We are delighted to announce that three strong, new grants were approved by our Board as part of our Grants Program at their meeting on 23 April. These are timely projects, focusing on the unique challenges facing households with differing needs. 

The first of our approved grants was for a team at University of Sydney and Queensland University of Technology to explore better ways for the energy industry to engage with CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) consumers around managing their energy bills and usage. This project will work with CALD households and organisations, using an innovative methodology to improve our understanding of how to tailor communications for CALD households. It builds on an approach used in a previous grant that underlined the nexus between energy and health for older consumers.

The Australian Energy Foundation had funding approved to look into better ways of supporting consumers using life-support equipment at home. This recognises that interruptions to supply cannot be completely avoided and AEF will work with life-support advocates and electricity distributors to help these consumers get the best outcomes.

Finally, the Tasmanian Council of Social Service was given a grant to continue its Tasmanian Affordable Energy Project focused on energy affordability, including the potential impact for households of new, large investments in the electricity grid, and how to improve assistance to households, particularly vulnerable households. This builds on TasCOSS’ last project over the past three years.

The closing date for our next round of advocacy and research grants is September 10, 2020. We also consider CEO Grants for grants of up to $15,000 to enable consumer engagement and advocacy in government, regulatory, or industry processes, at any time during the year. Visit the grants section of our website here to learn more about our application process and some of the great grants that we have funded.