Customer Payment Support

Our aim is to keep you connected!

We offer a customer payment support program to our Victorian customers, providing support beyond traditional payment plans. This support is free, confidential and is designed to help you get back on track with your energy bills, repay your overdue bills and lower your ongoing usage costs.

You are eligible for the program if you are a Victorian residential customer and experiencing financial challenges or difficulties making it hard to pay your bill.

Financial challenges or difficulties may arise from:

• a sudden loss or change in income;
• a serious illness, disability or death in the family;
• a separation, divorce or family crisis;
• domestic violence – please see our Family Violence Policy here; or
• other unforeseen circumstances.

Whatever your personal situation, we are here to help. If you believe you are experiencing financial challenges or difficulties, please call us between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Friday on 1800 750 750 to discuss your options with our friendly and understanding team.

We can discuss:

• Your current financial situation and what you can afford to pay – we want to offer you tailored assistance for your financial needs;
• Estimates of your future energy costs and advice on how you can lower them including energy plans, energy efficiency tips and ways to monitor your usage;
• Payment Methods;
• Flexible payment arrangements (summarised below);
• Government Concessions & Grants;
• Additional support such as:
• a six-month freeze on your outstanding debt;
• the option to pay less than your ongoing energy use while you work to lower your cost;
• referrals to support organisations that may be able to assist with financial counselling.

We might also discretely and sensitively contact you if we suspect you are suffering financial difficultly based on, for example, excessive use of energy or consistently overdue accounts.

We are dedicated to help find the right solution for your individual situation. So that this can be achieved, we request that you:

• Work with us to identify ways to use less energy and pay off your debt;
• Let us know if anything changes so we can assist;
• Make your payment plan repayments in full and on time.

We will keep your information confidential and will only disclose or use information in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 and our Privacy Policy.

Flexible Payment Arrangements

As required by the Energy Retail Code of Practice, we offer standard and tailored payment options to assist you with budgeting and help you to avoid bill shock.

For further information, please see our Customer Payment Support Policy and our Customer Payment Support Program. In the event of any inconsistency between this Policy and the Energy Retail Code of Practice, the Code prevails.

Your rights and entitlements under the Energy Retail Code of Practice are set out below:

Bill Payment Extension

A 10-day extension from your bill due date is available when you need more time to pay. You can request an extension using our Payment Extension Form or calling us on 1800 750 750.

Short Term Payment Plan (for single bills)

If you are unable to pay your bill in full when you receive it, call us on 1800 750 750 to organise a payment plan to pay off the remaining amount. You can put it into weekly, fortnightly, or monthly payments until the amount is paid, up until the date of your next scheduled meter read.

Bill Smoothing (for multiple bills)

If you are unable to pay your bills when you receive them, call us on 1800 750 750 to organise a long-term payment plan that allows you to pay the same amount off your account weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. This amount can be based on an estimate of your usage and is reviewed by us at least annually to see if any adjustments need to be made.

Set & Forget Direct Debit

You can arrange for funds to be regularly debited from your nominated bank account according to a specified schedule. If this sounds like you, use our Direct Debit Form to set this up.

Centrepay Deductions

Centrepay is a voluntary bill-paying service that is free for Centrelink customers. You can use Centrepay to arrange deductions for bills and ongoing expenses from your regular Centrelink payment. The quickest way to start and/or change your deduction is through your Centrelink account on myGov.