Energy bill concessions: what’s available for Australian seniors

With the rising cost of living showing no signs of slowing down, there are certain things you can do to make your hard-earned money last longer.

One of the ways is to understand and take advantage of the energy concessions you are entitled to.

However, these concessions vary throughout the country, which can often times cause confusion with the various concessions spread out across different government and business websites. This is why Starts at 60 has created a free, downloadable eGuide, called ‘Seniors Concessions Guide 2023’, which provides a state-by-state breakdown of what discounts are available to the following cardholders:

• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card;
• Pensioner Concession Card;
• Health Care Card; and
• Seniors Card.

To give you a preview of what you can find in the eGuide, we’ve shared what energy concessions you may be eligible for in Queensland and Victoria. Keep in mind, that for many rebates, only one concession is applicable per household, and the name and address of the concession holder must exactly match those on the utility bill. Always remember to check your bill to ensure the concession has been applied correctly.

To see the energy concessions that are available in other states and to learn more about the other discounts available in areas such as transportation and health, download our free Seniors Concessions Guide 2023 today.

Queensland

In Queensland, those who hold a Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card or Queensland Seniors Card are entitled to the Electricity Rebate of $372.20 per year, per household.

To access the rebate, the electricity account must be in the cardholder’s name and must live alone or with one of the following:

• your spouse
• other people who hold a Services Australia or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card or Queensland Seniors Card
• other people wholly dependent on you
• other people who receive an income support or families payment from Services Australia who do not pay rent
• other people who receive an income support payment from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and who do not pay rent
• other people who live with the cardholder to provide care and assistance, and who do not pay rent.

Gas users who hold either the Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card are also entitled to the Reticulated Natural Gas Rebate of $80.77 per year.

How do you get it? 

This depends on your energy set-up. For the gas rebate, contact your provider and give them some information about your bills and concession details.

For electricity, it depends on whether you hold the account directly, or if you live in an apartment, residential park or another kind of dwelling and someone else sends your bill to you. Check the Queensland government website for more details.

Victoria

The VIC Government offers Pension Concession Card and Health Care Card holders access to the Annual Electricity Concession which gives you a 17.5% year-round rebate on electricity usage and service fees. The concession is calculated after retailer discounts and solar credits are applied to the bill. The first $171.60 of the annual bill is not included in the rebate. If your annual bill exceeds $3,000, you must apply for the Excess Energy Concession for the concession to be applied. However, if your bill is less than the service charge, energy retailers will automatically reduce the service fee to the cost of used electricity. These cardholders are also entitled to free electricity connection services when moving houses.

The VIC Government also offers a Winter Gas Concession from May 1 to October 31 to ease the cost of living for those on the Pension Concession Card and Health Care Card. Gas account holders are entitled to a 17.5% concession on gas usage and service fees. The discount is not applied to the first $62.40 of the six-month period and is calculated as a daily rate. If your annual bill exceeds $1,734, you must apply for the Excess Gas Concession.

How do you get it? 

To make use of these discounts, simply contact your energy retailer and provide them with your concession card details.

Download the free Senior Concessions eGuide

For a full and extensive list of concessions available to Australian Seniors in each state, download your copy of our FREE Senior Concessions eGuide here. 

Disclaimer: The information in this e-guide was gathered from websites affiliated with state and territorial governments as of January 2023. Although utmost care was taken to ensure its accuracy, it’s always best to confirm the available concessions with the relevant card provider if you have any doubts. This guide is meant to serve only as an informational reference and presents the maximum available entitlements. The results from the calculator are just estimations and should not be considered as a definite entitlement. The figures and formulas used in this guide may be subject to change without notice, as determined by state governments.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your financial or legal situation, objectives or needs. That means it’s not financial product or legal advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a financial or legal decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get independent, licensed financial services or legal advice.