Energy Rebates and Bill Relief - Privacy Collection Notice

The role of the Office of Energy and Climate Change

The Office of Energy and Climate Change, is a part of the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and is supported by the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).

We deliver 5 Energy Rebates across NSW:

Gas Rebate
Low Income Household Rebate
Medical Energy Rebate
Life Support Rebate
Family Energy Rebate.

We also deliver the National Energy Bill Relief payments, a joint initiative between the Australian and NSW Governments that aims to help eligible households and small businesses pay their electricity bills in the financial year 2023/24.

General Information

We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal details securely, in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, (PPIP Act), which regulates the collection, storage, quality, use and disclosure of personal information. Any health information you provide will be handled in accordance with the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002, (HRIP Act), which outlines how NSW public sector agencies manage health information.

This Privacy Statement should be read together with our Privacy Management Plan, and any location-specific notices.

The information you provide in your application is collected and stored by Office of Energy and Climate Change. This Privacy Notice describes how Office of Energy and Climate Change will handle the personal and health information you provide.

Queries or complaints regarding privacy are handled by DPE’s Information Access & Privacy unit on behalf of NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Personal, business and health information collected by the Office of Energy and Climate Change

We collect relevant personal information that you provide in your application to assess your eligibility. This information could include, but is not limited to your:

name
post address
contact information
energy account and bill details
bank details (for payment).

We also collect relevant business information that you provide in your application to assess eligibility. This information could include, but is not limited to:

business name
entity type
business location(s)
authorised person(s) and their contact details
bank details including bank statements and bank letterheads
energy account and bill details

We also collect relevant health information that you provide in your rebate application to assess your eligibility. This information could include, but is not limited to your:

medical practitioner’s name and provider details
the medical equipment you use
information on any rebate eligible medical conditions.

You may submit an application on behalf of a family member, your partner, or people living in your household however, you must obtain their consent prior to providing this information to us.

The purpose of collecting personal information

We are collecting your personal information to administer, evaluate and audit Energy Rebates. We will only use personal information collected in a way that is consistent with these purposes. We may use your personal information to:

Help us deliver our services, including but not limited to:
- assessing and processing your rebate application
- contacting you if we have any difficulties with your application
- responding to requests or enquiries you have made
- providing you with services you have requested
- for the 2023/24 financial year only, assessing your eligibility for a payment to be made to you under that National Energy Bill Relief Payment.
Undertake observations and analysis of audience choices, preferences, behaviour and characteristics both individually and in aggregate.
For system administration, protection and maintenance including auditing, identifying, and controlling system abuse and preventing cyber-attacks.

The purpose of collecting business information

We are collecting your business information to administer, evaluate, and audit the 2023/24 National Energy Bill Relief Small Business Payment. We will only use business information collected in a way that is consistent with these purposes. We may use your business information to:

Help us deliver our services, including but not limited to:
- assessing your eligibility for a payment to be made to you under the National Energy Bill Relief Payment.
- contacting you if we have any difficulties with your application
- responding to requests or enquiries you have made
- providing you with services you have requested
Undertake observations and analysis of audience choices, preferences, behaviour and characteristics both individually and in aggregate.
For system administration, protection and maintenance including auditing, identifying, and controlling system abuse and preventing cyber-attacks.

The purpose of collecting health information  

We are collecting your health information to administer, evaluate, and audit your Life Support Rebate application and your Medical Energy Rebate application (when applicable). We will only use health information collected in a way that is consistent with these purposes. We may use your health information to:

Help us deliver our services, including but not limited to:
- assessing and process your Life Support Rebate or Medical Energy Rebate application
- for the 2023/24 financial year only, assessing your eligibility for a payment to be made to you under that National Energy Bill Relief Payment.

Sharing and securing your personal, business and health information

We may share some of your details with your energy retailer, Services Australia other government agencies such as Service NSW or third-party audit service providers. We will only share your information when necessary and only to assess your eligibility for a rebate. Otherwise, the Office of Energy and Climate Change will not share your information unless you have given consent or to meet a requirement under law.  

The Office of Energy and Climate Change uses a third-party system called Microsoft Azure to collect and store your personal information. 

Compulsory personal, business and health information  

Applying for Rebates and providing your information is voluntary. You are not required by law to provide to provide us your information. However, if you choose not to provide the required information, we may not be able to process your application and deem that you are not eligible for one or more rebates.  