WA Energy Assistance Payment - ECES (non-Synergy/Horizon customers)
If your electricity is supplied through a retirement village manager, an apartment building's embedded network, a caravan park's long-term metering, an alternative retailer like Perth Energy or Alinta, or your own off-grid stand-alone power system, you cannot claim the Synergy or Horizon EAP - but you can apply for the same $342.85/yr through the Energy Concession Extension Scheme (ECES). Payment is a single bank-transfer once a year, lodged through the RevenueWA Online Services Portal.
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Quick Answer
You qualify when state = WA, concession_card_type is one of {pensioner_concession_card, health_care_card, dva_gold_card, dva_pensioner_concession_card}, electricity_provider is not in {synergy, horizon_power, bhp, rio_tinto}, electricity_bill_account_holder = true, and tenancy_duration_months >= 3. The 2025-26 payment is $342.85, paid as a one-off bank transfer after assessment.
You do not qualify if your retailer is Synergy or Horizon (use those rules instead - one EAP per household), if your retailer is BHP or Rio Tinto (mining embedded networks are excluded), if you have lived at the address for less than 3 months without a 3-month-plus lease, or if you missed the 30 September 2025 registration deadline for the 2025-26 round.
Eligibility Conditions
The eligibility block is an all set. Source rule: AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_ECES, rule version 2025-26, effective 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
- State gate:
state = WA. - Card gate:
concession_card_typein{pensioner_concession_card, health_care_card, dva_gold_card, dva_pensioner_concession_card}. Same federal-card pool as Synergy and Horizon. - Provider exclusion gate:
electricity_providernot in{synergy, horizon_power, bhp, rio_tinto}. ECES is the catch-all for everyone else - retirement villages, embedded networks, alternative retailers, off-grid. - Account-holder gate:
electricity_bill_account_holder = true. For embedded networks this means you are the named billpayer with the village, strata or caravan park operator (not the operator themselves). - Tenancy duration gate:
tenancy_duration_months >= 3. ECES enforces a 3-month residency or lease minimum that the Synergy/Horizon rules do not have.
Required source fields: state, concession_card_type, electricity_provider, electricity_bill_account_holder, tenancy_duration_months. The excludes.any block is empty - all blocking is done by the five positive gates and the conflict list. Conflicts: AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_SYNERGY, AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_HORIZON. Affects: enables AU_WA_DEPENDENT_CHILD_REBATE_ECES and AU_WA_AIR_CONDITIONING_REBATE.
Income & Assets Treatment
ECES has no income or asset test of its own - it inherits whichever Centrelink or DVA test qualified you for the underlying federal card. The means-testing has already been done by Services Australia (PCC, HCC, LIHCC) or DVA (Gold Card, DVA PCC).
The 3-month tenancy rule is not a means test but a residency safeguard: it stops a person from claiming a $342.85 household credit at an address they only stayed at for a few weeks. A signed lease covering 3 months or more counts even if you have not lived there for 3 months yet at the time of application - the Department checks the lease end date.
The payment itself is not assessable income for any Centrelink payment, FTB, or DVA pension. It is treated identically to the Synergy and Horizon EAPs for tax and means-testing purposes despite being delivered as a lump sum rather than a daily credit.
How to Apply
Application channel per application_meta: online, through the RevenueWA Online Services Portal. Unlike Synergy and Horizon, there is no phone-only path - the assessment is done by RevenueWA staff once you upload your documents.
- Go to the WA Government Energy Concession Extension Scheme page on wa.gov.au and follow the link to the RevenueWA portal.
- Create or log in to your RevenueWA Online Services account.
- Upload your concession card (front and back), a recent electricity bill or invoice from your village, strata, caravan park or alternative retailer, and your bank account details.
- If you are off-grid, upload proof of your stand-alone power system - typically an installer's invoice or a Western Power notice confirming you are not connected to the network.
- Lodge before 30 September 2025 for the 2025-26 round. Late applications are not accepted; you must wait for the 2026-27 round which usually opens around 1 July 2026.
- Assessment takes 4-8 weeks; the $342.85 then lands in the nominated bank account as a single deposit labelled "ECES Payment".
Documents to Have Ready
Required evidence per application_meta.evidence_required:
- Concession card - PCC, HCC, LIHCC (under HCC), DVA Gold Card or DVA PCC. Card name must match the applicant.
- Electricity bill or invoice - typically the village monthly statement, the strata embedded-network invoice, the caravan park metering invoice, or the alternative retailer's tax invoice. The bill must be in the cardholder's name and show the address of supply.
- Bank account - BSB and account number for the deposit. Must be in the cardholder's name (or joint with the cardholder).
- Lease or tenancy evidence if you have lived at the address for less than 3 months - a lease agreement of at least 3 months, or a written letter from the village/park operator confirming a long-term arrangement.
- Off-grid proof if applicable - installer invoice, Western Power disconnection notice, or solar/battery system specification.
Timeline & Renewal
ECES is annual. The 2025-26 application window ran from 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025. Once approved, the $342.85 is paid as a single deposit, typically within 4-8 weeks of lodgement (faster early in the window, slower in September as volumes peak).
