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[VIC] $250 Power Saving Bonus for Victorian Households

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Went to check my energy prices after a $400 monthly bill and saw the $250 grant at the top of the Victorian Government compare website. The $250 grant does not require you to change providers and payment is made in 7-10 days for 5 minutes of work. From the website:

The $250 Power Saving Bonus for Victorian households is now open. Before submitting an application for the bonus, please read the eligibility requirements.

Eligibility requirements:
* You must be a Victorian residential energy consumer (i.e. have a residential electricity account).
* You must be the account holder
* Only one payment is available per household

As part of the Power Saving Bonus application process, we will present you with information about the best priced electricity offers available in your area. You are not required to switch offers or retailers.

The application process will take five to ten minutes of your time, and you will need to have a recent electricity bill with you.


Mod: Original Deal (2/5/22) - Duplicate Exception (over 6 months).

Related Stores

Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - Energy
Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - Energy

closed Comments

  • Is this the second round or third?

    • +1

      From the FAQ, it stated, Applications are open between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023

      • +28

        Ok so it's the same program

          • +17

            @markathome: What does this free money have to do with lockdowns?

          • +6

            @markathome: He kept extending the lockdowns because you lot promised to leave if he did, why are you all still here?

            • @Miss B:

              He kept extending the lockdowns because you lot promised to leave if he did, why are you all still here?

              Just because I can't walk past a good deal Miss B, does this mean you'd be willing to chip-in for a GoFundMe to help make our mutual dream of me leaving Victoria come true?

          • -5

            @markathome: Agree 100% although TBH I don't think any amount of money can compensate us and especially our kids for those disgustingly OTT lockdowns and restrictions.
            (Cue the sheeple's responses.)

            • +3

              @thrifty mum: It’s funny, sheeple used to be a cute/pathetic term goths and emos used to refer to a mainstream they felt alienated from.

              Now it’s used by grown-ass adults to refer to a mainstream they feel neglected and undervalued by.

              Potato potato.

              At least the goth/emo aesthetic had a bit more style than frazzled suburban kmart shopper with bad attitude.

              • -4

                @0jay: Hook, line and sinker! Must be a Dan follower, you poor thing😔
                FYI I'm neither frazzled, nor a Kmart shopper (whatever that implies), I work 62 hours a week, dressed in hi vis and work boots, and most of my shopping is groceries from Coles/Aldi or online from Myer as I have no time to browse in stores, and when I do, I prefer Bunnings! (typically wearing jeans and T-shirt)!
                Big assumptions you made there😂

                • @thrifty mum: I don’t care where you shop or what you wear.

                  What I’m concerned about is idiots broadcasting their stupidity without any pushback beyond a neg.

                  ‘Dan follower’ is a case in point - you have any idea how stupid that is? Politicians represent. They don’t have followers.

                  • -1

                    @0jay: Please consider 0jay, the effect of lockdowns are more than just a political point for some. Many of whom are still trying to put their lives back together.

                    Also we have drifted somewhat from the bargain, which we now have two sources suggesting will be extended in FY23/24 for those who stay in Victoria:

                    • @markathome:

                      we have drifted somewhat from the bargain

                      The new round opens in July. The current round (as linked to in this ‘bargain’) is the same as from July last year which is irrelevant to anyone who’ve already claimed it (unless you have a new ‘household’).

                      As for the lockdowns they were not political, they were about navigating pandemic chaos through emergency powers in a climate of limited knowledge and conflicting advice.

                      Just because lockdowns/public health measures have been politicised does not make them ‘political’.

  • +33

    This is the same program that launched July 1st 2022. So an old deal that has already been covered.

    • +5

      FFS I just wasted 10 mins filling it in.

      TY for heads up.

  • +30
    • That deal was posted over six months ago was it not?

      • +17

        Still a dupe, as every real OzBargainer has already claimed it

        • +6

          We all claimed it 1st of July

        • I appreciate the reminder. I was too busy buying discounted Ryobi tools, Black Friday stuff I did not need and a sweet Mercedes bicycle.

          $250 will come in handy.

          For all of you who already have your cash, the post is at least a good reminder that a new round is coming.

  • +5

    Oldie but a goodie

  • bugga

    • -3

      wrong website.

  • +1

    why no love for NSW?

    • +4

      You got Back to School vouchers instead.

      • -1

        But NSW pays higher taxes than VIC

        • +2

          But NSW pays lower energy prices than VIC

        • NSW also gets a higher proportion of taxes spent in the state. Victoria pays more than they get back.

