How to Lower Your Bills in Australia (Without the Hassle)

⚡ Electricity and gas🔗

🎯 The essential: Energy is usually the biggest lever, and the rules are on your side here.

1. Compare your current plan on Energy Made Easy (or Victorian Energy Compare in VIC). Plug in your usage and see what else is out there.
2. Call your provider and ask for their best offer. The Default Market Offer means retailers must display a reference price, so use it as leverage.
3. Switch if the numbers make sense. Switching or negotiating can save $200 to $400 a year for a typical household.

Two things worth knowing: every retailer is legally required to have a hardship policy approved by the AER, and they cannot disconnect you while you are on an agreed payment plan. Most states also offer energy concessions or rebates for eligible households, so check your state government site or ask your retailer.

📶 Internet and mobile🔗

Telcos are masters of the loyalty tax. If you have been on the same plan for two or more years, you are almost certainly overpaying.

• MVNOs: same towers, lower price. Boost Mobile runs on the full Telstra network; Woolworths Mobile uses Telstra Wholesale, covering 98.8% of the population on 4G. For most users the difference is zero.
• Right-size your NBN plan. Streaming 4K needs around 25 Mbps, so unless you run a heavy home office, NBN 50 is usually enough and $10 to $20 a month cheaper than NBN 100.
• Call your provider with a specific competitor offer and ask them to match it.

🛡️ Insurance (car, home, health)🔗

The loyalty tax hits hardest in insurance. Premiums creep up at renewal, and most people just pay.

• Re-shop every year. Set a reminder two weeks before renewal, get comparison quotes, then call your insurer with the best one. They will often match or beat it.
• Raise your excess for a lower premium, but only if you have an emergency fund that could cover it.
• Drop add-ons you do not use, like hire car cover or roadside assist you already have through a motoring club.
• Check your health extras. If you have not used dental, optical or physio in a year, you may be paying for cover you do not need.

Rough savings: $200 to $500 a year, sometimes more if you are significantly over-insured.

🏦 Banking and your mortgage🔗

Ditch the fees. Monthly account-keeping fees are largely unnecessary now. Most big-four banks have fee-free options, and neobanks like Up or ING have made no-fee banking the default.

Your mortgage is the big one. A 0.25% rate cut on a $500,000 mortgage saves roughly $1,250 a year. Call your bank and ask for a rate review; if they will not budge, talk to a mortgage broker about refinancing. This is the highest-value move on the list, even if it takes more effort than a phone call.

Credit cards: annual fees on cards you barely use are pure waste. If you are not getting value from the rewards, cancel the card. If debt is the real weight, our guide to the debt snowball vs avalanche covers how to clear it in the right order.

📺 Streaming and subscriptions🔗

This one sneaks up on everyone. Open your bank statement and count the recurring charges. Most people find two or three they had forgotten.

• Audit everything first. Look for monthly charges between $5 and $25, the sweet spot where subscriptions hide.
• Rotate, do not stack. Binge one service for a month or two, cancel, move to the next. Most have no lock-in.
• Share where the terms allow, but check first since policies have tightened.

Rough savings: $300 to $600 a year if you trim two or three services you are barely using.

📞 The just ask script🔗

This works for energy, internet, insurance and banking. Use it or adapt it to your style:

"Hi, I have been a customer for X years. I have had a look around and I can get [competitor offer] for $X less per month. Is there anything you can do to keep my business?"

Stay calm, be friendly, and have the competitor's details in front of you. If they say no, ask for the retentions team. If they still say no, actually switch. The worst outcome is that you hang up where you started.

🗓️ Make it a yearly habit🔗

• Set a calendar reminder every 12 months, or two weeks before each renewal.
• Do one bill per weekend rather than everything at once.
• Keep a simple spreadsheet of what you pay, compared and switched to.
• Think about where the savings go. An extra $1,000 a year, invested consistently, compounds into something significant, which is the whole idea behind the snowball effect.

For the wider picture on recurring costs, see our guide on how to save money.

❓ Frequently asked questions🔗