Not all households or small businesses have an account with an electricity retailer. Sometimes, your landlord, property manager, park owner, body corporate or an entity contracted by these parties buys electricity in bulk and on-sells this to you based on how much you consume.

Residents in these types of arrangements are eligible for the $200 rebate, and small businesses are eligible for the $500 rebate. Your complex owner, manager or utility billing company should receive your utility rebate on their bill from May 2020 onward, and they will pass it onto your household as part of your next electricity bill. If you haven’t received this assistance by 31 July 2020, please contact your utility provider (body corporate, caravan park owner, utility billing company, etc.).

The Government is asking that all embedded network owners self-identify with their electricity retailer by 25 April 2020 and make the necessary billing system adjustments to ensure that their embedded network customers are provided with the relevant utility rebate.

To do this, you will need to notify your retailer by 25 April 2020 to advise the number of occupied households or small business tenants (as at 30 April 2020), within your premises. The relevant forms for this purpose (Form 511 for households and Form 514 for small businesses) have been provided to electricity retailers and embedded network industry groups. They can also be downloaded from the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors website: https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/community/queensland-government-concessions/information-retailers-service-providers

Your retailer will provide a bulk credit to you (i.e. $200 x number of occupied households or $500 x number of small business tenants) on your next bill.

You must then pass on these rebates onto your residents and/or small business tenants on their next bill. We understand that some embedded network owners engage a third party meter reading and billing service. Some of these billing agents have also been informed of this Queensland Government initiative and you may wish to contact your provider to ensure the necessary system adjustments have been put in place.

Please Note: Failure to pass on the $200 household rebate to residents is a breach of condition 13 of an Embedded Network Operator’s (exempt seller’s) retail exemption conditions with the Australian Energy Regulator. If an exempt seller fails to comply with a retail exemption condition, a penalty may be applied by the AER (under s112 of the National Energy Retail Law).

Retailers will be reimbursed by the government when they submit the required tax invoice to the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors (DCDSS). The tax invoice should cover the total amount reimbursed and match the total number of claimants the retailer has.

This is the same process that has been used in previous years by retailers and embedded network operators to process the Queensland Government’s $50 Asset Ownership Dividend payments and electricity concession arrangements for households.

The department understands that for some retailers, payment of the rebate to a large number of customers at once needs to be managed closely.  DCDSS has advised that reimbursements will be undertaken very quickly after receiving complete claims from retailers.

The required forms can be downloaded from the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors web site: https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/community/queensland-government-concessions/information-retailers-service-providers

Embedded network operators are asked to notify their retailer by 25 April 2020 of the number of eligible residences or small business tenants they expect to have in their embedded network as at 30 April 2020, using the relevant form - Form 511 (for residential) and Form 514 (for small business). Early lodgement will assist retailers to credit accounts in a timely manner.

Embedded network operators will receive a bulk payment from their retailer as a credit on their account, i.e. $200 x number of occupied households, and/or $500 x number of small business tenants. Embedded network operators must then provide the full $200 and/or $500 rebate to all eligible residents/tenants on their next electricity bill/invoice.

The department recognises that, in some cases, following the lodgement of claims by the embedded network operator to the retailer by 25 April 2020, there may a small number of changes in the number of active residential or small business accounts on 30 April 2020. Where this situation arises, embedded network operators are requested to notify their retailer and submit a reconciliation claim using the same Form 511 or Form 514.

Information provided on the reconciliation claim should identify only the reconciliation numbers, i.e. the number of residences or small business tenants for which a claim was initially made, but were actually unoccupied on 30 April 2020, or the number of residences or small business tenants not included in the initial claim, but were occupied on
30 April 2020. A statement should be included on the Form 511 or Form 514 clearly identifying that the claim is for additional rebates, or is for the return of excess rebates received. Retailers will need to critically assess information on any reconciliation claim, and apply relevant adjustments to the next bill.

Embedded network operators will need to use Form 516 (attached) to claim for any additional $300 supplemental relief payments made to any residential customers within their embedded network who received $200 (because they are on a residential tariff) but identify as being a sole trader and therefore are eligible to receive the $500 small business rebate amount.

The relevant forms can be downloaded from the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors web site: https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/community/queensland-government-concessions/information-retailers-service-providers

All required sections of the relevant forms need to be completed and signed by the respective owner/proprietor/manager of the embedded network. This includes ensuring the Proprietor’s Declaration is witnessed by another person.  (Note the witness does not need to be a Justice of the Peace).

If an incomplete form is submitted, the retailer will need to inform the respective embedded network owner/proprietor/manager and ask that they resubmit a completed form.

Normal retailer business processes would apply in this instance, i.e. any credit against a customer’s account will be settled as per the terms and conditions of the customer’s contract.

To be eligible for the rebates, residential and small business customers must have an active electricity account on 30 April 2020. The retailer who is financially responsible for the premises on 30 April 2020 will be responsible for applying the rebate in the customer’s next bill.  Depending on their individual billing cycle, customers will start seeing the rebate in their electricity bill from 1 May 2020 onwards.

The utility rebate will be paid on the electricity bill for the account that is active on
30 April 2020 (where the customer resides on this date). The credit will be taken into account in the final bill for that residence/premises that is processed after 30 April 2020.   

No, the total Utility Relief Package for households is made up of the $50 Asset Ownership Dividend (AOD) payment announced for 2020, plus an extra $150 in response to COVID-19. Future AOD payments are scheduled for 2021 and 2022 (exact timing to be advised).

All residential customers (who are supplied on a residential tariff, such as Tariff 11) will automatically receive the $200 household rebate (this will include sole traders using a residential tariff). 

A residential customer who is operating as a sole trader will also receive the $500 business rebate as long as their business consumption is metered separately to their household consumption (ie on a separate small business tariff, such as Tariff 20), and their total business consumption is less than 100MWh per annum as defined by the National Energy Retail Law. 

Therefore, there may be instances where a customer receives two separate rebates. However, to be eligible for both the household and business rebates, a sole trader’s consumption must be supplied under both a residential and small business tariff (i.e. two eligible accounts).

All residential customers, including sole traders, who are on a residential tariff should automatically receive the $200 household rebate.

If a retailer receives a query from a customer operating a business from home who is not on a small business tariff, the retailer will need to consider whether the customer is a sole trader (e.g. is the account in a business name, has an ABN been provided etc).

If the retailer is satisfied the customer is a sole trader (and eligible for the small business rebate of $500), but the customer has already received the $200 rebate on the basis of being on a residential tariff), the retailer should provide the customer with an additional $300 credit on their electricity bill, bringing their total relief payment to $500. Retailers are to use Form 515 to claim for the additional supplemental amount.

A similar process applies to residential sole traders who live in an embedded network. As the sole trader is on a residential tariff, they should have received the $200 household rebate.

If an embedded network operator receives a query from a resident who is operating a business from home, the embedded network operator will need to consider whether that customer is a sole trader (e.g. is the account in a business name, has an ABN been provided etc). 

Further information on the requirements for applying the small business rebate to customers with multiple sites under a consolidated account, or an aggregated load contract, will be provided in mid-April 2020.