    • +1

      State government initiative.
      Move to Vic.

      • +3

        No thanks we're full, stay where you are please 😊

    • +1

      One of the two major parties in NSW promised this same deal if they win the next State election. Would have been better if it was a $250/week rental assistance for comparing rents…

      • I don't need it as I actually turn a profit from my Solar - I would hope that would make me ineligible for the free money…

        • +2

          If I was you, I would hope it wouldn't. Who let this guy join OzB anyway?!? ;P

    • -2

      …and fewer days in lockdown plus a competent government.

      • +3

        Is there a reason you haven't moved to another state or territory or country?

        • Some of us have jobs and kids in high school… Not that easy (unfortunately)

      • Keep posting. I'll be back when my negs renew.

      • +1

        Yes, best government!

        Heil Perrottet

  • +4

    Must of been living under a rock since last July

  • +3

    I am surprised someone ozbargain hasnt claimed it yet.

    • -4

      or created multiple fake addresses to claim more than once.

      • +7

        I think you are looking for FraudBargains

      • +2

        After installing electricity meters and service connections to said fake address lol

  • Took months for my claim to get paid out. Our property mains power supply goes to our shed first and then fed to the house. The government wouldn't pay up until I convinced them that I don't live in a shed. I reckon I put $250 worth of labour into this rebate. Oh well.

    • Sounds like you're on a SME tariff instead of Resi?
      Just get retailer->distributor to reconfig smart meter

      • -1

        Definitely residential but distributor has our address as…

        SHED xxx road suburb Vic postcode

        • Ah, yes it's incredibly painful to remove old location descriptors. In fact I have never heard of it happening to date.

  • I think there might be another round of this just around the corner.

  • -5

    Fantastic policy for increasing inflation (and thus interest rates).

    I am very glad my state government borrowed billions in order to hand out money during an inflationary spike.

    Thankfully they did this while already being the most indebted state in the nation, so we not only pay for this in tax (and inflation), but we also have to pay interest on the debt too.

    Wonderful policy.

    • +7

      Bang on. Not sure why the Neg.

      Print Money, give out, dilute the supply, need more to pay for the same thing (ie. Inflation).

      • -3

        $250 is trivial in the scheme of things, and in any case the program was announced 2 May 2022, well before the bulk of any inflation spike.

        Unlike in NSW, which just announced the same program.

        • +4

          $250 is trivial sure, but $250 for every citizen is over $1.6 billion.

          Why is NSW also handing out cash before an election - as this policy in Vic was - some sort of defence of such awful fiscal policy?

          • +1

            @Wolfenstein98k: I explained that the policy was announced at a time when stimulus was still a thing, people were freaking out about energy prices (like every other week for the last decade), and was being developed while the reserve bank was still talking about no interest rate rises until at least 2024.

            Everyone has 100% clear vision in hindsight, eh?

            Whether you think the NSW policy, formed during dramatically different circumstances, is a good policy is really neither here nor there. I certainly wasn't offering it as a defense, just explaining the policy appears to be bipartisan.

            Also, your calculation is wrong, it's $250 per household, not per citizen, so the net effect is a fraction of what you assert.

            But look, if you want to talk about "awful" fiscal policies stoking inflation, let's have a chat about negative gearing, or stage 3 tax cuts, amongst many other things.

            • @AngoraFish: They began the policy months after the interest rate rises started and many many months after the inflation figures showed persistent core inflation.

              Just because it took a long time to plan does not excuse massive stimulus during very severe inflation.

              As to household vs individual, yep I got that wrong and it reduces the figures.

              But your list of policies you think are bad is quite funny - why would decades old policies that allow individuals to deduct the cost of investing from the income from those investments (aka negative gearing) be relevant?

              Stage 3 tax cuts are also years old and (in part) designed to tackle bracket creep.

              Both are bipartisan policies.

              • @Wolfenstein98k: So… wasteful, inflationary policies are fine, no matter that they are several hundreds of orders of magnitude larger, so long as we've been wasting that money for a long time? Got it.

                Although, Stage 3 eh? Took a long time to plan? Check. Not implemented yet? Check. For the life of me I can't see the parallels.

                Regardless, Stage 3 tax cuts have nothing to do with bracket creep, self evidentially. They eliminate an entire bracket, full stop. It's a blatant tax giveaway to the very wealthy. Reducing bracket creep would involve increasing the thresholds at which a tax rate applied, or better yet, indexing them to inflation. But, you know, any excuse sounds better than rich people are worthy while poor people are bludgers, amirite?

