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Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme

The Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme:

  • is only for low-income households who've experienced a crisis or unforeseen emergency
  • is one-off emergency assistance to help with paying your home energy bills
  • pays up to $720 in any 12 month period for a maximum of 2 consecutive years.

Eligibility

To be eligible you must:

  • be living in a household that's experiencing (or have experienced in the past 12 months) a short-term financial crisis or emergency that has limited your ability to pay your current electricity or reticulated natural gas bill
  • hold a current concession card in the name shown on your electricity or reticulated natural gas bill, or
  • be part of your energy retailer’s hardship program or payment plan, or
  • have an income less than the Australian Government’s maximum income rate for part-age pensioners. Contact Centrelink for details of the maximum income rate.

Full eligibility details, including the types of emergency situations you might get help for, are available from your energy retailer.

How to apply

For more information, or to apply, contact your energy retailer. You can find their phone number on your energy account. Your energy retailer will start the application process after considering all the eligibility criteria.

Helpful resources

Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0)
Last updated:
22 April 2013

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