Canberra charities have welcomed pledges from people to donate their $300 energy rebate.
The federal government will reimburse every household $300 for electricity in the next financial year.
The rebate will be automatically applied in quarterly $75 installments from July 1.
'Power to the people'
Kingston resident Theresa Gordon has joined millionaire Dick Smith in pledging to donate $300 to a charity.
"Initially I was quite annoyed at the thought of the government giving everybody the rebate, thinking to myself I'm not where the real need is, and then I suddenly got excited," Ms Gordon said.
"Imagine if three million people did it, that's a massive amount of money directed right to where it's needed.
"I felt like saying, c'mon Canberra, c'mon Australia, this is really power to [the people]."
Ms Gordon is donating the money to The Early Morning Centre Canberra City, a service for homeless people. She volunteers there every fortnight.
"I see how the need is growing, especially over the last 18 months," she said.
"I know that they do a fantastic job there and they're on the coalface of that need and the money would be well spent."
No home to heat
Early Morning Centre director Nicole Wiggins welcomed Ms Gordon's generous offer, and said she hoped it inspired others to donate.
She said many of Early Morning's clients would not benefit from the rebate, because they don't have a home to heat.
"I think it's a great idea for there to be a rebate because people are doing it tough [but] it would have been nice to have it targeted to people who are struggling the most," Ms Wiggins said.
"It would be nice to see it matched through a $300 payment to people on a Centrelink benefit who don't have a house."
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said it would have been too difficult administratively to means-test the energy rebate, and the federal government has pledged to give $1.8 billion to state and territories for social housing and homelessness services each year.
There were almost no increases to welfare payment Jobseeker in the budget, despite calls from social services groups.
Compelling motivation
Well-off Canberrans should consider donating their rebate to a local charity, former CEO of Hands Across Canberra, Peter Gordon, said. Hands Across Canberra is a foundation with 360 charity partners.
"Maybe this is a different and more compelling motivation for people to donate in the financial year," he said.
"The demand for food pantry assistance, for free or subsidised food has gone up between 50 and 80 per cent in the last 18 months, so that's a very direct barometer of people that are doing it tough."
The government has touted tax cuts, which will apply from July 1, as another cost-of-living measure in the budget.
While Mr Gordon welcomed amendments reducing the benefit for higher-income workers, he said many of the most vulnerable Australians will not benefit because they are not in the workforce.
