WA Energy Assistance Payment - Synergy customers

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set - every item below must pass. The rule is sourced from AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_SYNERGY, rule version 2025-26, effective 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.

1. State gate: state = WA. The EAP is a Western Australia state concession and does not follow you interstate.
2. Provider gate: electricity_provider = synergy. The Synergy EAP is mutually exclusive with the Horizon Power EAP and the ECES EAP - one EAP per household per year.
3. Card gate: concession_card_type in {pensioner_concession_card, health_care_card, dva_gold_card, dva_pensioner_concession_card}. WA Seniors Card alone does not satisfy this gate.
4. Account-holder gate: electricity_bill_account_holder = true. The credit lands on the Synergy account in the cardholder's name; partners or housemates whose name is not on the bill cannot redirect the credit.

Required source fields: state, concession_card_type, electricity_provider, electricity_bill_account_holder. The excludes.any block is empty - all blocking is done by the four positive gates above. Conflicts: AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_HORIZON, AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_ECES. Affects: enables AU_WA_DEPENDENT_CHILD_REBATE_SYNERGY and AU_WA_AIR_CONDITIONING_REBATE.

Income & Assets Treatment

The Synergy EAP itself has no income or asset test. Eligibility is fully delegated to the underlying federal concession card - if you already hold a Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, DVA Gold Card or DVA Pensioner Concession Card, the income and assets work has been done by Services Australia or DVA.

That means the practical income gate is whatever qualified you for the card in the first place: the Centrelink Age Pension or DSP income/assets test for PCC; the Low Income Health Care Card test (around $769/wk gross for a single in 2025-26 indexation) or the FTB-A automatic HCC for families; or the DVA-determined service-pension or war-widow pension threshold for DVA Gold/PCC. There is no separate Synergy threshold to clear.

The credit itself is not assessable income for Centrelink purposes (it is a bill rebate, not cash) and does not affect FTB-A, FTB-B, Rent Assistance or any income-tested payment. It does not interact with solar feed-in tariffs - if your Synergy bill is a credit balance, the EAP simply increases the credit and rolls forward.

How to Apply

Application channels: phone and online. Practically, however, no form needs to be submitted if Synergy already has your card details:

• Card already linked to your Synergy account: nothing to do. The credit appears as "Energy Assistance Payment" on your next quarterly bill, calculated daily.
• New cardholder or recent card change: log into Synergy My Account, open the Concessions section and upload your card, or call Synergy on 13 13 53 with the card number ready. Verification with Services Australia takes 2-5 business days.
• New move-in: the EAP attaches to the account, not the property, so update the new account with your card on day one - back-dating beyond the account opening date is not possible.
• Card lapses: the EAP stops on the card expiry date. Renew the card with Centrelink or DVA before expiry to avoid a gap in credit.

Read the official Synergy concessions and rebates page

Documents to Have Ready

Required evidence per application_meta.evidence_required:

• Concession card in the name of the Synergy account holder - PCC, HCC, LIHCC (under HCC), DVA Gold Card or DVA PCC.
• Synergy account number (top right of any bill, 9 digits).
• If updating online via My Account: a clear photo of the card front showing the customer reference number (CRN) and expiry date.
• If a partner is the account holder but you hold the card: either transfer the account into the cardholder's name or add them as an authorised contact - Synergy needs the card name to match the billing name.

Timeline & Renewal

Once your card is on file, the EAP is calculated daily and accrues to the account balance. With Synergy's typical quarterly billing cycle, you will see the first reduced bill within roughly 60-90 days of registering the card, and a full pro-rata credit of $342.85 over a complete financial year.

The rule expires on 30 June 2026. WA Government typically reissues an indexed amount each July - the 2024-25 amount was around $326, the 2025-26 amount is $342.85, so the expectation is a small CPI uplift for 2026-27 announced in the State Budget cycle. No re-application is required across financial years if your card stays current.

