Australia’s hodge-podge, state-based energy concessions program needs to be overhauled and streamlined to make it equitable, the Australian Council of Social Service has said, as low-income residents around the country look to reduce grocery bills and forgo essential prescriptions in order to afford electricity and gas.
In a report released on Wednesday, Acoss and other social service organisations argued that most concession schemes, which vary substantially between states and territories and are mostly delivered as a flat rate discount, were “not adequate to meet needs” and led to inequities in assistance, with bigger households receiving less help despite their costs and energy needs being higher.
