Retirees and pensioners

If you are a retiree or pensioner, support and assistance may be available to you if you are experiencing employments issues, financial difficulties or housing issues.

» Are you having trouble paying bills or buying essentials?
» What assistance is there to help with my energy bills?
» Are you having mortgage or rental issues?
» Are you looking for work?
» Do you need advice about managing your finances, your mortgage or debts?
» Do you need legal advice?

Are you having trouble paying bills or buying essentials?

Water and energy bills

If you're having difficulty paying your water bill, Sydney Water [2] and Hunter Water [3] offer a range of options to their customers. These include flexible payment schemes and payment assistance. Government owned energy providers also offer support for customers struggling to pay their gas and power bills.

For more information go to:

Sydney Water [2] or call 13 20 92
Hunter Water [4] or call 1300 657 657
Energy Australia [5] or call 1300 723 492
Integral Energy [6] or call 131 002
Country Energy [7] or call 13 23 56

If you are a customer of other water and energy companies you should contact your provider about what options are available to you.

If you are having financial difficulty paying your energy bill financial assistance may be available through Industry and Investment NSW. Eligibility criteria apply.

For more information go to the Energy Accounts Payment Assistance Scheme [8] website or call 1300 136 888.

Water and energy rebates

Pensioners may receive rebates on water usage charges from Sydney Water and Hunter Water. For more information please call:

Sydney Water [2]or call 13 20 92
Hunter Water [9] or call 1300 657 657

Pensioners may also be eligible for a $122 energy rebate through the Industry and Investment NSW [10].

Financial assistance

If you are on a low income you may be eligible to receive a loan of up to $1200 to purchase essential household goods and medical goods and services through the No Interest Loan Scheme [11]. For more information please call on 13 32 20.

Mortgage and rent assistance

If you are suffering temporary difficulties with your home loan repayments because of an unavoidable change in circumstances, such as unemployment, short term financial assistance through the Mortgage Assistance Scheme [12] may be available. This is a loan to be repaid in the future and eligibility criteria apply. For more information please call 1300 HOUSING (1300 468 746).

If you are having trouble making repayments on your loan, credit card or mortgage because of illness, unemployment and other reasonable causes, you should seek assistance from NSW Fair Trading [13] who may be able to help negotiate a variation on your contract. For more information please call 13 32 20.

RTA concessions and rebates

If you are a pensioner you may be eligible for a number of concessions from the Roads and Traffic Authority [14] including concessions for vehicle registration and licenses. For more information please call 13 22 13.

Travel concessions

A variety of travel concessions are available including concessions for pensioners and seniors, students, apprentices and trainees, jobseekers and people with disabilities.

For more information on travel concessions [15], call the Transport Infoline on 131 500.

Tax assistance

If you are experiencing difficulty meeting you tax obligations there may be options to pay your tax over time. Eligibility criteria apply. For more information call 1300 368 710.

Centrelink [16] provides a wide range of assistance to help you pay and manage your bills and rent.

What assistance is there to help with my energy bills?

The NSW Government has a range of programs to help eligible customers stay connected to these essential services. These include the:

NSW Energy Rebate [10] ($145)
Medical Energy Rebate [17] ($145)
Life Support Rebate [18] (rates vary depending on the type of machine)
Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) [8] vouchers
Home Power Savings Program [19] (savings of up to $95 a year)
Retailer Hardship Policies and Payment Plans
Save Power website [20] (for useful energy saving tips and information on rebates to assist households purchase energy savings appliances)
Centrepay [21] (to prevent large energy bills by making regular instalments)
More information about electricity rebates and EAPA assistance is available from your electricity supplier or from the Energy Information Line on 1300 136 888.

More information about electricity rebates [10] and EAPA assistance [8] is available from your electricity supplier or from the Energy Information Line on 1300 136 888.

For more information on rebates, hardship programs and payment plans contact your retailer, who can assist and if you are eligible, set you up with rebates or programs.

Are you having mortgage or rental issues?

A range of housing assistance options are available to people with housing needs through Housing Pathways [22] including private rent assistance and rent subsidies as well as temporary, emergency supported and crisis accommodation. For more information please call 1300 HOUSING (1300 468 746).

Centrelink [23] provides services to help you pay your rent and to find accommodation in crisis situations.

Are you looking for work?

Employment assistance

If you are looking for work, NSW Government job opportunities [24] are available for people at all stages of their career. Traineeships and graduate programs may also be available.

If you are an apprentice and you are at risk of losing your placement you can register to be matched to apprenticeship jobs available across the State through the Continuing Apprenticeships Placement Scheme [25]. Relocation assistance is also available. Eligibility criteria apply.

If you are Aboriginal and looking for work or to improve your current job situation local New Careers for Aboriginal People Officers [26] are available help you. These Officers also work with employers to match vacancies to qualified staff.

If you live in social housing, have been unemployed and are re-entering the workforce the Tenant Employment and Incentive Scheme [27] can provide you with financial assistance towards your rent for the first 12 weeks of your employment. For more information please call 1300 HOUSING (1300 468 746).

Do you need advice about managing your finances, your mortgage or debts?

Financial advice

If you need financial advice and counselling about managing debts and payments, free accredited services are available through the Financial Counselling Services Program [28]. Centrelink [29] also offers advice on managing your finances.

Do you need legal advice?

If you need financial advice the Consumer Credit Legal Centre [30] gives free financial counselling, information, referrals and legal advice to individual consumers in NSW on credit, debt and banking issues. Advice is not available to businesses. For more information please 1800 808 488 for advice on credit and debt issues and 1300 663 464 for advice on insurance issues (Mon - Fri 9.30am - 4.30pm).

If you need legal advice LawAccess [31] is a free phone service that provides legal information, referral and in some cases legal advice to people in NSW. For more information please call 1300 888 529 (Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm).

If you earn a low income and need legal help Legal Aid [32] provides minor assistance and casework services to eligible people throughout NSW including advice on mortgage payments and other debt issues. For more information please call 1300 888 529.