                But sure, let's get all hysterical about a one off $250. No need at all to worry about real problems when we have cheap political points to score.

          • +1

            @Wolfenstein98k: The rebate is available for every household.
            Not every citizen.
            Not every household will partake.

            • @GG57: True, that would drop the figures significantly from what I wrote.

              • @Wolfenstein98k: According to the latest census there were ~2.81m households, so it wouldn't even reach $1b.

        • This scam started as early as 2018 (https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/helping-victorians-bust-their…) with the $50/$250 hand-out which proceeded recent inflation and power prices.

    • Pretty sure most people would have actually used this to put towards bills in some way shape or form. Its not like a stimulus payment where people can spend it on any discretionary item. Everyone pays utilities so reality is it would have gone to that for pretty much every single person in the state. I know it helped us.

      • It is stimulus by definition - it's just a cash handout.

        The point is that it increases your purchasing power.

        You probably weren't in debt to your utilities company before you received the payment, so by definition you didn't spend it on utilities.

        (If you increased your usage by $250, in order to have spent it on the utilities, then that's dumb because you have just increased the demand on energy, which causes inflation.)

        Money is fungible, you can't just claim the $250 you got handed today is going to be spent on bills you're already paying.

  • I recently moved, and to my surprise, managed to get a second payment at my new house. Though the second time round they sent a cheque (!?!) instead of EFT, but hey it's still $250

    • You're probably on an embedded network, they send cheques when you are

      • Nope, not on embedded network.

      • I missed this government bonus the last time (not in the loop), but I'm in an apartment with an embedded network (I guess that means no switching of providers). Do apartment residents get this "bonus"?

    • +1

      Is that fraudulent? Seems to imply in the terms that nobody should be claiming twice

      • +1

        In the terms it says "one payment per household". I am now in a different household. Also, I presume they would have systems to check fraud (I didn't change my name (which is unique in Australia) or even bank account details).

        • Yup. My rental property went vacant and I had to change elec back into my name. Got a second payment. It's definitely per household.

        • -2

          You are now in a different “house”. “Household” aka house + hold is the things within a house which it holds. Just because their checks didn’t catch it (or are terribly implemented) doesn’t mean it was “allowed” and not fraudulent. I doubt anyone is going to bother doing anything about it though. If any thing it’s somewhat dishonest but the cost to filter out the tiny number of cases isn’t worth it.

          Tl;dr bank error in your favour but you definitely are twisting the meaning of household to justify it

          • @MetalPhreak: Trust me they check. My second claim for my holiday house was delayed due to further investigation. The terms clearly state it per household, not per family. I pay bills at both houses so should be able to claim at both premises as long as im the primary resident at both.

  • Dupe?

  • +1

    When I got this I changed to lumo, got a $50 sign up credit, $50 referral bonus, cheaper electricity, rates locked in for 12 months and the $250 govt rebate. This was right when they were predicting huge rises. I'm not sure if the price rises ever happened.

    • Is that lumo offer still on? Moving in new place soon and looking at energy providers Electricity+ gaz. Globird has a $50 sign up credit offer

    • Oh they are happening - but they dont happen 5 mins after increases like banks as they can only happen every 6 months

  • Already done

  • +1

    There is other deal in Victoria, Utility Relief Grant Scheme is $650 per fuel over a two-year period.
    Can be applied over yours Energy suppliers. But I think this is only for experienced financial hardship.
    So looks that for gas and electricity possible minus $1300 from both bills.

    • +2

      Thats not a deal but a relief measure thats case by case. Doesnt really belong in the site

      • +1

        Sorry I doesn't mean it as real deals for ozbargainers, only as info for anyone who may be interested.
        Actually that info rare became known for wide public. Many Victorians don't know about it.
        Only few energy suppliers given that info to their customers. Maybe because they obligated to apply this
        applications on behalf its customers.

        • The elec companies have an interest in advising of this when they have customers in hardship as it means they get their money.

          Either way I dont think its a 'deal' as such its a relief measure.

  • Too targeted - not a valid bargain

    • Only one payment is available per household

    Ask wife to pay for gas bills in holiday home.

  • Is SA govt too poor to do this kind of thing? :/

    • +1

      WA did one mid 2022

    • -1

      More like too responsible, Vic has more debt than Qld, NSW combined🤦🏼‍♀️

  • Anything like this for us Queenslanders?

  • Hope they do a new one. Love free money.

  • +1

    Moved in with partner and claimed in old place and new place.
    Bought a house and moving again soon - can we double dip? It's a new household/ address

    • Get in the other spouses name?

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