Updates
Electricity bill support in 2023-24 Queensland Budget
Queensland Government media release
The 2023-24 Queensland Budget Cost of Living Rebate on electricity will be more than three times the size of last year’s rebate, announced as part of this year’s budget package.
All Queensland households will automatically receive the rebate and, as a result, will have the lowest effective power bills in the national electricity market.
Elderly and the most vulnerable Queenslanders will get the greatest relief, receiving total support of $1,072 per household in 2023-24 including a $700 cost of living rebate – partly funded with the Commonwealth under the National Energy Bill Relief Fund – and $372 through Queensland’s existing Electricity Rebate Scheme.
All remaining households will automatically receive a $550 rebate on their electricity bill in 2023‑24.
At a time when electricity bill increases are being seen across Australia and the rest of the world, these rebates will fully offset typical Queensland household electricity bill increases in 2023-24.
Small businesses will also benefit, with about 205,000 eligible small businesses receiving a $650 rebate on electricity bills in 2023-24 to cut the cost of doing business in Queensland, plus $35 million for the Queensland Business Energy Saving and Transformation Program, which includes targeted support for agriculture to enable advice and contribution to energy efficiency measures and infrastructure.
The budget also allocates $70 million over two years to deliver energy efficiency measures and advice to tens of thousands of eligible Queensland households to directly support energy efficient appliances and household batteries, keeping costs down for households, enabling more choice and greater energy equity.
Additional household and business support measures in the 2023-24 Budget include:
- Over $500 million per annum to continue uniform tariffs so that Queenslanders living in regional areas pay similar prices for their electricity as people living in south east Queensland.
- Queensland small to medium sized businesses will benefit from $35 million over three years to support them to reduce their electricity bills while $6.2 million will deliver ongoing support for regional businesses impacted by the phase-out of obsolete tariffs in 2021.
The Queensland Budget also sets aside $5 million to provide Queensland farmers with relief from fixed charges for pumping water during periods of drought.