Under your energy or water contracts, you are expected to pay your energy and water bills in full and on time.

However, the best thing you can do if you think you’ll have trouble paying your bill by the due date is to ask for help as soon as possible.

Getting help early can stop your debt growing and keep your supply connected.

Contact your provider

If you’re having trouble paying an electricity or gas bill, contact your provider immediately to see how they can help you avoid disconnection.

Similarly, contact your water provider if you can’t pay your water bill. While they can’t disconnect your water, they can severely restrict your water flow.

If necessary, you can give a friend or community worker permission to talk to the provider for you.

If your electricity or gas provider sends you reminder notices or disconnection warnings for not paying 2 bills in a row, they might decide to put you on a ‘shortened collection cycle’.

This means you may not get reminder notices in future about any unpaid bills and just get a disconnection notice without a reminder.

If you don’t pay that bill by the date on the disconnection notice, the provider might disconnect you. They must tell you if they’re going to put you on a shortened collection cycle. You can return to a regular collection cycle by paying 3 bills in a row by the due date.

If you don’t contact them until after you’ve been disconnected or restricted, you might have to pay a fee, a security deposit and some or all of the amount owing before they’ll reconnect you.

Read more advice about:

• electricity and gas disconnection
• water supply restriction.

Payment plans

Providers are required to offer payment plans to customers who need time to pay their bill. Payment plans are made up of agreed instalment amounts.

If you and the provider can’t agree about how much you can afford to pay, contact us.

Programs for financial difficulty

All providers need to have a policy to help customers in financial difficulty. Most providers have special hardship programs that help customers stay connected and stay on top of their bills.

Each provider has its own eligibility criteria for their programs. Contact your provider to see if you’re eligible.

Financial counselling

A financial counsellor can help you manage a short-term financial crisis and stay in control of your finances. They can help by:

• budgeting and organising your finances
• figuring out if you’re eligible for government assistance
• explaining debt recovery, bankruptcy and other options
• putting you in touch with other services, such as legal aid and personal counselling.

Get more information:

• List of financial counsellors
• National Debt Helpline

Rebates and concessions

You may be eligible for rebates and concessions to reduce your bill each month.

Read our article on rebates and concessions.

Payment options

Most providers offer customers different ways to pay their bill (e.g. BPAY, direct debit, Centrepay, credit card, in person at the post office). However, they might charge you a fee for paying a certain way. Check with your provider.

All energy and some water providers offer Centrepay to Centrelink customers. Centrelink deducts an amount from your pension or benefit each fortnight (at least $10) and transfers it to your energy or water account.

You still receive a bill, but only for any amount you still owe at the end of the quarter. Contact Centrelink or your provider to find out more.

What to do if you have an issue with your provider?

If you have a dispute with your energy or water provider about payment assistance and can't resolve it with them, we may be able to help. You can submit a complaint online or call us on 1800 662 837.