Key concessions to help with the cost of living

If you have an eligible concession card, you can access free and discounted services in the ACT to help you with the cost of living. This includes help with energy bills, transport, car rego and paying for school essentials.

Get $800 off your energy bills

You can get $800 off your energy bill when you apply for the Electricity, Gas and Water Rebate.

To get the Electricity, Gas and Water Rebate, you must:

You must also have one of the following cards from Services Australia, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or the ACT Government:

Free travel on public transport

You can travel for free all the time on Transport Canberra buses and light rail if you:

You can travel for free on weekends, public holidays and between 9:00 am and 4:30 pm or after 6:00 pm on weekdays if you have one of the following cards from Services Australia, the Department of Veterans' Affairs or ACT Government:

Help paying rates

You can get up to $750 off your rates and $98 off the Police, Fire and Emergency Services Levy if you have a Pensioner Concession Card or a Veteran Gold Card.

You can also arrange to pay all or part of your rates later.

Discounts on car registration and driver licence fees

You can get a discount on your car registration fee and driver licence if you have one of the following cards from Services Australia, the Department of Veterans' Affairs or ACT Government:

Check the discounts you can get on your car registration and driver licence.

One-off payments to help families with the cost of schooling

If you have children in preschool to year 12 in 2023, you could get a one-off payment from the Future of Education Equity Fund to help cover the costs of education.

Payments you could get:

To apply for the payment, you must live in the ACT and have one of the following: