VIC Utility Relief Grant - non-mains, up to $650 every 24 months

Who Can Claim

Four positive gates and a flexible income test.

1. Victorian residence (state = VIC). The supply address must be in Victoria. A property straddling the SA or NSW border with the dwelling on the other side does not qualify under the Victorian URGS scheme.
2. Non-mains energy or water user (non_mains_energy_or_water_user = true). The derived field is true when the household uses one or more of: bottled or bulk LPG, heating oil, firewood, generator fuel, or non-mains water (tank-fill deliveries, rainwater top-ups, private bore that is not metered as a reticulated supply). It is false for households whose only energy and water sources are mains.
3. Temporary financial crisis (in_temporary_financial_crisis = true). Same definition as mains URGS: a recent unexpected event in the last 12 months that materially worsened income or expenses - redundancy, illness, family violence, separation, death of a partner, sudden major expense. Steady-state low income alone does not satisfy the gate.
4. Overdue non-mains bill (overdue_non_mains_bill = true). The invoice must be past its due date. For LPG cylinders this often means the supplier has refused the next refill until the previous invoice is paid; for firewood it means an unpaid invoice from a regular supplier; for water deliveries it means an unpaid invoice from the tank-fill operator.
5. Card OR low-income evidence. Unlike the mains URGS streams, the formal rule does not require a concession card. Either a card OR documented low-income evidence is sufficient. Common low-income evidence: Centrelink Income Statement showing JobSeeker, Age Pension, DSP or similar payment; recent payslips plus a hardship declaration; or a referral letter from a financial counsellor confirming low-income status.

Required fields recorded by the rule engine: state, non_mains_energy_or_water_user, in_temporary_financial_crisis, overdue_non_mains_bill. The rule does not require the concession_card_type field - that is the architectural feature that lets non-card-holding low-income households apply.

What You Get

The amount is structured as type: eligibility_only - the actual payout is calculated by DFFH at application time. The cap structure mirrors the mains URGS:

• Per application: the lesser of the overdue invoice amount, $650, or six months of recent spend on the same energy or water source.
• Per 24-month rolling window: $650 total per non-mains utility. A household can run multiple non-mains applications across the window provided the cumulative spend stays at or below $650.
• Independent of mains URGS: a household with both mains and non-mains supplies (e.g., mains electricity but tank-fill water) can claim each pathway’s $650 cap separately.
• 24-month reset: the rolling clock starts on the date of last approval. Approval on 4 July 2025 means the window resets on 4 July 2027.

Worked example. Tjanara is a Pensioner Concession Card holder living in a 90-year-old timber house in remote East Gippsland. After her partner’s sudden death in late July she fell behind on her LPG cylinder invoices ($380 unpaid to the local depot) and her tank-fill water deliveries ($210 unpaid to the local water-tank carter). She phones 1800 658 521 in late August. The agent treats this as two separate URGS Non-Mains applications under one call. LPG application: min($380, $650, six-month-LPG-spend) = $380. Water application: min($210, $650, six-month-water-spend) = $210. Both approved within 14 days; DFFH pays the LPG depot and the water carter directly on Tjanara’s behalf, clearing both invoices. Her remaining cap across non-mains is $60 per fuel for the next 24 months. The Non-Mains Energy Concession (annual fixed-tier rebate) keeps running underneath unaffected.

Worked example two. Heath in regional Bendigo on Disability Support Pension uses bottled LPG for cooking and a wood combustion heater. Following his back injury and 14-week recovery, his September LPG invoice for two cylinders ($290) is overdue. Heath holds a Pensioner Concession Card. He phones 1800 658 521; the agent processes the URGS Non-Mains in one call. Approval = $290 (under all caps); the LPG depot is paid directly. Heath’s remaining LPG URGS cap is $360 across the next 24 months. He still has full URGS electricity available for his mains-electricity supply if a future bill goes overdue.

How to Apply

The application metadata defines a single channel: phone via the Concessions Information Line on 1800 658 521. Evidence required is concession card or low-income evidence, plus the overdue invoice.