Re-application is required every year - unlike the Synergy and Horizon rules where the credit just keeps flowing while the card is current, ECES asks you to re-confirm your retailer status, tenancy and bank details each July. The rule expires 30 June 2026 and is expected to roll forward at an indexed amount for 2026-27.
Real Scenarios
Scenario 1: Leonor, retired in a Mandurah retirement village
Leonor is 76, single, lives in a 1-bed unit in a retirement village in Mandurah (postcode 6210), holds a Pensioner Concession Card and pays her electricity through the village's monthly statement (the village is the Synergy account holder, not Leonor). She has lived there for 4 years. Outcome: she is not the Synergy account holder, so she cannot claim the Synergy EAP, but she fits ECES perfectly. She lodges in August 2025 with her PCC, the village statement and her bank details. Payment of $342.85 lands in her account in early October 2025.
Scenario 2: Tiago, off-grid in Margaret River wine country
Tiago is 58, holds a Health Care Card because his casual hospitality income dropped below the LIHCC limit, lives in a 2-bed cottage near Margaret River (postcode 6285) on a stand-alone solar-plus-battery system installed in 2022, with no Western Power connection. He has owned the property for 6 years. Outcome: classic off-grid ECES case. He lodges with his HCC, the original installer invoice from 2022 confirming the SAPS, and his bank account. Payment of $342.85 arrives in mid-September 2025.
Scenario 3: Salvador and Ines, apartment block in East Perth, missed deadline
Salvador (52) and Ines (49) live in a 2-bed apartment in East Perth (postcode 6004); the strata company on-charges their electricity through an embedded network so they pay a body-corporate-style invoice each month, not a Synergy bill. Salvador holds a PCC. They tried to apply on 5 October 2025 and were rejected because the 2025-26 window closed on 30 September. Resolution: they set a calendar reminder for 1 July 2026 and lodge on day one of the 2026-27 round to get the indexed payment - they cannot back-claim the missed year.
Common Mistakes
- Trying to claim ECES while you also have a Synergy or Horizon account. The three EAP rules are mutually exclusive (one credit per household per year). If you switched retailers mid-year, choose one path - usually whichever you held longest in the financial year.
- Missing the 30 September deadline. Unlike the Synergy daily-credit model, ECES is a hard-cutoff annual round. Late applications are rejected outright.
- Strata or village manager treating themselves as the applicant. The cardholder must be the named on-charge billpayer, not the strata or operator. Operators sometimes try to claim on behalf of multiple residents - that is not how ECES works.
- Less than 3 months at the address with no formal lease. Short-term renters and AirBnB long-stays without a 3-month-plus lease are blocked by the tenancy-duration gate.
- BHP or Rio Tinto retail customers (mining-town housing) trying ECES. Both retailers are explicitly excluded from the provider list. Approach the company directly for any internal subsidy.
- Forgetting to re-apply each year. Synergy/Horizon EAPs auto-renew while the card is current; ECES does not - it asks you to re-confirm tenancy, retailer and bank details every July.
Related Links
- WA Energy Assistance Payment - Synergy - same $342.85/yr value but for SWIS-network Synergy account holders. Daily bill credit, no annual re-application.
- WA Energy Assistance Payment - Horizon Power - the regional WA equivalent for Pilbara, Kimberley, Mid West and Esperance customers on Horizon's network.
- WA Dependent Child Rebate (ECES) - first child - $360.51/yr stacks on top of the ECES EAP if your concession card lists at least one dependent child. Applied through the same RevenueWA portal.
- WA Dependent Child Rebate (ECES) - additional children - $94.46/yr per additional child beyond the first, layered on the same ECES application.
- WA Air Conditioning Rebate - $71.80/month enabled if you receive any EAP (including ECES), live north of the 26th parallel and have aircon. Particularly relevant for Pilbara off-grid ECES households.
- WA Hardship Utility Grant Scheme (HUGS) - one-off crisis grant for households with overdue bills. Applied through the retailer (or village), not RevenueWA, and not card-gated like ECES.
What does ECES stand for and who is it for?
ECES is the Energy Concession Extension Scheme - the EAP delivery channel for WA cardholders whose retailer is not Synergy or Horizon Power. Retirement villages, embedded networks, caravan parks, alternative retailers (Perth Energy, Alinta) and off-grid households all use ECES.
How much is the ECES payment?
$342.85 per financial year, paid as a single bank transfer rather than a daily bill credit. Same indexed value as the Synergy and Horizon EAPs.
Why is there a 3-month tenancy requirement?
ECES requires applicants to have lived at the eligible address for at least 3 months, or hold a lease of at least 3 months, to prevent very short-term residents from claiming the household credit. Synergy and Horizon do not have this gate because the credit follows the account.
Can I get ECES if I am off-grid with solar and a battery?
Yes. Off-grid households are explicitly listed in the ECES guidance, but you must provide proof of your stand-alone power system (e.g. an installer invoice or Western Power disconnection notice) along with the standard concession card and bank account details.
When is the registration deadline?
ECES applications for the 2025-26 financial year had to be lodged via the RevenueWA Online Services Portal before 30 September 2025. Late applications are not accepted.
Do I need to re-apply each year?
Yes. ECES is annual - you must re-confirm tenancy, retailer status and bank details each July. This differs from Synergy and Horizon, where the credit auto-renews while the card is current.
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