Frequently Asked Questions

The Australian Government is partnering with state and territory governments to provide up to $3 billion in electricity bill relief for eligible households and small businesses through the Energy Bill Relief Fund in 2023-24. The states and territories are administering the rebates. Eligible small businesses in South Australia will receive $650 in energy bill relief during 2023-24, co-funded by the Australian and South Australian Governments.

Customers can visit the South Australian Government website for more information: https://business.sa.gov.au/ene...

Information on bill relief for households can be found at sa.gov.au by searching Energy Bill Relief.

Yes. Small businesses who are on an embedded network are eligible if they are:

• located in South Australia,
• have an active electricity account with an embedded network operator on 1 January 2024,
• receive an itemised account from their embedded network operator for their consumption,
• and whose metered total consumption is less than 160MWh per annum, as defined by the National Energy Retail Law as it applies in South Australia.

You are not eligible for the small business relief if:

• you run your small business using electricity from your home
• your annual electricity consumption is above the small business threshold of 160MWh
• you operate an excluded business (eg Government, banks). Refer separate FAQ’s on excluded businesses.

Not all small businesses have an account with an electricity retailer. An embedded network operator, sometimes the landlord, lessor, management corporation or an entity contracted by these parties buys electricity in bulk and on-sells this to small businesses based on how much they consume. This is most common in shopping centres, office buildings and industrial parks. Small businesses in these types of arrangements may be eligible for the $650 bill relief as per the eligibility above.

Eligible small businesses on an embedded network will receive one-off rebate of $650 from their embedded network operator. The embedded network operator will need to apply to their retailer for the bill relief on behalf of their eligible small business tenants. The retailer will apply a bulk credit to the embedded network operator’s next electricity bill, and the operator will then pass the bill relief onto each eligible tenant in their next bill.

No. Due to the added complexity of administering bill rebates to customers in embedded networks, the bill relief will be paid as an annual lump sum payment and only to small businesses who are eligible for the bill relief on 1 January 2024. This reduces the chance of ‘double’ payments, for example as a result of a business moving address.

No. The $650 bill relief will be applied on a per customer basis. Therefore a small business customer that has multiple sites is only entitled to receive one $650 bill relief, provided total consumption across all sites is less than 160MWh per annum.

The bill relief must be listed separately in the calculation summary of each bill and labelled appropriately with the wording “AUS SA Gov Energy Relief”, or similar.

No. The bill relief payments are not taxable or relevant for GST purposes. The bill relief should be applied after the GST-inclusive total has been calculated.

Yes. The bill relief will still be applied to the customer’s account and any credit is to be carried over to the customer’s next bill, and any subsequent bills until they are no longer in credit.

No. The small business bill relief is intended to assist small business owners with their electricity costs and will therefore be applied as a credit on the customer’s electricity bill. The bill relief credit can only be cashed out in the case when an account is being or has closed.

Yes. All eligible small business customers on an embedded network with an active electricity account on 1 January 2024, regardless of the current status of their electricity bill are still eligible for the bill relief.

Yes. All small business customers on a payment plan will be eligible to receive the small business bill relief.

No. To receive the small business bill relief, customers must be separately billed for their electricity supply/consumption and have had an active account on 1 January 2024.

Yes. The following types of businesses are NOT eligible for the $650 bill relief, irrespective of their consumption level, as the nature of the business does not fit within the intent of the government’s bill relief package for small businesses:

• banks and financial institutions (e.g. branches, ATMs);
• utilities, (including telecommunication companies);
• and government-owned agencies and government-owned businesses.

Retailers and embedded network operators are asked to use their best endeavours to ensure the bill relief is not applied to these types of businesses.

The bill relief will be applied to eligible accounts as an annual one-off credit of $650. To be eligible, a small business had to have an active account with their embedded network operator on 1 January 2024. If a customer hasn’t received this assistance they should contact their embedded network operator (management corporation, utility billing company etc).

Embedded network operators can submit their forms to the following retailers. If your retailer is not on this list, please contact them directly:

Embedded network operators are asked to notify their retailer as early as possible of the number of eligible small business tenants they had in their embedded network on 1 January 2024, using the relevant Application Form. Embedded network operators will receive a bulk payment from their retailer as a credit on their account, i.e. $650 x number of small business tenants on 1 January 2024. Embedded network operators must then provide the full $650 bill relief to all eligible tenants on their next electricity bill/invoice and labelled appropriately with the wording “AUS SA Gov Energy Relief”, or similar.

Retailers will be reimbursed by the South Australia Government when they submit the required claim form to the Department of Human Services. The claim form should cover the total amount reimbursed and match the total number of claimants the retailer has.

Where a small business was eligible as at 1 January 2024, but the account is now closed, the bill relief can be claimed if the embedded network operator can on-pass the relief to the small business operator. If the relief cannot be on passed to the small business, then the embedded network operator must not claim the relief.

No. The $650 bill relief will be applied on a per customer basis. Therefore a small business customer that has multiple sites is only entitled to receive one $650 bill relief, provided total consumption across all sites is less than 160MWh per annum.

The government recognises that, in some cases, following the lodgement of claims by the embedded network operator to the retailer, a correction may be required at a later date. Where this situation arises, embedded network operators are requested to notify their retailer and submit a Variation Form (business.sa.gov.au/programs/energy-bill-relief/apply). Information provided on the variation form should identify only the reconciliation numbers, e.g. the number of small business tenants for which a claim was initially made, but were claimed in error, or the number of small business tenants not included in the initial claim, but eligible.

Retailers will need to critically assess information on any reconciliation claim and apply relevant adjustments to the next bill.

All required sections of the relevant forms need to be completed and signed by the respective claimant of the embedded network. If an incomplete form is submitted, the retailer will need to inform the respective embedded network claimant and ask that they resubmit a completed form.

Yes, embedded network operators can claim 2023-24 energy bill relief from energy retailers until 31 December 2024. Application form or a variation form can be submitted to energy retailers no later than 31 December 2024.