The New South Wales Government is investing two million dollars in community organisations to help people better understand their energy bills and reduce household costs. The funding will support programs working with culturally diverse communities, people with disability, regional communities and social housing tenants.
Workshops build trust and knowledge
Energy education trainer Sarmin, who came to Australia from Bangladesh in 2022, leads workshops in Sydney. She recalls her own struggles: "That time I didn't know nothing about energy bills and my landlord used to take from me a lot of money - I was told not to use the heater - I was literally using two or 3 blankets to keep myself warm, so it was a very bad experience for me."
Now she helps others avoid similar experiences, sharing tips like hanging clothes to dry on the line and setting air conditioners between 21 and 24 degrees in summer for efficiency.
The workshops are run by Sydney Community Forum, which trains trusted community leaders to take practical energy advice back into their own communities. Executive Officer Nirmal Joy emphasises the importance of trust: "Look you know when we're talking about communities that has come from different you know sort of struggles back home that the connections with power is also pretty... and when I say power - I mean power structures, is also pretty complicated, so who do you trust? is a really complicated question. And the best way to tackle that is work with their own community leaders and that's exactly what we do."
Unexpected savings revealed
Participants learn how to understand their bills, reduce energy use and access government rebates. Workshop participant Shahjabin discovered help she didn't know existed: "It was massive information that I have learned I was unaware that I am able to take $75 discount from the government."
NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe says many households miss out on savings because they don't understand their bills. "We know that people are struggling with their energy bills and this program make sure that we can reach out to everyone in the community especially if English isn't your first language to understand your bill and see how you can save money."
She highlights the Energy Made Easy website: "If people shop around for who their energy retailer is they can save 20% straight away off the top of their bill but a lot of people don't know about it and they don't know how to use it, which is why this program is really important."
Expansion plans for sustainable impact
Nirmal Joy says the additional funding allows Sydney Community Forum to expand into more communities across NSW. "This year we are going to going deeper in the community which is trying to reach communities which you have not reached before at the same time trying to create a model, we've been running this model quite successfully for some time and this is a story to tell there - so we're trying to document that and sort of share it with with the broader community - the universals of the program which can be sort of used another other community settings as well so that it's sustainable that way."
For Sarmin, the training is about more than saving money: "I think this training, will help my community, my friends and everyone. It's about building confidence, we have the power to create change for our own families and communities together."
