Hundreds of thousands may be missing out on energy bill discounts up to $372

Hundreds of thousands of Australians eligible for concessions on their energy bills may not be receiving them, with more than 35% of potential recipients missing out on critical cost-of-living relief in some states, according to new research.

A paper released on Wednesday by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) examined the eligibility criteria for concession or rebate schemes available in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT and estimated how many people were receiving the discounts based on publicly available concession and energy-retailer performance data.

The paper found the largest gap was in the ACT, where 41% of those eligible for energy concessions were not receiving them. The discounts available in the territory could be worth up to $750 a year for a household.

The next largest gap was in South Australia, where 38% of eligible consumers were not receiving rebates they were entitled to, followed by 35% of those in NSW. In SA, rebates could be worth up to $241.63 a year, while in NSW it was $285.

In Queensland, 29% of eligible consumers were estimated to be missing out on rebates of up to $372.20 on electricity and $80.77 on gas.

The gap was smaller in Tasmania, where 19% of people with an eligible concession did not receive their entitlements, which are calculated on a cents-a-day basis.

In Victoria, CPRC analysis suggested at least 7% of eligible Victorians did not receive a concession on their electricity, 12% were missing out on concessions on their gas bill and 22% on their water bill, though they warned this was likely an underestimate.

Australians are increasingly struggling with cost of living pressures: inflation hit a 32-year high of 7.3% last week, largely driven by energy costs. Meanwhile, rents continue to rise, food banks deal with increasing requests for assistance and the federal government refrains from raising the rate of jobseeker and other below-poverty-line welfare payments.

Erin Turner, chief executive of CPRC, said the concession system was far too complex for the public to navigate, not least because eligibility differed substantially from state to state.

It also recommended that the federal government work with the states and territories to review, streamline and unify the concessions framework.

Energy retailers, too, needed to make sure eligible consumers were receiving the concessions they were entitled to, and should invest in systems that helped people understand what they were eligible for, Turner said.

Turner said federal and state governments could make the process vastly easier for the public.