Many people don’t know that there are numerous programs out there to help with the cost of living.
You don’t need to be on Centrelink to access all of them either, although there is more available if you have a health care card or pension or some form of payment from them.
By spending a little time going through your state and all the options you could walk away with a few hundred or more.
Check out each state below and look at the nationwide options at the bottom of the article for everything from emergency help to a $500 savings bonus for educational expenses.
We have included state-specific links and then covered everything we could find from Centrelink, banks and businesses for all Australians to get discounts and freebies.
There is also systems in place if you need urgent help and tips for debt, debt collectors and financial hardship.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for products and services I personally use.
Bank Bonuses
To get you started you can get $30 from uBank with a few transactions and $15 instantly from Up Bank and ING offer $100 with a few steps.
All 3 are fee-free, online only and have been around for years.
ACT
On the ACT government website, type in concession and all the options available for concessions including the First Home Buyers Grant will come up.
They also have a cost of living support page with all the help available for the current cost of living crisis.
What is available to you will depend on your circumstances but it is relatively easy to navigate both of those links..
There were a few interesting ones such as help putting bins out for those who can’t which we did not expect to see.
Dental, medical, bills, help paying fines, food etc. All of it is in there.
A lot seems to require low income or Centrelink proof but it doesn’t appear too hard to prove.
NSW
Service NSW has the Savings Finder page where you answer a few questions and they filter to find the specific programs and assistance available to you based on your answers.
We entered a few common details based on readers here and got over 30 forms of potential assistance available.
If you have kids, make sure you are getting the vouchers.
Active Kids vouchers are $50 to help with sports and Creative Kids vouchers are $50 too.
There are also payments for kids starting swimming, $500 for childcare and more.
Plus, electricity discounts and so many options for other assistance.
NT
If you have issues because of a natural disaster, residents of the Northern Territory can see what is available to them here.
For everything else, you will need to search the NT Gov website yourself.
Type in concessions or click here to see some of what is available to you.
QLD
Queensland has a variety of services available but it isn’t as obvious as the other government websites.
Use their Smart Savings section, answer the questions and apply for anything relevant.
One I found particularly interesting was the free dental for adults in certain circumstances.
If you are a family, this link is where you will find the information relevant to you.
For kid’s sports, there are Fair Play vouchers worth up to $150 as well.
SA
South Australia has two sections on their government website to help.
If you type in save or concessions to search their site, it comes up with options.
It was interesting to see how much is available for different situations if you do a little research in those links.
TAS
Tasmania offers a selection of concessions and discounts depending on your circumstances.
All of them are available on the government concessions website and there is a YouTube video to make it easier to understand now.
Overall, their website was one of the more accessible ones.
VIC
Victoria has a range of concession and one-off payments due to the hardships this state faced over the past few years.
You can find all the concessions here.
WA
Western Australia has a site specifically dedicated to concessions you might be eligible for.
Concessions Western Australia is easy to use and there is a lot of help available.
All of Australia
There are a lot of services, concessions and free money available Australia-wide.
AskIzzy
Ever wish you could ask someone for help or where the help is in your area?
AskIzzy covers it all.
Ask Izzy is powered by Infoxchange, a not-for-profit social enterprise that has been delivering technology for social justice for over 30 years.
Electricity Rebates and Comparisons
Use the government website energy.gov.au/rebates to find electricity rebates relevant to you.
For residents of NSW, SA, QLD, Tas and the ACT, check out Energy Made Easy to compare all electricity and gas providers. Any other site won’t have all the options.
Health Insurance
If you need health insurance, again, use the government health insurance comparison website so you can compare all the options.
The government website is the ONLY website with all the options. There are many comparison websites and they might be prettier but they give limited options.
All non-government comparison sites only give the options they get paid to promote.
Education Expenses Savers Plus: Up to $500
Saver Plus is a financial education program for families and individuals on a tight budget to develop life-long savings habits.
It is Australia’s longest-running financial education and matched savings program (since 2003).
