Emergency Relief for Food

Emergency relief supports people experiencing financial distress or hardship and who have limited means to ease their financial situation.

Emergency relief services are delivered by charities and community organisations and help people address immediate basic needs in times of crisis.

The type of assistance offered by each organisation varies, however may include one-off assistance such as:

✅meals, food parcels or food vouchers

✅transport vouchers

✅chemist vouchers

✅clothing or furniture

✅part-payment of utility bills such as electricity, gas and water

✅help with back-to-school costs

✅budgeting assistance.

How do I find all the emergency relief?

For a list of emergency relief services in your state or territory, see the Department of Social Service Grant Services Directory (link)

There are more than 1300 outlets for emergency relief across Australia. You can find your closest service by:

🫂using the Ask Izzy search tool - www.askizzy.org.au

Website that connects people with housing, a meal, money help, family violence support, counselling etc

Free and anonymous, with thousands of services listed across Australia.

If you are on the Telstra or Vodafone mobile networks, you can access Ask Izzy on your phone even if you have have credit to access to wifi.

🫂calling the Salvation Army on 13 72 58

🫂calling St Vincent de Paul Society on 13 18 12

🫂calling Anglicare on 1300 111 278

🫂contacting your local church, community centre or community organisation and find out where emergency relief is provided in your area.

When you speak to the provider explain your circumstances. They will help you with the process of getting the emergency relief that you need.

Other emergency food options you can contact:

Foodbank - largest hunger relief charity in Australia. www.foodbank.org.au

Enter your postcode or suburb into the "find food support" to find your local assistance.

You can nominate:

• - Food and groceries to prepare, food voucher and/or

• -Meals prepared on site.

You will then be provided with a list of where to access meals, food parcels, emergency relief, food pantries etc within your area if applicable.

Oz Harvest

Second Bite

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Medical health care and Pharmacy Assistance

Medicare can help with the cost of seeing a doctor or specialist, getting medicines and going to hospital. You may get some services for free or at a lower cost through bulk billing. You can find a GP who bulk bills on the healthdirect website.www.......

About Medicare

Medicare can help with the cost of seeing a doctor or specialist, getting medicines and going to hospital.

Make sure you have applied for a Medicare Card (see details below).

Show your Medicare card when you use health services. If the service is covered, you’ll get it for free or a reduced cost.

If you can’t claim your Medicare benefit at the doctor’s, you can claim it in your Medicare account through myGov.

Find out who can use Medicare, and learn about your Medicare card, Medicare Safety Nets and claiming your Medicare

Who can enrol in Medicare?

Reference: https://my.gov.au/en/services/health-and-disability/seeking-medical-hel

To enrol in Medicare, you need to live in Australia and be any of these:

*an Australian citizen

*a New Zealand citizen

*an Australian permanent resident applying for permanent residency

*a citizen or permanent resident of Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island or Lord Howe Island

*a temporary resident covered by a ministerial order.

You may also enrol if you’re visiting Australia from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country.

(Find out more about Reciprocal Health Care Agreements on the Services Australia website.)

How to enrol in Medicare

You can enrol in Medicare either:

-online through myGov by completing a Medicare enrolment form

(Find the Medicare enrolment form and more about how to enrol on the Services Australia website.)

-there are other ways to enrol if you're enrolling a baby or you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian.

Enrolling your baby in Medicare

If you need to enrol your baby in Medicare, you can do it in your Medicare online account through myGov.

Find out how to enrol your baby in Medicare on the Services Australia website.

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Enrolling with Medicare when you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian

If you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian, and have standard identity documents,

you can enrol using a form. Find the Medicare enrolment form on the Services Australia website.

If you don’t have standard identity documents, you can use a referee. You both need to fill in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medicare enrolment and amendment form on the Services Australia website.

Paying for mental health treatment

There are free and confidential ways to get immediate help when you need it. Find out about getting mental health support.

