Many people in NSW need assistance to afford the energy they need, especially with rising cost of living pressures. We need Government support programs that improve outcomes for households by making it easier for them to get the help they need and keep it.
That’s why we broadly support the changes proposed in the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s (DCCEEW) Social Programs for Energy Code (the Code). We provided additional recommendations in the joint response we led to the consultation, with the intent to further improve outcomes for people who need support to afford their energy bills, including:
- Broadening eligibility to include anyone who can demonstrate residency, rather than requiring people to be a named account holder, to protect vulnerable people;
- making retailers responsible for actively informing their customers if they’re eligible for additional assistance payments;
- additional measures to improve access and outcomes for people with medical energy needs, including working with disability advocates to ensure the eligible equipment list is kept up to date, and removing barriers to accessing medical declarations, and;
- strengthening retailer responsibility to offer affordable supports.
What’s next?
This update is part of ongoing reforms proposed to energy rebates and the Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) scheme. We are continuing to work with partner community organisations to progress further reform of rebates and EAPA supports as part of the Governments ongoing reform process.
