Cost of Living Rebate

Introduction to the QLD cost of living rebate

All Queensland households will receive a Cost of Living Rebate (CoLR) and eligible small businesses will receive Energy Bill Relief in 2023-2024.

The rebate will be applied automatically to eligible residential customers’ electricity accounts on a quarterly basis, with eligibility based on the following:

$700 Cost of Living Rebate for vulnerable households (i.e. existing Queensland Electricity Rebate recipients) in 2023-24
$550 Cost of Living Rebate for all other Queensland households in 2023-24
$650 Energy Bill Relief for eligible small businesses

The Queensland CoLR replaces the $500 energy rebate for vulnerable households, previously announced by the Australian Government aspart of the national Energy Bill Relief Fund. For some households (e.g. those receiving the $700 rebate), the CoLR will still be partly funded by theAustralian Government.

The Queensland Government is responsible for theimplementation of the CoLR in Queensland. This fact sheet summarises theimplementation details for retailers operating in the Queensland market. 298.91. Further details are contained in the Q&As.

Eligibility

All Queensland customers classified as “residential” under the NationalEnergy Retail Law and who have an active electricity account with an energy retailer or embedded network electricity supplier on the applicable date willbe eligible to receive a CoLR.
Residential customers who are already benefitting from the QueenslandGovernment’s annual $372.20 Electricity Rebate will receive the $700 CoLR.
All remaining residential customers will receive the $550 CoLR.
Small businesses whose total consumption is less than 100 MWh per annum, as defined by the National Energy Retail Law as it applies in Queensland, will receive the $650 rebate. This includes sporting clubs, community organisations, micro-businesses, social enterprises and charities.

Customers in embedded networks

Rebates will be applied as a one-off lump sum credit of either $700, $550 or $650 by the embedded network operator on the customer’s electricity bill.
To be eligible, a residential customer must have an active account with their embedded network operator on 1 July 2023.

General information for households in embedded networks like Metered Energy

Where a customer receives their electricity bill from an embedded network operator (e.g. landlord, body corporate, utility billing company), will they still get the rebate?

Yes. Not all households have an account with an electricity retailer. Sometimes a landlord, body corporate or an entity contracted by these parties buys electricity in bulk and on-sells this to residents based on how much they consume. This is most common in apartment buildings, retirement villages and caravan parks.

Customers in these types of arrangements are eligible for the CoLR. The embedded network operator will need to apply to their retailer for the rebate on behalf of their eligible residents who had an open electricity account on 1 July 2023.

Residents who currently receive the annual $372.20 Queensland Electricity
Rebate will be eligible to receive the $700 rebate, and all other residents will be eligible to receive the $550 rebate.

The retailer will apply a bulk credit to the embedded network operator’s next electricity bill, and the operator will then pass the relevant rebate onto each resident in their next bill.

Will the rebate be applied quarterly or as a one-off credit?

The CoLR will be applied to eligible accounts as an annual one-off credit of either $700 or $550, depending on eligibility. To be eligible, a resident will need to have an active account with their embedded network operator on 1 July 2023.

If a customer hasn’t received this assistance by 31 December 2023, they should contact their embedded network operator (body corporate, utility billing company etc).

What if a customer in an embedded network opens a new account after 1 July 2023? Do they still get the rebate?
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No. To be eligible for the CoLR, the resident must have an active electricity account on 1 July 2023. This reduces the chance of ‘double’ payments, for example as a result of a customers moving address, and is consistent with the application of previous one-off Queensland Government rebates to embedded network customers.

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