This digest explains the key features of the Clean Energy Bill.

The Government intends to provide financial assistance to low to middle income households and others, to compensate for the cost of living impact of the introduction of the carbon price on 1 July 2012. That assistance will be delivered through increases to government welfare payments and tax cuts. The Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Bill 2011 (the Bill), as originally introduced into the House of Representatives, provides for assistance to be delivered through the welfare system in two ways. First there will be a one-off up-front lump-sum clean energy advance payment. This will be followed by on-going payment of a clean energy supplement.