Easing the cost of living and building strong regions

Easing cost-of-living pressures for households

Households are experiencing increasing cost-of-living pressures, including rising energy, housing and transport costs. The NSW Government is providing $7.2 billion in cost-of-living support for households in 2022-23 to help ease these pressures.

Since the 2022-23 Budget, the NSW Government:

• launched the new broad-based Toll Relief Rebate Scheme, allowing eligible motorists to claim a 40 per cent rebate on their toll expenditure from 1 July 2022 up to a maximum of $750 a year
• opened applications for the Back to School NSW Vouchers to help parents buy school supplies and pay for excursions, with up to $150 per eligible student. More than 3.3 million vouchers valued at $167.5 million have been issued to 31 January 2023
• rolled out the Energy Bill Buster Program which, to 31 January 2023, has received more than 5,000 applications for its solar stream and more than 680 applications for its energy-efficient upgrades stream. Additionally, 1,822 solar systems have been installed, and energy-efficient installations are expected to commence in March 2023. A further 827 registrations of interest have also been received for the Solar for Social Housing Tenants offer
• continued delivering more than $300 million per year of energy assistance programs including the Low Income Household Rebate, Energy Accounts Payment Assistance, Life Support Rebate, Medical Energy Rebate and Family Energy Rebate.

The 2022-23 Half-Yearly Review also contains measures to reduce the pressure on household energy bills caused by global supply shocks (such as the ongoing illegal war in Ukraine) through the Energy Bill Price Relief Plan, which legislates for a cap on the price that coal may be sold, offered for sale or supplied.

Building strong regions with stronger opportunities

Since the 2022-23 Budget, the NSW Government’s investment across regional New South Wales has ensured that the economic potential of our regions is unlocked and those living in regional and rural areas have a high quality of life. This investment includes:

• continued delivery of the $1.3 billion uplift to the Regional Growth Fund; the Fund has provided to date more than 2,700 community-boosting projects in our regions
• expanding the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme on 1 August 2022 to increase subsidies and expand service eligibility criteria
• opening applications soon for the Regional Student and Apprentice Travel Card program. The card will provide eligible apprentices and university students living in regional, rural and remote areas of New South Wales with a $250 prepaid card to help reduce the cost of travel and support access to education and training.

The 2022-23 Half-Yearly Review also includes $67.4 million to bolster biosecurity measures including improving our resilience and preparedness for any potential disease outbreak (such as foot-and-mouth disease). This industry support is critical to families that rely on the $20.9 billion primary industries sector.