The Berejiklian Government\u2019s popular Cost of Living Service is being expanded as part of the 2021-22 NSW Budget.
\n$6.6 million in funding will help customers right across the state to access the full range of benefits available to them from the service and a further $7.6 million from the Department of Customer Service will be redirected towards upgrading the service.
\nService NSW will also hire extra staff, which will allow for up to 500 customers a day to benefit from the service.
\nThis means that potentially every minute someone will save up to $600 per appointment.
\nThis support will make it easier for customers to find and apply for government rebates and savings, access personalised support with face-to-face appointments gradually resuming from 1 July.
\nPremier Gladys Berejiklian said easing the cost of living for households remains a top priority for the Government in the 2021-22 NSW Budget.
\n\u201cThere are up to 70 savings offered by the Government, and more than $4 billion has been collectively saved by families since the program commenced in July 2017,\u201d Ms Berejiklian said.
\n\u201cService NSW is a one-stop shop that takes the hassle out of finding savings by putting all the relevant information under the one roof.\u201d
\nTreasurer Dominic Perrottet said this year\u2019s Budget would continue to drive our economic recovery from COVID by ensuring more people had money in their pockets to spend on the things that matter most to them.
\n\u201cThis increased investment will give more people the support they need to help them create a better future for themselves and their families,\u201d Mr Perrottet said.
\n\u201cA simple appointment could potentially save you hundreds of dollars. Whether it is Active Kids vouchers, energy rebates or Toll Relief, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of savings out there to help make life that little bit easier.\u201d
\nMinister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said specialised staff are on hand to do the heavy lifting for customers.
\n\u201cGone are the days of having to visit multiple websites and waste time calling different agencies. Our specialised one-stop shop staff can help customers identify their eligibility for savings and help them claim them,\u201d Mr Dominello said.
\n\u201cThere have been 70,000 cost of living appointments since July 2018, with the average saving per appointment almost $600, which means more money being spent on the things that matter most.
\n\u201cAs the popularity of this program continues to grow, Service NSW will ensure more staff are made available to best support NSW residents.\u201d
\nExamples of other savings available include pensioner travel vouchers, Low Income Household Rebate and the Regional seniors travel card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Berejiklian Government\u2019s popular Cost of Living Service is being expanded as part of the 2021-22 NSW Budget. $6.6 million in funding will help customers right across the state to access the full range of benefits available to them from the service and a further $7.6 million from the Department of Customer Service will be … Continue reading “NSW Budget delivers hip pocket savings boost”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}