Real Scenarios

Scenario 1: Tiago, age-pensioner in Joondalup

Tiago is 72, single, lives in a 2-bed unit in Joondalup (postcode 6027), and gets the full Age Pension of $1,178.70/fortnight. He has held a Pensioner Concession Card since he turned 67. His Synergy bill averages $480 per quarter. Synergy already has his PCC on file from when he opened the account in 2019. Outcome: the $342.85 EAP is being applied at $0.94/day, reducing each quarterly bill by roughly $86. Tiago does not need to do anything - the credit shows as a separate line item on every bill.

Scenario 2: Leonor, single mum on JobSeeker, Mandurah

Leonor is 38, two children aged 4 and 7, renting a 3-bed house in Mandurah (postcode 6210). She receives JobSeeker plus FTB-A and holds a Health Care Card automatically issued via FTB-A. Her Synergy bill runs around $620/quarter because of summer aircon. She moved into the property in November 2025 and put the Synergy account in her name. Action she needs to take: log in to My Account, upload her HCC photo, and Synergy backdates the EAP to her account opening date. She receives a pro-rated $342.85 across the remaining months of 2025-26 and full $342.85 in 2026-27.

Scenario 3: Vasco, DVA Gold Card holder, Bunbury

Vasco is 81, a Vietnam veteran on the Service Pension, holds a DVA Gold Card (war-caused condition) and lives with his wife Ines in a 4-bed home in Bunbury (postcode 6230). The Synergy account is in his wife Ines's name because she handles the household admin. Issue: the EAP cannot be credited until the account is in Vasco's name (the Gold Card holder), or Ines also holds an eligible card. Resolution: Vasco calls Synergy on 13 13 53 and transfers the account into his name; the $342.85 EAP starts the next billing cycle. Total 2025-26 entitlement: pro-rated from the transfer date.

Common Mistakes

• Holding only a WA Seniors Card. The card pool is strictly federal: PCC, HCC, DVA Gold or DVA PCC. WA Seniors Card holders without one of those cards are not eligible for the EAP and need to look at the Pensioner Rates Rebate or Cost-of-Living Rebate instead.
• Account in a partner's name when only one partner holds the card. The credit follows the billing name. Either transfer the account to the cardholder or add them; Synergy will not split or redirect the credit.
• Two Synergy accounts in one household. The EAP is per household per financial year, not per account. If you have a second meter or holiday-home account, only one Synergy account can receive the EAP.
• Switching to Horizon Power and assuming the EAP follows you. Horizon Power customers receive the same $342.85 but through a separate rule (AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_HORIZON). When you close the Synergy account, the Synergy EAP stops on the close date - you need to register the card with Horizon Power to keep the credit flowing.
• Embedded-network customers (apartments, retirement villages) thinking they get the Synergy EAP. If your strata or village manager is the Synergy account holder and on-charges you, you are not the Synergy account holder. You need to apply via the ECES rule through the RevenueWA portal instead.
• Letting the card expire without renewing. The credit stops the moment the card expires. Centrelink usually re-issues PCC and HCC automatically with the underlying payment, but LIHCC needs to be re-applied each year if your circumstances haven't changed.

Related Links

• WA Energy Assistance Payment - Horizon Power - the same $342.85/yr credit, but for regional and northern WA customers on the Horizon network. Mutually exclusive with this Synergy rule.
• WA Energy Assistance Payment - ECES - apply through RevenueWA if your retailer is Perth Energy, Alinta, an embedded network, or you are off-grid. Same $342.85/yr value, paid annually by bank transfer instead of as a daily bill credit.
• WA Dependent Child Rebate (Synergy) - first child - $360.51/yr stacks on top of the Synergy EAP if your concession card lists at least one dependent child.
• WA Air Conditioning Rebate - $71.80/month enabled if you receive any EAP, live north of the 26th parallel (or in a 50-day RSI zone), and have an aircon installed. Stacks on top of this rule.
• WA New Account Establishment Fee Rebate - one-off waiver of Synergy's connection charge when a card-holder opens a new account. Useful when moving house.
• WA Hardship Utility Grant Scheme (HUGS) - separate one-off crisis grant for households in arrears. Different test (financial hardship, overdue bill) and not card-gated, so it is not double-claimed with the EAP - they cover different situations.