1. Phone 1800 658 521. The Concessions Information Line is open business hours weekdays. Identify yourself as wishing to lodge a Utility Relief Grant Scheme - Non-Mains application. The agent will work through the eligibility gates with you on the call. Some calls finish in 20-30 minutes; complex multi-fuel applications can run longer.
2. Have evidence ready. The agent will ask for: your name, address, phone number; either your concession card number OR your Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) if you have one for low-income verification; a copy of the overdue invoice (supplier name, invoice number, date, amount, supply type); and crisis evidence (redundancy or termination letter, hospital documentation, AVO, death certificate, etc.). The agent can take a verbal description on the call and ask you to email or post the supporting documents within 14 days.
3. Approve the supplier-direct payment arrangement. Unlike mains URGS (which credits a retailer account), URGS Non-Mains pays the supplier directly. You will be asked for the supplier’s details: business name, ABN if known, contact phone number, and the invoice reference. DFFH then contacts the supplier directly to arrange the credit or payment.
4. Wait for assessment. DFFH assesses within 5-15 business days. The supplier will hear from DFFH within that window with payment instructions. The customer is sent an approval letter.
5. Confirm with the supplier. Once paid, ask the supplier for confirmation that the invoice has been cleared. If a new cylinder or water delivery has been on hold pending invoice settlement, this is the point to schedule it.

If you cannot use the phone line (e.g., poor reception in remote areas, hearing impairment), there is a written form you can request from DFFH - lodge it via local community service organisations (Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, Anglicare). The written pathway is slower but available. EWOV escalation (1800 500 509) is available if URGS Non-Mains is declined and you wish to dispute.

Read the official Victorian URGS Non-Mains guidance ↗

When You'll See It Paid

URGS Non-Mains payment timing differs from mains URGS because the credit goes to the supplier rather than a retailer account.

• Day 1. Phone 1800 658 521. Application started during the call. Agent records crisis details and supplier information.
• Day 1 to 14. Customer emails or posts supporting documents. Agent flags the supplier with a courtesy notice that an URGS application is pending.
• Day 5 to 15. DFFH assesses and approves (or queries). Supplier receives payment instructions.
• Day 10 to 25. Supplier is paid by DFFH. Invoice on the customer’s account is marked as cleared. Customer receives approval letter.
• Day 30+. If the supplier has not been paid 30 days after approval, phone 1800 658 521 with the URGS reference number to chase.

Time-critical: many off-grid households rely on the next cylinder delivery for cooking and heating. Mention this on the first call - DFFH can prioritise the payment so the supplier resumes delivery quickly. Some LPG depots will release a partial cylinder against pending URGS approval as a goodwill gesture; this is supplier-discretionary, not a DFFH guarantee.

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Tjanara in East Gippsland - bereavement, two non-mains URGS in one call

Tjanara is 62, a Pensioner Concession Card holder, lives alone in a 90-year-old timber farmhouse 35 km from the nearest town in East Gippsland. Her partner died suddenly in late July from a cardiac event. The funeral and travel costs absorbed her cash buffer; by mid-August her LPG depot invoice ($380 for two cylinders) and her tank-fill water carter invoice ($210 for two truck deliveries) are both overdue. She phones 1800 658 521 on 28 August. The agent treats them as two URGS Non-Mains applications under one call - LPG and water are independent for cap purposes. The agent records the crisis evidence (death certificate emailed within the week), supplier details for both, and lodges. DFFH approves both within 11 days. The LPG depot delivers the next cylinder on 14 September - the previous invoice has cleared. The water carter resumes deliveries the following week. Total URGS paid: $590; remaining cap across non-mains is small but non-zero ($60 LPG, $440 water) for the rest of the 24-month window.

Scenario 2: Heath in Bendigo - LPG and a separated electricity URGS in parallel

Heath is 53, on Disability Support Pension with a Pensioner Concession Card. He uses bottled LPG for cooking and a wood combustion heater for warmth in his Bendigo townhouse. After his back injury and 14-week recovery, his September LPG invoice ($290) is overdue and his October mains-electricity bill ($410) is also overdue. He phones 1800 658 521 about the LPG and is told URGS Non-Mains can pay the LPG depot directly; for the electricity overdue he needs to phone Lumo (his electricity retailer) to lodge a separate URGS electricity application. He runs both applications in parallel that week. URGS Non-Mains pays the LPG depot $290 within 13 days. URGS electricity (separate $650 cap) credits the Lumo account $410 within 18 days. Total crisis credit across the household: $700. Each cap remaining is small but the two pathways are clearly independent.

