Information for Community Workers

From 1 January 2019, new rules will help Victorians who have difficulty meeting the cost of their electricity and gas bills. The new Payment Difficulty Framework gives clear, consistent rights for consumers to help them manage the payment of their energy bills and sets out new rules that energy companies must follow.

Important parts of the Payment Difficulty Framework include:

• making disconnection a last resort
• clear guidelines for energy companies so that households get consistent support to help pay their energy bills and lower their energy costs
• giving Victorians flexibility to set up affordable payment plans that suit their needs
• providing more assistance to struggling households, such as information and support on reducing costs and access to better energy rates

The Payment Difficulty Framework addresses many of the frustrations that people had with the old system. Below is our quick guide to what has changed (click here for detailed information on the framework).

We have also designed a short form to collect feedback from Victorian financial counsellors and other community workers about poor responses to payment difficulty by electricity and gas providers. It can be found by following this link.