It’s Official: Energy Bill Relief Fund Rebates To End

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced the Albanese government’s federal subsidy taking some of the sting out of electricity bills will not be further extended.

What Is The Energy Bill Relief Fund?

Originally to run for just a year, Australia’s Energy Bill Relief Fund was set up with $1.5 billion in 2023-24. An extension was announced and implemented from July 1, 2024, continuing into 2025.

The rebates haven’t been means-tested. All grid-connected households receiving an electricity bill were initially provided $300 in rebates for the 2024–25 financial year. Support then dropped to $150 from 1 July 2025 to the end of 2025; automatically applied to electricity bills in two $75 quarterly instalments.

In addition to providing direct relief to households, the rebate reduced Australia’s headline inflation; which is a total measure of price changes for all goods and services.

Commenting on the decision to end the relief yesterday, Treasurer Chalmers said:

“We’ve been up-front with people and said that these were never going to be a permanent feature of the budget.”

How Much Have The Rebates Cost?

The Energy Bill Relief Fund has reportedly been funded with $7 billion from the feds to date, with states tipping in another $1.5 billion.

Households Still Struggling

As we reported late last week, Energy Consumers Australia’s (ECA’s) December 2025 Consumer Energy Report Card reveals many households have been continuing to struggle to pay their power bills, even with the government support. 16% reported experiencing difficulties paying an electricity bill in the last 6 months, while 17% struggled with a gas bill.

In another report based on recently released data from the Australian Energy Regulator, Anti-Poverty Centre, Parents For Climate and Sweltering Cities said 336,615 Australian households were in energy debt in 2024. The average value of a household’s energy debt jumped by $219 last year — to $1,367.

“While the Federal Government’s rebates provided some relief to hardship customers and those with very small debts at the beginning of the year, these were much less impactful in the second half of the year when debts were higher,” they state.

A Call For Real Action On Energy Bills

The groups are leading a campaign called Stop The Bill Shock; claiming that despite falling wholesale prices thanks to renewables, Australia’s largest energy retailers posted significant profit increases across FY24 and early FY25. The campaign calls for state and federal governments to:

• Wipe existing energy debts now.
• Make companies pass on more of the savings generated by renewable energy.
• Implement new rules and regulations to make the market fairer and stop profiteering.
• Expand funding and support for home upgrades such as solar, insulation and efficient cooling.

“The government should be stepping in to stop energy retailers taking the piss,” said Jay Coonan from Antipoverty Centre. “They’ve had it too good for too long and people are sick of paying through the nose while CEO’s make millions and shareholders make off with dividends.”

But there’s more to it. The Climate Council says among key reasons power bills are sky high:

• Australia’s energy system is still too heavily reliant on expensive fossil fuels.
• The vast majority of Australia’s gas is exported; meaning we have to compete with global export prices. This pricey gas often sets power prices.
• Ageing and unreliable coal-fired power stations pushing up wholesale prices during outages and related events.

The Clean Energy Council says electricity price pressure is also coming from being stuck between old coal assets failing and new renewable assets not arriving fast enough.

“The Australian Energy Market Commission last week released its Residential Electricity Price Trends 2025 report, highlighting that despite electricity prices being projected to fall by 5 per cent by 2030, delays to renewable generation, firming and transmission projects can add up to 20 per cent to household bills if the system is forced to lean on unreliable 40-year-old coal generators,” says the CEC.

Added to all that, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a surge in energy prices not just in Australia, but across the world.

Have you compared electricity plans lately to ensure you’re on the best deal possible? If not, it might be a good time to before summer really hits. And some commenters on this blog have pointed out that directly negotiating with retailers can also be fruitful, rather than just relying on their published offers. Give your retailer a call and see if they’ll provide you a better  deal — it could turn out to be good investment of a small amount time.