Almost half a million older Australians will be given hundreds of dollars in energy bill relief as the federal government looks to battle rising power prices.
All Commonwealth seniors health card holders will receive up to $500 per household, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth announced today.
The 490,000-plus recipients will include an extra 16,230 people granted access to the card after the federal government introduced higher income thresholds for eligibility last November.
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The new income limits are $90,000 for singles and $144,000 (combined) for couples.
The government claimed this would benefit 52,000 older people by 2026-27.
Rishworth said the energy relief would be available from July this year.
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It comes just days after the Australian Energy Regulator revealed electricity prices were set to rise by 20 to 25 per cent for about 600,000 customers across three states from July 1.
The federal government's latest budget committed to $3 billion in financial support for people struggling to pay the power bill.
For more information on the Commonwealth seniors health card or to apply online, visit the Services Australia website.
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