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Some workplaces offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to employees and their families. EAPs provide free access to independent mental health professionals and mental health resources. Talk to your HR department or manager about how to access your employer’s EAP.

You can also talk to your GP about a mental health treatment plan if you need ongoing support. With a plan, you can claim a Medicare benefit for 10 sessions with a mental health professional each calendar year. You may also be eligible for payments if you have a mental illness. Find out more about a mental health treatment plan and payments you may get.

What is a mental health plan? ...details

Payments and services if you have a mental illness

Find out what payments and services are available to help you manage a mental illness.

Getting a Low Income Health Care Card

You may be eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card if you’re on a low income. This can help you get cheaper health care and other discounts.

If you get a Centrelink payment, you may already have a concession card. Find out more about the

Low Income Health Care Card

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Comparing private health insurance

Private health insurance can help you pay for medical costs that aren’t covered by Medicare.

Private health insurance can be expensive. Think about what type of cover you or your family needs and consider comparing policies. You may be paying for cover or extras that you don’t need. You can compare policies on the PrivateHealth website.

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Pharmacy/Medication Benefits (PBS)

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) helps you get medicines at a lower cost. You may also get twice the medication for the cost of a single prescription with 60 day dispensing. Find out who is eligible for cheaper medicines on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

How PBS works

Through the Medicare Safety Nets, Medicare can give you more money back for things like:

*seeing a doctor or specialist

*some tests and scans, like blood tests, ultrasounds and CT scans.

Medicare calculates the Safety Nets each calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December.

When you spend a certain amount in gap and out of pocket costs for medical services, you’ll reach the threshold.

Then Medicare will pay you a higher Medicare benefit. Find out what the thresholds are on the Services Australia website.

Who can get PBS

If you’re enrolled in Medicare , you’re eligible for Medicare Safety Nets.

How to manage your Medicare Safety Net

Check your threshold

You can check what your out of pocket costs are for medical services in your Medicare online account through myGov. This will show how close you are to reaching the threshold. If your Medicare online account is linked to myGov sign in now to check how close you are to the threshold. Sign in to myGov to access Medicare. If you don’t have a myGov account, find out how to create one and link to Medicare.

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Manage your safety net as a family

If you’re part of a family or couple, you can register as a family to combine your costs. This means you may reach the threshold sooner. Find out about how to register your family on the Services Australia website.

Medicare keeps a tally of your out of pocket costs. They’ll tell you in your myGov Inbox or by post when you’re close to reaching the threshold. Then you’ll need to confirm your family members to get the higher Medicare benefit. You can do this in your Medicare online account through myGov. Find out more about how to manage your Medicare Safety Net on the Services Australia website.

Manage your safety net as an individual

If you’re an individual with no dependants, Medicare will register you for Medicare Safety Nets.

They’ll automatically pay you higher benefits when you reach the threshold.

Find out more about how to manage your Medicare Safety Net on the Services Australia website.

How to get help in your language

Find information about Medicare in your language on the Services Australia website. Find out about Medicare, Medicare Safety Nets and PBS.

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STEPS TO HELP WITH UTILITY BILLS

4. To speak to a financial counsellor you can: Call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 – open Weekdays from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Use the live chat service by clicking the chat icon in the bottom right corner of . ...

6. Step 1: Work out what you can afford to pay

   If you're struggling to pay back money you owe, the first thing to do is to work out what you can actually afford to pay by doing a simple budget.

   Step 2: How to work out what you can afford to pay.

7. If you can afford to pay something start paying the amount you can afford and get in touch with your creditor straight away to put a repayment agreement in place. If you can't afford to pay anything call 1800 007 007 straight away for advice.

   Step 3: Contact your service provider

8. The sooner you contact your provider, the better. They may be able to offer you more affordable options such as:

   ✅Making sure you're on the best plan for your usage.

   ✅Averaging out your yearly usage into regular payments so seasonal bills don't hit as hard.

