Subscribe

The Loyalty Tax

Australians lost $6.7 billion in 2025 by not switching providers. The loyalty tax on energy, mobile, broadband, and insurance costs households $1,700-$2,000+ per year.

Australians lost $6.7 billion in 2025 by staying loyal to their providers

That's the hidden cost of customer inertia. Across energy, broadband, mobile, and insurance, millions of Australian households pay a silent premium every year -- simply because they haven't switched.

The ACCC calls it the "loyalty penalty". Finder calls it "the loyalty tax". Whatever the name, the numbers are staggering:

Electricity: $2.9 billion

The ACCC found that over 80% of Australian households are on plans priced above the best available offer. Households on plans older than 12 months pay an average of $238 more per year than those on newer offers. The total loyalty tax in the energy sector alone was $2.9 billion in 2025.

Bill Hero addresses this directly -- automatically comparing every bill and notifying you when savings exceed your personal threshold. Average first-switch savings: $380 per year. Money-back guarantee.

Mobile phones: $2.8 billion

The average Australian spends $54/month on mobile, but plans with the same data allowance start at $42/month. That $12/month gap, multiplied across millions of users, adds up to $2.8 billion in overpayment. Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone have all raised prices every year since 2022 -- often adding data nobody asked for.

NBN broadband: $986 million

Consumers on lower speed tiers (NBN 12, 25) pay the biggest loyalty penalty -- up to $445/year more than the cheapest equivalent plan. With NBN's 2025 speed upgrades, millions of households are now on outdated plans they haven't reviewed in years.

Home and contents insurance: $819/year average saving by switching

Canstar research found households that don't shop around miss out on an average of $819 per year. In Queensland, the saving jumps to $1,072. The ABC has documented cases of premiums doubling year-on-year with no claims and no explanation -- solved instantly by switching providers.

Car insurance: $300-$600/year

Comparison sites consistently find savings of $300-$600 for drivers who switch. One Melbourne resident told the ABC she saved $600 in 30 minutes -- and upgraded her coverage in the process.

Gas: $150-$200/year

While a smaller market, gas switching savings follow the same pattern. Households that haven't reviewed their gas plan in over a year are almost certainly overpaying.


The total loyalty tax across all household bills? Well over $10 billion annually. Per household, that's $1,700-$2,000+ in foregone savings -- year after year.

The good news: most of this is fixable in under an hour. Comparison sites exist for every category. But they're one-time tools -- you have to remember to check. Bill Hero automates the process for energy, Australia's biggest household bill category, so you never have to think about it again.

What members say

Join our happy subscribers

The Bill Hero cycle

How it works

Four automated steps. Set it once, save forever.

1

Upload your bill

We'll automatically compare it against every plan from every retailer. Yep, all of them.

2

See your savings

We bring the comparison to your inbox with personalised results, showing how your bill compares and how much you can save.

3

Satisfaction guaranteed

We guarantee we'll find more savings on your first bill than the price of your subscription — or you can get your money back.

4

Savings as a service

We'll automatically compare every bill and help you switch, so you can always stay on the best priced plan.

How much
will you save?

Bill Hero finds over $380 in average annualised savings for every new subscriber. Subscribe and find out what's available for you. Our money-back Savings Guarantee makes it risk-free — if available savings are less than the subscription fee, cancel immediately and get a full refund.

Subscribe

Great! You’ve successfully signed up.

Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.

You've successfully subscribed to Bill Hero Blog.

Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.

Success! Your billing info has been updated.

Your billing was not updated.