At Life After Debt ®, we believe in the importance of people knowing what help is available. If you don’t know what help is available, then how will you know who to ask or where to look?
Being in debt or having any financial difficulty is stressful enough as it is, without having to worry about not being able to find the help you need and deserve. So, this brings us to the question, what financial help is available?In our latest blog, we have compiled a list of a few of the many incredible services and initiatives available to assist you financially.
Pensioners and Seniors Rebates
Are you a pensioner or a senior? Then you can apply to receive a rebate or concession on charges for local government rates and other essential services.
WA Seniors Card
If you are a permanent Western Australian resident aged 62 years or above and work less than 25 hours per week, you can apply for a WA Seniors Card. You can use the WA Seniors Card to claim a range of State Government concessions and discounts from more than 700 businesses across Western Australia. A WA Seniors Card also acts as a Transport SmartRider card too, giving you access to travel on Transperth services for free or at a concession rate.
Energy Concession
Already hold an appropriate concession card? Then you may be eligible for a subsidy to assist with electricity costs.
Housing Bond Assistance
Finding a new home to rent can be tricky enough, without the added stress of coming up with your bond. The Housing Authority offers bond assistance and two weeks’ rent in advance as an interest-free loan to help people get accommodation in the private rental market.
Housing Financial Assistance
Key Start Home Loans offer a range of home ownership products. These loan products help eligible people to buy their own homes through low deposit loans and shared equity schemes.
Specific loan assistance is available for:
- – Public housing tenants
- – Sole parents
- – People living with a disability
- – Rural, regional and remote farmers and business owners
- – Aboriginal people
First Home Buyers Grant
Want to buy your first home but need a little help? The first home owner grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment to assist first home buyers to build a residential property for use as their principal place of residence. There are differences depending on which state or territory you live so check out what options apply to you.
Most of us have heard of Lotterywest grants, but have never actually thought of applying for one – why not?
Lotterywest offers grants to not-for-profit organisations and local government authorities, to support the things that make WA an even better place to live. So, if you have a business or an idea that may make WA an even better place to live, it can’t hurt to apply! There are a range of grants available in Western Australia, and Australia wide for that matter.
You can find more information about these on the following websites:
With so many options for financial assistance and support out there, we really are lucky to live in Australia. We hope this blog has helped you gain some insight into some of the incredible services and initiatives we have available to us.
At Life After Debt ® we’re here to help you too. We help you manage your debt, with honest and sympathetic advice, without judgement.
Contact us and get the relief you’ve been longing for today!