   ✅ Offering an instalment payment plan for outstanding bills

   ✅Allowing you to delay a payment

9. ✅Identifying power-hungry appliances at home so that you can moderate use - sometimes utility companies partner with community agencies that do house calls to help you assess usage
   ✅Checking your discounts, concessions and grants eligibility

   UTILITY GRANTS AND CONCESSIONS - National Debt Helpline advice:

   According to the Australian National Debt Helpline, state and territory governments in Australia have a range of discounts and sometimes grants. These vary from state to state, but in general they comprise: percentage discounts on usage costs subsidised usage for people who use electricity for medical care heating and cooling schemes some payments towards part or whole amounts of bills.

   *Ask your specific utility provider for information about concessions in your state, or refer to your state's government website:

   ACT - Australian Capital Territory -
   Assistance NSW - Office of Energy and Climate Change

   Northern Territory - NT Concessions Scheme

   Queensland - The Department of Energy and Water Supply

   South Australia - The Department of Human Services

   Tasmania - Department of Health and Human Services

   Victoria - The Department of Health and Human Services

   Western Australia - Concessions WA.

   * Ask to speak with the 'hardship department' If you feel the customer service department isn't helping, or you're having long-term financial issues, ask to speak with the hardship department. For people in severe hardship, some utilities have 'incentive payments' or 'payment matching'.

   This means that for every regular instalment you make towards paying the bill, your provider will also contribute toward your bill In most cases, if, through no fault of your own, you can't afford to pay for your usage, the hardship department can keep you connected BE PREPARED BEFORE YOU GET IN TOUCH

   
   Read about how to negotiate payment terms www.ndh.org.au

   Use this letter or email template to request a hardship variation (Word 29kb).

   https://ndh.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/letter-or-email-template-request-for-a-repayment-arrangement-electricity-gas-or-water.docx

   4. If you can't agree, dispute it If you can’t come to an agreement that you think is fair, you have a right to seek ‘external dispute resolution’ if it's available in your state or territory.

   6. This free and independent service gives you an opportunity to explain how you can work with your provider to get back on track with payments.

   8. Speak to one of the National Debt Helpline financial counsellors.

   10. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and need some help to deal

   11. with your financial hardship, you can speak with one of our financial counsellors.

   13. Financial counsellors aren’t judgmental about your circumstances – they’re here to offer you free, confidential and independent advice and assistance. your screen.

11. Live chat is available 9:00 am to 8.00 pm weekdays. If you send a message outside these hours a financial counsellor will get back to you. Make an appointment to see a financial counsellor in your local area – Find a local Financial Counsellor (www.ndh.org,au)

What should I do if I already have a disconnection notice?

In every state/territory in Australia, there are rules about when and how you can be disconnected.

Your provider must offer you hardship assistance (on request) and give notice before disconnection.

If you’ve received a disconnection notice:

1. Contact your utility provider immediately

2. Tell them you’re in financial hardship

3. Ask them not to disconnect you

4. If the energy provider says it will proceed with the disconnection, lodge a complaint with the Energy and Water Ombudsman.

What happens if I've already been disconnected

1. 1. immediately contact the energy provider and request a reconnection.

2. 2. If they refuse to reconnect you, contact the Energy and Water Ombudsman in your state/territory immediately.

They may:

-try to arrange for reconnection

-help you negotiate repaying your energy debt

- investigate whether the company followed the correct process for disconnection (Victorians may be eligible for compensation payment if the correct process wasn’t followed)

3. 3. If the Ombudsman isn’t able to help you, call to speak with one of the National Debt Helpline financial counsellors

on 1800 007 007

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PLEASE NOTE: If a door-to-door representative persuaded you to sign a gas, electricity or water contract in your home, you may be able to cancel the contract: During the 10-day “cooling off” period that applies for all contracts entered into in a home, or If you've been misled by a high-pressure sales pitch that's not true or they've falsely claimed the service would save you money. Remember to include cancellation fees from your old service provider when assessing a ''discount''. If the service provider refuses to cancel the service, contact the Energy and Water Ombudsman.