Yahoo Finance Money for millions of Aussies eligible for September cost-of-living relief: 'Centrelink cash boost and rent assist'
Energy rebates, cheaper medicines and Centrelink boosts are on the way for Aussies.
Cost-of-living support measures will start flowing through to millions of Aussies in September. Federal support includes energy bill rebates, cheaper medicines, increased rental assistance and a Centrelink cash boost.
The government’s $300 energy bill rebate will be automatically applied to most residential electricity accounts, paid through four quarterly credits of $75. The relief started flowing through to customers from July 1 but some households are only now seeing the credit on their bills.
“First payments can be expected to be made in a customer’s next billing cycle in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, while in Queensland the quarterly payment has already commenced,” a spokesperson for the Australian Energy Council told Yahoo Finance.
“Retailers had been awaiting finalisation of arrangements in the jurisdictions of Victoria, NSW and South Australia, which has now occurred.”
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Origin Energy and AGL have now processed the payments in New South Wales, so you may already see the payments on your account. Those billed monthly may have already had the rebate applied. Energy Australia said it will automatically apply the rebate to households by the end of August.
It's not the only support on the way for Aussies. Here’s a rundown of the federal relief measures coming for millions of Aussies next month and we’ve rounded up state-by-state measures here.
Rental assistance
Nearly one million households will also receive more relief on their rental payments when Commonwealth Rental Assistance increases by 10 per cent on September 20.
The scheme is open to those receiving Centrelink payments including the age pension, JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance.
The maximum fortnightly payment for a single person living alone is $188.20 every two weeks, or $125.47 for a single person in a share house. That works out to an increase of between $12 to $19 a fortnight.
More cheaper medicines
Aussies can receive twice the medication on a single prescription and this will be expanded to cover 100 more medicines from September 1.
The government introduced 60-day prescriptions last year and the final stage kicks in next week. In total, there will be around 300 medicines available for 60-day scripts which will save money and time for an estimated six million Aussies living with a stable ongoing health condition.
General patients will be able to save up to $189 per medicine per year, while concession card holders can save up to $46.20 per year per medicine. See the full list of medicines here.
Centrelink increase
Millions of Aussies will also receive an increase to their income support payments and pensions when indexation comes into effect on September 20.
This will cover payments indexed twice a year in March and September, including the age pension, Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment.
The government will confirm the exact increases in the coming weeks but calculations by the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA) found the maximum rate for the age pension, carer payment and disability support pension is expected to increase by $28.10 a fortnight for singles and $42.40 for couples.
This would bring fortnightly payments up to $1,144.40 for singles and $1,725.20 for couples.
You can find out more here.
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