Australia Utilities Guide — Electricity, Gas, Water & Internet
When you move into a home in Australia, you have to sign up for electricity, gas, water and internet yourself and choose your plans. This guide covers the sign-up steps, comparing and switching plans, NBN internet and money-saving tips. Prices and discount rates change often, so check the latest figures on the official comparison sites below.
What Are Australian Utilities?
In Australia, electricity, gas, water and internet are usually billed separately, and because the energy and telco markets are open to competition, consumers choose their own provider and plan. For the same usage, your bill can differ depending on which company and plan you pick, so it's worth comparing around the time you move in. In a stand-alone house, the resident usually opens the accounts directly, while in a share house or some apartments part of the utilities may be included in the rent, so check the contract first.
Main types of utilities
- Electricity — essential in almost every home; provider freely chosen
- Gas — applies to homes with heating, hot water or a gas stove (many homes use electricity only)
- Water — the landlord usually pays the fixed charge and the resident the usage (varies by state and contract)
Signing Up for Electricity & Gas
You sign up for electricity and gas directly with a retailer around the time you move in. Sign-up usually takes 10–15 minutes online or by phone, and you book the connection for your move-in date. Bundling electricity and gas with one company makes it simpler, but you can also sign up separately to pick a cheaper combination.
What to prepare when signing up
- Your new address (the home you're moving into) and your move-in date
- Your name, contact details and email, and ID (passport, etc.)
- The meter number (NMI / meter location) — if you don't know it, the retailer can look it up by address
Comparing & Switching Plans
In Australia you can switch retailers freely, so comparing regularly can cut your energy bills. Enter a recent bill into the free government comparison site (Energy Made Easy, etc.) and it'll find cheaper plans based on your usage pattern.
What to look at when comparing
- Usage unit rate and daily supply charge (you need both to compare the real total)
- Discount terms (pay-on-time, direct debit, etc.) and the unit rate after the discount ends
- Whether there's a contract term and an exit fee
Water Charges
Unlike electricity and gas, water is supplied by a regional water authority (e.g. Sydney Water, Yarra Valley Water) as a monopoly, so you can't choose a provider. How it's billed and what the resident pays differ by state and tenancy agreement.
Who usually pays what
- Landlord: the water fixed/infrastructure charge (in many cases)
- Tenant: the actual usage charge (paid by the tenant depending on the state and contract)
- Share house: often included in the rent or split per person
Signing Up for Internet (NBN)
Home internet in Australia is mostly provided over the government broadband network, the NBN (National Broadband Network). NBN Co lays the network, and the actual plans are sold by various internet providers (ISPs). First check your home address's connection type and available speeds on the NBN Co site, then pick an ISP plan.
NBN speed tiers (plan tiers)
| Tier | Listed speed (download) | Suitable use |
|---|---|---|
| NBN 25 | ~25 Mbps | Web, social media, basic video; 1–2 people |
| NBN 50 | ~50 Mbps | General household, HD streaming, video calls |
| NBN 100 | ~100 Mbps | Several people at once, 4K streaming |
| NBN 250+ | 250 Mbps+ | Large up/downloads, heavy users |
The listed speed is a maximum, and actual speed depends on your address's connection type (FTTP, FTTN, etc.) and the 'typical evening speed' during peak times. Check the typical evening speed the ISP advertises before signing up.
Steps to sign up for internet
Saving Tips and Move-in Connection
Money-saving tips for utilities
- Compare plans at least once a year and switch to a cheaper one
- Take advantage of pay-on-time and direct-debit discount terms
- Compare the total when bundling electricity and gas with one company versus keeping them separate
Useful Links
- Energy Made Easy (정부 비교)(opens in a new window)
Free Australian government electricity/gas plan comparison (supports most states)
- Victorian Energy Compare(opens in a new window)
Victorian government energy comparison site
- Australian Energy Regulator (AER)(opens in a new window)
Australia's energy regulator — consumer rights and pricing information
- (opens in a new window)
Utilities In-Depth Guide — Plan Structures, Decoding Your Bill, Rebates and Moving Connections
With electricity, gas and internet, signing a contract isn't the end of the story — you need to be able to read the plan structure and your bill to stop money leaking out every month. This guide focuses on the practical side: reference prices and time-of-use rates, your right to protection when you can't pay, state rebates and emergency support, the traps of apartments and rentals, connections and final bills when you move, and NBN in depth. Specific figures like rebate amounts, price caps and NBN speeds vary by your visa status and the state you live in and change every year, so before you apply, always confirm the current settings on each authority's official site (energy.gov.au, AER, your state government, nbn.com.au and so on).
Plan Structure Fully Dissected — Reference Prices, Time-of-Use Rates and Meters
The reference price (DMO/VDO) and how to read 'is this cheaper?' (Default Market Offer)
The DMO (Default Market Offer) is both the standing-offer cap applied to customers in NSW, south-east QLD and SA who haven't chosen any plan, and the reference price used to compare every market offer. For the 2025-26 financial year, DMO 7 rose by roughly 2.5-8.9% for households depending on the region, while VIC uses a separate VDO (Victorian Default Offer) set by the ESC. Ads that say 'X% below the reference price' are measuring against exactly this benchmark, which lets you compare different plans on the same yardstick. Standing offers are generally more expensive than market offers, so if you've left one running for a long time, be sure to switch — and check the latest increase on the AER and ESC official sites.
Single rate vs Time-of-Use — the trap after a smart meter
Once a smart meter (interval meter) is installed, you can sometimes be switched automatically from a flat (single) rate to Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing. TOU is expensive during the weekday evening peak (usually somewhere between 3pm and 9pm, varying by distribution zone) and cheap during the off-peak of the day and late night. If you work from home or bunch up your cooking and heating in the evening, your bill can actually go up. When you receive a switch notice, weigh it against your daily routine and ask your retailer directly whether you can stay on a single rate.