It will help you build financial skills, develop life-long savings habits, and receive up to $500 to assist with education costs.
Unclaimed Money: $0 to $20,000
MoneySmart, a government website created by ASIC, has a section where you can search for unclaimed money.
Mine was under $200 but others I know have found up to $20,000!
What is unclaimed money? It’s money from lost bank accounts, shares, investments, and life insurance policies.
When you move and don’t update your details with your financial institution, this money becomes lost.
It can be worth it to check your state revenue office too as I know some that didn’t show in the ASIC site but showed in their state revenue site.
Other Services
Often people will say to contact charities for assistance and there is help there but they are overloaded so it can be harder right now.
If you’ve never been in a situation where you need to contact them, it can feel overwhelming to know where to start.
Charities
You can search for charities in your area and specific needs with the Social Services website.
It only takes a few minutes to put in your details and the list for your state or the area you chose is generated instantly.
Urgent Help With Money
There are various services available depending on your circumstances.
Here is the government website with links and resources for urgent help with money and you do not need to be on Centrelink to access help.
NILS (No Interest Loan Scheme)
Some people might be eligible for NILS, a community based No Interest Loan Scheme.
Good Shepherd, Vinnies, the Salvos and Anglicare are just a few places you can access it and other help.
These loans can only be used for specific purposes though, not everything.
They can help a lot if you are setting up a home, need to pay for education etc.
Food And Groceries
Read how to save money on groceries in 2023, along with how to reduce waste and 13 tips to reduce the cost of meat.
Discounted HelloFresh Box
Get up to $200 off with HelloFresh, spread across your first 6 boxes for new and returning customers. Conditions apply.
$2.19 per plate with EveryPlate
Easy meals from $2.19 per plate with this discount from EveryPlate. They are Australia’s lowest price meal kit, easy to use and the discount is for new plus returning customers.
45% off your first box with Marley Spoon
Marley Spoon offers 45% off your first box and discounts on more boxes after.
Up to $140 off Dinnerly
Up to $140 off Dinnerly, spread across your first few boxes.
Free $10 with Uber Eats
Use the code eats-kyliet591ue when you download the app and make an order to get $10 off.
Reward Programs
Woolworths has Everyday Rewards as their free program you can collect points and cash them in.
If you opt to pay for Extra’s you get so much more plus 10% off one in-store shop.
It has saved me hundreds and has been well worth the price. Read the comparison between Coles Plus and Everyday Extras.
Coles has Flybuys which has various opportunities to earn points and convert to cash too.
We use both Coles and Woolworths, accessing my discounts and only shopping the items on sale at each store to get the best prices.
Check every store you shop at to see how you can save with loyalty programs.
Cashback Programs
Your first step needs to be getting the apps and Chrome extensions installed.
They can notify you when you are on a site eligible for cash back and how much you will get.
The ones we use are:
Shopback: Is Australia’s leading cashback option and they have loads of ways to earn extra cash such as challenges, upsized offers, uploading receipts and doing surveys.
Join Shopback for free and get a bonus after your first purchase through them too.
Honey: Slightly different, Honey offers cash back but also scans for discounts and coupon codes. Join Honey for free here.
Swagbucks: Best known as an online survey site, they also have a cash back program with the cash being awarded in points you accrue and cash out. Join free here.
Birthday Freebies
We have a full list of over 50 birthday freebies and discounts for Australians here.
Gift Cards
Check out 5 ways to get free gift cards. Also keep an eye out throughout the year for discounted gift cards at Coles and Woolworths or other programs. You can save 4 to 15% on numerous cards.
Make More Money
If you’re reading this article, we aresure you would also like some ideas on ways to make money.
Most of us are time poor or have to juggle things around the kids. Here are a few options:
23 ways to make money on the side in 2023
The best online survey sites for 2023
How to make over $10,000 a month reselling things
43 ways for single mums to make money
Debt and Debt Collectors
If you are struggling with debt and debt collectors, here are a few articles to help.
