businesses.
