Power Down, Internet Up: Your 1 July 2026 Bill Changes
Most people brace for power bills to climb every July. This year the surprise runs the other way. On 1 July 2026, electricity falls for most households on the default offer, while the internet bill you rarely check goes up.
Key takeaway: Electricity standing-offer prices drop 3.4% to 7.2% across New South Wales and South East Queensland on 1 July 2026 (South Australia rises 1.4%), while NBN wholesale increases push most internet plans up about $4 to $5 a month. Power eases, internet climbs. If you sit on a default offer for either, compare and switch. (Source: AER, 2026; NBN Co, 2026)
Will my electricity bill go up on 1 July?
For most households on the Default Market Offer, no. It falls.
The Australian Energy Regulator sets the DMO, the safety-net price for customers who never picked a plan. From 1 July 2026, the residential flat rate drops 3.4% to 5.0% in New South Wales and 7.2% in South East Queensland (AER, 2026). South Australia is the one exception, with a small 1.4% rise.
There is a new feature too. For the first time, retailers must offer a default Solar Sharer Offer: three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day, even if you have no rooftop solar.
One catch on geography. The DMO only covers New South Wales, South East Queensland, and South Australia. Victoria runs its own Victorian Default Offer on a separate timetable, so the numbers above do not apply there.
Why is my internet getting more expensive?
NBN wholesale prices rise on the same day, and your provider passes most of it on.
NBN Co lifts wholesale prices by up to $2.34 a month per speed tier on 1 July 2026 (NBN Co, 2026). After retailers such as Telstra and Optus add their margin, most customers see an increase of about $4 to $5 a month (Canstar, 2026). The rise lands hardest on the popular lower and mid tiers, the NBN 12, 25, and 50 plans that most homes use. The top NBN 2000 tier goes up $4.04 at wholesale, and the Basic Bundle drops one cent.
The increase is not random. It tracks the Consumer Price Index of 3.63% for the year to 31 December 2025, under the pricing framework the ACCC accepted in 2023.
What should you actually do?
One move matters more than the rest: find out whether you are on a default offer, for power or internet, and compare.
Default offers exist for people who never chose. They are rarely the cheapest. This is the loyalty tax at work: a falling DMO does not put you on a good electricity plan. It only means the worst-case price dropped. The same logic applies to an NBN plan you signed years ago and forgot.
In the bills we audit at Resunday, the largest gaps sit with people who picked a plan once and never went back to it. The 1 July numbers move the floor. They do not move you.
A 30-second check:
- Power: look at your latest bill for the words "standing offer" or "Default Market Offer". If they appear, you can do better.
- Internet: note your current speed and monthly price, then compare it against today's plans at the same tier.
If either default applies to you, that gap is the saving. A free bill audit finds it in minutes, and here is how that works. The 1 July changes are a prompt to look. They are not the reason you are paying too much.
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