How we cleared $90,000 worth of debt in 12 months (starting off unemployed)
6 tips to easily reduce debt (includes how to deal with debt collectors)
Financial Hardship
If you are suffering financial hardship and have a mortgage or any other debt, reach out to your bank or financial institution to discuss options.
You are much better off getting something set up and talking to them than you are ignoring it.
Choosing to ignore any financial issues you are having is essentially choosing to make those issues bigger.
Banks/lenders want to know they are going to get their money so they’d rather work with you before sending your debts to a debt collector.
Here is the government website with links and resources for urgent help with money.
Other
A few extra tips you might want to check out:
How to survive when the cost of living keeps going up
How to survive on one income
Ideas for leftovers include: 20 ideas for leftover sausages, 28 meal ideas for mince, 29 recipes for leftover chicken, 25 ideas for leftover ham and this huge list of ways to turn leftovers and scraps into something new.
Use these savings tracker to help you stay focused on motivated with your money.
Situation Specific (Trigger Warning)
There are specific situations people might find themselves in that require extra assistance e.g. Domestic abuse, homelessness, stay at home parent who needs to leave, death of a loved one, illness etc.
Numerous organisations are there to help.
Debt: Check out the National Debt Helpline. You might also find this article with 6 tips to reduce debt helpful.
Domestic Abuse: 1800 RESPECT has lots of services and help available.
Medical: For long-term illness and other help, check out the government site, Health Direct. Also read how to afford medical expenses.
Services Australia/Centrelink
We know they can be a nightmare to deal with but they are the welfare system for Australia.
Have a look at what you might be eligible for here, use their payments finder (it takes a few minutes but comes up with everything they can help with) and go through the process.
Read how to survive while living on Centrelink which covers everything ww have found and use the tips below for how to deal with Centrelink to make it easier.
How to Deal With Centrelink/Services Australia
It is well known trying to get help can be exhausting and a long process but not always. Use these tips to help.
1. Do What you can Online/With the App
It is quicker, easier and you can track everything. Anything that can be lodged, claimed, or done online should be.
The phone lines are clogged and you often won’t get through or it can cut out while you’re on hold.
Research whatever it is you need to do first, get everything together you can and then do it online through the website or app.
With the app, once it is set up you will get notifications when you need to address something and often it is a couple of clicks.
Also, you will have your concession cards and details handy whenever you need them.
2. Be Patient and Prepared
Anything you have to do with Centrelink can take a long time so be prepared. If you have to call them, plan for it.
We always have washing to fold, a kitchen to clean or other things we can do while on hold.
Pop your earphones in or put your phone on speaker and go about whatever it is you have to do while waiting on hold.
When you finally get through, be polite, positive, grateful and they are much more likely to want to help as much as they can.
Centrelink customer service gets abused a lot. So when someone comes through who is nice, they appreciate it too and are keen to help you get a good result.
We have had customer service officers go through everything for me when they didn’t have to. E.g. last year We had to call to fix details they had wrong.
When we got through, they fixed that and noticed we had an application for CCS.
So they processed that instantly for me as well even though we only applied last week.
They also noticed we might have been eligible for something a while ago, after a couple of coding adjustments, it turned out we were underpaid something and got it back paid.
It pays to be polite, patient and grateful.
3. Keep Accurate Records
Document the date, time, receipt number, name of the person you spoke to and what was discussed.
Keep accurate information so you can refer to it and prove it later if needed. Do it for everything!
The Robodebt disaster shows it is up to us to know and keep records.
4. Know As Much As You Can
We mentioned in tip 1 doing some research. The more you can research online about your issue, the easier it is.
Staff aren’t trained in everything and sometimes suggesting something, politely, can make it easier for them to find what you need on their end.
For more ways to make and save money follow us on social media:
The Thrifty Issue Facebook Page
The Thrifty Issue Facebook Group
The Thrifty Issue Instagram
