Neighbourhood battery program How: Federal grants to councils/community energy retailers. Outcome: Street-level resilience vs fuel reserve at federal scale.
NOTES
Source: Climate Council (sector). Money flow: $2B over 4 years. Original ref: B26-041. Citation: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/four-ways-to-unlock-lasting-energy-security-in-this-years-federal-budget/
Cross-agency rule joining welfare payment data + smart-meter consumption to flag at-risk households. Proactively offers rebates, hardship plans and efficiency retrofits without requiring application.
NSW already has FuelCheck. Make it national, real-time, and include LPG and EV charging.
Single-page energy bill comparison
A government-run, no-commission energy comparison tool (like Energy Made Easy but simpler). Answer 3 questions, get the cheapest plan. Not 47 plans with asterisks.
No-fee bill smoothing as default
Require energy and water retailers to offer monthly even-payment plans as the default (opt-out), not hidden in settings. Prevents bill shock.