Eligible South Australians to receive $255 Cost of Living Concession, payments to roll out from late August

Tens of thousands of eligible recipients in South Australia will be receiving a $255.60 payment from the state government starting from this month.

The Cost of Living Concession (COLC) is available for pensioners, low-income earners and those who receive government payments such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY.

One person per household is eligible for the $255.60 payment for the 2024-25 financial year, which is designed to help people with their general living expenses.

How to apply

Those who have already received a COLC payment before don’t need to do anything if their living and income circumstances haven’t changed.

New recipients must apply for the payment by December 31. This can be done via an online form.

To complete the form, you’ll need your Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN), Department of Veterans’ Affairs file number or a copy of your most recent tax assessment and your most recent electricity and water bills.

Homeowners will also need their ownership number from their most recent Notice of Emergency Services Levy Assessment.

Eligibility is based on an applicant’s circumstances on July 1 of the relevant financial year.

Payments will start landing in bank accounts from late August.

Households who received the 2023-24 COLC payment also received a one-off additional payment of $243.90 in June.

A total of 210,000 South Australian households received the additional cash boost.

“This is relief targeted to those South Australians who need it most, at a time when they need it most,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said at the time.

More details about the COLC payment are available on the South Australian government’s website.