Financial hardship

We recognise that there are members of the community who experience financial stress and hardship. Our financial hardship policy has been developed to assist customers who need to pay Ausgrid directly for bushfire safety rectification work or damage to our network.

We seek to address financial hardship early and encourage customers to contact us to discuss their individual circumstances and eligibility for assistance. While everyone’s personal circumstances are different, if you are experiencing any of the following, or are unable to pay due to the size or unexpectedness of the amount required, we may be able to help.

Are you:

• reliant on government assistance or Centrelink payments such as a pension
• unemployed.

Do you have or care for someone with:

• a medical illness/injury, mental health condition or addictive behavioural issue affecting your capacity to pay
• a physical or intellectual disability that affects your capacity to pay.

Have you experienced:

• a death in the family affecting capacity to pay
• a change in the family unit affecting capacity to pay
• a sudden loss of income or substantial reduction in income
• long term fixed low income
• a natural calamity such as fire, flood, drought or storm damage.

If you would like more information about how to assess your eligibility for financial assistance or set up a payment plan please phone us on 13 13 65.

Our hardship policy was developed after consulting community stakeholder groups, the Australian Energy Regulator guidance on customer hardship policies and the general community through our website.