# Bring Your Bills — guide for community members

Bring Your Bills events are **free**. You **walk in** — no appointment, no
booking needed. Bring your energy, water, or phone/internet bills and
friendly workers will sit down with you and help.

## Getting to the website

Open your internet browser (Safari, Chrome, Edge — whatever you normally
use) and type this into the address bar at the top:

> **bringyourbills.org.au**

then press Enter. That's the home page — it shows the next upcoming event,
then a scrollable list of **every other planned event**, and below those it
explains what to bring and what happens on the day. On a phone the events
come first, so you can pick one without scrolling.

Bring Your Bills is a **statewide** service. The big card at the top is
just whichever event is soonest, which is often in Melbourne's south east
if that's not near you, look at the **"Other planned events"** list below
it, or open the full list or the map.

## Reading the site in your language

The **BYB Helper** button at the bottom right of every page opens a small chat
window. At the top of that window there is a **language box**. Choose your
language and the assistant will write to you in it. You can pick:

**العربية** (Arabic) · **دری** (Dari) · **هزارگی** (Hazaragi) ·
**ਪੰਜਾਬੀ** (Punjabi) · **简体中文** (Simplified Chinese) · **தமிழ்** (Tamil) ·
**Tiếng Việt** (Vietnamese) · English

It remembers your choice on that device, so you only pick once.

Two things to know. The assistant can tell you about events, what to bring and
how the day works, but it cannot give advice about your bills. And it is not an
interpreter: **interpreters are people, they are at every event, and you only
have to ask at the front desk.** The rest of the website is in English for now.

Please don't type your name, phone number, address or account numbers into the
chat. It will stop the message and tell you so, in your language.

## The pages and what they're for

You can get to all of these from the buttons and menu on the home page, or
type the address directly:

| What you want | Type this in your browser |
|---|---|
| Home page — the next event, other events, what to bring | `bringyourbills.org.au` |
| The full list of planned events | `bringyourbills.org.au/calendar.html` |
| Map with a pin for every event | `bringyourbills.org.au/map.html` |
| Tell us you're coming to an event | `bringyourbills.org.au/attend.html` |

## Finding an event near you

1. Go to **All planned events** (`bringyourbills.org.au/calendar.html`).
2. At the top there's a box called **"Find an event near you"**.
3. Type your **postcode** (for example `3175`) and press **Find nearest**
   — the list of upcoming events reorders so the closest one is first,
   and each event shows how far away it is (for example "2.4 km away").
4. Or press **"Use my location"** and allow location access when your
   phone asks — same result, no typing.
5. Press **Clear** to go back to the normal date order.

Or use the **map page** to see everything as pins, and tap a pin for the
event's details and directions.

## Looking at one event

Every event has its own page with the full details — date, time, venue,
address, and which services will be there to help. To see it, tap the
event's **"View event details"** link on the calendar or map.

On an event's page (and on the calendar) you'll see these buttons:

- **"Let us know you're coming"** — tell us to expect you (see below).
- **"Add to calendar"** — downloads the event straight into your phone or
  computer's calendar app (Google, Apple, or Outlook calendar) so you get
  a reminder.
- **"Get directions"** — opens the venue in Google Maps.
- **"View on map"** — shows the event's pin on our map.

## Telling us you're coming (optional!)

You do **not** need to register — walk-ins are always welcome. But if you
tell us you're coming, we can plan enough staff and interpreters.

1. Press **"Let us know you're coming"**. There is one on every event, on the
   home page and on the list of planned events, so you never have to go
   looking for it. Or go straight to `bringyourbills.org.au/attend.html`.
2. Pick which event you're coming to.
3. Everything else is optional:
   - Your **name, phone and email** — you can leave all of these blank.
   - **How many people** are coming with you.
   - **What you need help with** — just tick boxes (energy bill, water
     bill, phone/internet, something else, not sure yet). You never have
     to write out your personal situation.
   - Tick **"I need an interpreter"** and tell us the language if that
     would help.
4. There's a tick box asking if we can **contact you about future
   events** — this is entirely up to you, and only possible if you gave
   us a phone number or email.
5. Press the button at the bottom. Done!

Your details are never shown publicly, are only used to plan the event,
and you can ask us to delete them any time by emailing
**byb@secl.org.au**.

## What to bring on the day

Bring your bills! The home page has the full list, but in short: any
bills you're worried about (paper or on your phone), and a concession or
health care card if you have one.

## Need help or don't use the internet much?

Email **byb@secl.org.au** — or just come along on the day. Every event is
free and walk-in; the website is only there to help you find one.