Concessions are available to low income Victorians experiencing difficulty in paying their council rates, water, gas and electricity bills. Discounts are available on essential services to ease the financial burden for low income Victorians. For each concession and/or benefit, there is an eligibility criterion. Concessions programs are designed to ensure eligible cardholders have access to essential services.
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing offers a variety of concessions and benefits to eligible cardholders to assist low-income Victorians with energy bills. If you have a relevant concession card, you may be eligible for one of these concessions.
The Winter Gas Concession is available to help ease cost of living pressures by providing concession cardholders with a discount of 17.5 per cent off mains gas bills during the winter period –1 May to 31 October– of each year. The concession is calculated based on the remaining account balance once any retailer discounts have been applied.
The Commonwealth Government currently provides eligible cardholders with compensation towards energy costs, including the Energy Supplement. This compensation represents a subsidy of $62.40 for gas across the six-month winter period and so for a concession cardholder’s winter period gas bill the State Government concession will not apply to the first $62.40. This is so that eligible households are not compensated by two levels of government for the same expense.
Concession households with gas bills in excess of $2,067.00 (approximately double the average household amount) during the winter period (1 May – 31 October) will need to apply for the Excess Gas Concession to continue to receive the 17.5 per cent concession on energy consumed above this amount. Recipients of the Life Support Concession and/or the Medical Cooling Concession will be automatically eligible to receive the Excess Gas Concession upon submission of a completed application form.
You must hold at least one of the following concession cards:
Holders of a Health Care Card for Carer Allowance and Foster Care issued in the name of the child are not eligible. Holders of Veterans' Affairs Gold Cards marked 'Dependent' are not eligible.
For more information:
Visit the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing website at:
https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/