Electricity, gas, water and phone bills

You should contact the service provider and try to negotiate a payment plan. You can do this by phone, by email or by letter. 

You should tell your service provider:

• you are in financial hardship
• how much you can afford to pay
• you want to work out a payment plan.

If you apply over the phone, you should keep a record of who you spoke with and get a reference number.

Sample: Sample letter to utility provider

Speak to a financial counsellor

If you need help with calculating what you can afford to pay, you should see a free financial counsellor. A financial counsellor can help you negotiate with your utility company, make plans to manage your debts and assist you if you're being harassed by debt collectors. 

To find a free financial counsellor see Financial Counselling on the National Debt Helpline website.

You should also ask your service provider about applying for a rebate or voucher to help you pay your utility bills. Rebates and vouchers can help you pay your utility bills. 

For help with energy bills, there are rebates available for eligible people including low-income households, families, seniors, gas rebates, medical and life support schemes. You can apply for assistance even if you are experiencing short-term financial crisis.

For more information see Find an energy rebate on the NSW Climate and Energy Action website.

Community services may offer emergency relief in some cases. You can find a list of your local community agencies on the Ask Izzy website and contact them to find out your payment assistance options.

If you are struggling to pay your bills due to domestic and family violence or have safety concerns, you may have additional options. For more information see Domestic and family violence, below.

If you have been impacted by domestic or family violence and have problems with your bills, you can reach out to your service provider.

Most energy, water and phone providers have specific domestic violence policies to help people experiencing domestic violence.

This assistance might include:

• Offering financial hardship programs including flexible payment plans, government help or letting you pay through Centrepay.
• Taking steps to protect your account and prioritise your safety.
• Not sharing your personal confidential information without your permission.
• Having trained staff who can recognise and help people experiencing domestic violence.
• Before taking steps to recover arrears or selling the debt to someone else, they have to consider how this might affect you or if someone else is responsible for the account.
• Keeping your service connected to ensure your safety.

Phone and internet providers might help you take action to prevent unwelcome contact or provide advice on screening and blocking calls.

If you’re experiencing family violence or financial abuse, talk to your service provider’s hardship team about the support available under their domestic violence policy.  Electricity, gas, telecommunications, and the majority of water providers have their domestic violence policy accessible on their website.  Some water providers in NSW have different ways to assist customers affected by domestic violence who have payment difficulties. If your water provider is operated by your local council you can contact them to find out about their hardship policy.  

Your provider won’t ask you to provide documentary evidence about your situation if you want to share your circumstances with them. If you don’t want to tell your provider that you are experiencing family violence, you could also tell your provider you are experiencing financial hardship or are concerned for your safety.

If you’ve tried to fix the issue with the supplier first, and haven’t been able to, you can make a complaint to an Ombudsman service. Depending on the issue, you may contact:

• The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), for complaints about phone and internet providers. For more information see Phone or internet complaints impacted by family violence, on the TIO website.
• The Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) for issues with electricity, gas and some water providers. For more information see Dealing with family violence, on the EWON website.
• If a local council operates your water supply, you can complain to the NSW Ombudsman.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic violence or financial abuse, you can contact 1800 RESPECT for information, referrals and counselling.

If you have fallen behind on your utility bills and haven’t contacted the provider, a debt collection agency may reach out to you.  Any late payments may be recorded on a credit report.  

If you receive Centrelink payments, you can pay your utility bills through a free and voluntary service called 'Centrepay'.

 Centrepay allows you set up regular deductions from your Centrelink payment for utility bills, rent and other household costs. 

For more information, see Centrepay on the Services Australia website.

If you are unable to resolve the problem with the utility provider, you can complain to an Ombudsman service. It is free to lodge a complaint with an Ombudsman service.

The Energy and Water Ombudsman (EWON) handles complaints about energy, gas and some water providers. You can complain to EWON within 12 months from when you first became aware of the problem. EWON can only deal with disputes over some water bills.

To check if your water supplier is a member of EWON see List of member providers on the EWON website. If your provider is not a member of EWON you can make a complaint to the NSW Ombudsman.

If your water bill is part of your council rates or is issued by your local council, and you are worried about paying it or it is overdue, see the Unpaid Council Rates guided pathway on the Legal Aid NSW website.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is a national independent dispute resolution scheme for complaints about phone or internet issues. You can complain to TIO within two years from when you first became aware of the problem. 

To complain to an Ombudsman service, you will need to provide:

• ​your contact details
• the name of the utility service provider
• a description of the complaint
• a copy of any relevant letters, bills, invoices and receipts.

The Ombudsman service will try to resolve your complaint with your service provider. A decision made by the Ombudsman is binding on service providers but not on consumers. If you are not satisfied with the result of an investigation, you can ask for a review of the decision.

If you don't think you owe to debt in full, you should get legal advice​ or complain to the relevant Ombudsman.

If you have fallen behind on your utility bills and haven’t contacted the provider, a debt collection agency may reach out to you. Any late payments may be recorded on a credit report. 

If you have fallen behind on your utility bills and haven’t contacted the supplier, a debt collection agency may reach out to you. 

You can ask the debt collector if your service provider still owns the debt.  If they do, contact your service provider to negotiate or to access financial hardship assistance.

If you’ve struggled to pay your utility bills, and your service provider has sold the debt to a debt collection agency, you will have to deal with the debt collector who now owns your debt.

When dealing with a debt collector you should be careful not to admit the debt if you are disputing it or not sure whether you owe it.  

For more information see Dealing with Debt Collection on the Financial Rights Legal Centre website.

A credit report is a document that summarises information about loans credit cards and other credit products in your name. Generally, information about late payments or defaults, including utility debts, can be listed on your credit report.

If your bills remain unpaid for a long time, a utility provider may notify credit reporting agencies about the default. This can affect your ability to get credit loan, such as getting a mortgage or purchasing a car.

Under domestic violence policies, service providers have to consider the impact it will have on you before reporting any unpaid debts or financial hardship information to a credit reporting agency, such as Equifax.

If you find information on your credit report that you think is incorrect, you have the right to have it fixed for free.

For more information, see Fix your credit report on the National Debt Helpline website