The Energy Assistance Program (EAP), delivered by Anglicare Victoria, will receive a further $600,000 to continue its work helping Victorians struggling with their energy bills get the best deal and save.
Anglicare Victoria hosted the Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio at our Collingwood office this week to announce the continued state government investment in the program and talk to clients who had already benefited.
Since its launch in 2023, the EAP has saved 13,000 Victorians almost $2.5 million on their energy bills.
And demand for the service has only increased as the weather cools.
“We’ve seen a spike in calls to the program in the last month. We’ve had a few cold mornings and people are having to think twice if they can afford to put their heater on,” Anglicare Victoria CEO Paul McDonald said.
Anglicare Victoria also congratulated the government on its investment in an extra $100 Power Saving Bonus specifically for households with a concession card.
“This really helps those who need it. We’ve found about 15 per cent of our callers did not know the concessions they could get on their bills,” Mr McDonald said.
“Not only that, over 40 per cent callers we were able to get on a better offer with their current provider.”
The state government announcement coincided with the Essential Services Commission’s confirmation of the Victorian Default Offer, which sets the average annual retail price of energy for the next year.
From 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 the Victorian average annual retail price will be $1675 – a jump of $20 from the $1655 price set for the previous 12 months.
Mr McDonald said as energy costs rose, so did the number of people seeking assistance with their energy bills.
“We know people accessing this program often face barriers when engaging with the energy market due to vulnerabilities such as disability, language or digital access,” he said.
“Energy bills can be hard to decipher. It’s important people are helped to access this information because it can be really quite daunting to navigate.”
Minister D’Ambrosio said the continued investment in the EAP was just one in a suite of cost of living relief delivered in the recent state budget.
“So many families are doing it tough – we’re delivering real help with energy bills for families who need it with this free service which has already saved Victorians millions,” she said.
“This is part of our plan to bring down every Victorian family’s energy bills – by investing in cheap, clean renewable energy and helping families make their homes more energy efficient.”
Energy Assistance Program stats
- Successfully supporting Victoria’s communities:
- Two thirds of those who used the service were from metro Melbourne, with the other third from regional Victoria
- 72% of participants are concession card holders
- 54% of participants are over the age of 55 years
- 52% of participants are renters (private, public and social) including 15% in public housing
- 16% of participants speak a language other than English
- 48% of participants have debt
- Successfully supporting participants to overcome barriers and access savings:
- 15% of concession card holding participants were missing their eligible concessions
- 42% of participants supported to find a better offer were not on their best offer
- 47% of participants supported to call their retailer
The Energy Assistance Program is for those who hold a Commonwealth Government Concession card, or those who are struggling or expecting to struggle to pay their energy bill.
You can contact the EAP by calling 1800 161 215.