Scenario 3: Cohuna farming family - low-income, no concession card

An older couple in their late 60s on a small Cohuna farm have always lived self-sufficiently. They have not bothered to apply for the Age Pension because they have a small block of land that they thought disqualified them (it does not, in fact - the Age Pension assets test exempts the principal residence). They use LPG cylinders, generator fuel for off-grid power, and tank-fill water. After the husband’s six-week hospitalisation for pneumonia they have $480 in overdue LPG and generator fuel invoices. They phone 1800 658 521. They have no concession card. The agent walks them through the low-income evidence pathway - they email recent bank statements showing minimal income and a statutory declaration of household earnings under $50,000/year. The application is lodged on the low-income evidence path; DFFH approves $480 within 16 days. The LPG depot and generator fuel supplier are paid. The agent also refers them to Services Australia to apply for the Age Pension (which they belatedly do, gaining a Pensioner Concession Card three months later). The lesson: URGS Non-Mains is uniquely flexible on the card requirement and reaches off-grid hardship that the mains URGS streams structurally miss.

Scenario 4: Brunswick household trying URGS Non-Mains for a BBQ cylinder - declined

Lorenzo holds a Pensioner Concession Card, lives in a Brunswick house with mains gas heating, and uses a small LPG bottle for his rooftop BBQ. After a redundancy his BBQ supplier’s last $80 invoice has gone unpaid. He phones 1800 658 521. The agent declines the URGS Non-Mains for two reasons: first, the household’s primary energy is mains gas (not non-mains), so LPG is an ancillary use that does not satisfy the spirit of the non-mains pathway; second, $80 is below the practical threshold the agent applies for non-mains hardship. The agent steers Lorenzo instead to the URGS gas pathway for any overdue mains gas bills he might be carrying - a much larger expense category - and to Vinnies emergency vouchers for the BBQ cylinder shortfall.

Common Mistakes

• Confusing URGS Non-Mains with the Non-Mains Energy Concession. URGS Non-Mains is a one-off hardship credit triggered by an overdue invoice plus a recent crisis. The Non-Mains Energy Concession is an annual fixed-tier rebate ($57-$650) based on receipt-totalled spend. Different test, different mechanic - they often run together for the same household.
• Trying to lodge URGS Non-Mains for a mains gas overdue. Mains gas overdue belongs to URGS gas (lodged through the gas retailer). Mains electricity overdue belongs to URGS electricity. Reticulated water overdue belongs to URGS water (lodged through the water corporation). The non-mains stream is reserved for off-grid energy and water sources.
• Assuming a concession card is required. URGS Non-Mains is the most flexible URGS stream on this point - low-income evidence is accepted in place of a card. Many regional cardholders do not formally hold a card despite being income-eligible; they should still apply.
• Treating long-term low income as the URGS trigger. The decisive gate remains in_temporary_financial_crisis = true. A recent unexpected event in the last 12 months is required. Steady-state low pension income alone does not qualify - the Non-Mains Energy Concession (fixed-tier rebate) is the right answer for that.
• Trying to claim before the invoice is overdue. The gate overdue_non_mains_bill = true is hard. An imminent LPG cylinder invoice that is not yet past its due date cannot trigger URGS. The supplier must have issued a reminder or refused the next delivery for the application to be valid.
• Misreading the supplier-direct payment as a cash payout. URGS Non-Mains pays the supplier directly, not the customer. Households who paid the invoice themselves cannot claim reimbursement. If you cannot pay an upcoming invoice, phone 1800 658 521 before the due date so DFFH can pre-stage the application and pay the supplier the day the invoice tips overdue.

Related Victorian energy and hardship benefits

• VIC Utility Relief Grant - electricity - the mains-electricity URGS, lodged through the electricity retailer. Independent $650 cap from URGS Non-Mains; both can run in parallel for households with mixed mains and off-grid supplies.
• VIC Utility Relief Grant - gas - the mains-gas URGS, lodged through the gas retailer. Independent $650 cap; not applicable to bottled LPG (that is the non-mains URGS).
• VIC Utility Relief Grant - water - the mains-water URGS, lodged through the local water corporation. Independent $650 cap; tank-fill water deliveries belong on the non-mains URGS instead.
• VIC Non-Mains Energy Concession - the non-hardship annual rebate for off-grid energy. Stacks with URGS Non-Mains - the rebate runs alongside the crisis credit, addressing different things (steady-state cost vs. one-off hardship).
• VIC Non-Mains Water Concession - the equivalent rebate for non-reticulated water. Stacks with URGS Non-Mains for households whose water source is delivered or pumped privately.
• VIC Life Support Concession - non-mains - additional rebate for households running medical life-support equipment on off-grid electricity (typically generator-powered). Sometimes claimed by the same households that need URGS Non-Mains in a hardship moment.

Frequently Asked Questions