FAQs: Small Business and Charities Energy Bill Relief

Yes.

You must occupy a commercial premises as an owner or tenant to be eligible for this rebate.

No – this rebate is designed for small businesses or charities that consume less than this amount of electricity every year.

Yes, each of the following electricity accounts are not Eligible Accounts:

• an account held by a local government authority, council or entity created pursuant to the Local Government Act 1995 (WA).
• an account held by a Western Australian or Commonwealth Government statutory authority, trading enterprise, department, or agency.
• an account held by a telecommunication company that is, for example part of the corporate group of, Telstra, Vodafone, Optus or the National Broadband Network.
• an account held by an authorised deposit taking institution where the entity that is, for example part of the corporate group of, Westpac, Australian and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank or National Australia Bank.
• an account held by a major mining or resources operator, that is, for example part of the corporate group of - BHP, Rio Tinto, FMG, Chevron and Woodside.
• an account for temporary electricity supply for the purposes of constructing premises.
• an account where consumption at the premises was more than 50MWh in the 12 months prior to 9 May 2023.
• an account where SBDC reasonably expects consumption for the account to be more than 50MWh over a 12-month period.

No, the small business or charity must have incurred electricity costs on 9 May 2023.

The rebate is $650 (GST free).

While the payment is intended to relieve increased cost-of-living pressures for small businesses and charities, there are no requirements as to how your payment is used.

We recommend you seek your own independent advice about the tax implications of receiving this grant.

• Business bank statement showing 2023 transactions, a BSB, an account number and the business name associated with the application.
• Copy of your rates notice or tenancy agreement.
• Evidence of a payment for electricity costs incurred at 9 May 2023 for example, an electricity bill/invoice.

At the appropriate stage in the application process, you will be prompted to upload your document and unless otherwise indicated supporting evidence must be uploaded in PDF format. We may accept documents in JPG or PNG formats, however this is by exception.

Tip: It is highly recommended you do this from a desktop device and not a mobile phone if possible.

To assist in validating the eligibility of the application and protect the program from fraud, it is important we receive an unedited/unredacted PDF copy of your most recent business bank statement of the account into which the grant will be paid.

Applications close at 4pm (AWST) on 31 March 2024.

All applicants will be notified in writing via email of the outcome of an application as soon as practical.

You should receive payment within 5 business days after receipt of advice of a successful application.

If you have any queries about the application process please email grants@smallbusiness.wa.gov.au

The grant is awarded based on the information you provide in your application. The WA Government will conduct audits of this information and reserves the right to recover any payments that did not meet the eligibility guidelines. If, when making an application for this grant you knowingly provide false or misleading information, create a document, impersonate a person or business with the intent to deceive the grant provider in order to obtain a benefit, this may constitute a fraud offence under the Criminal Code Act 1913 and be subject to criminal penalties.