Submissions

EWOQ led a joint response with EWON and EWOSA on the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) draft Retail Guidelines which combined 4 separate guidelines and introduced updates to reflect changes in the energy rules and market, simplify energy communications and regulations, and ensure customers are receiving clear, useful and timely information and support. We were generally supportive of the amendments with a few suggestions.

• Read the draft Guidelines.
• Submission to be published. 

EWOs were provided an opportunity to comment on two consultation processes by the AEMC which proposed changes to the National Energy Retail Rules to improve protections for customers experiencing payment difficulty. This follows the AER’s review of payment difficulty protections.

There were two processes to engage with:

1. Draft determination Streamlining payment difficulty protections.
2. A detailed consultation paper to Strengthen standards for payment difficulty assistance.

We supported joint responses with our peers’ recommending reforms go further providing a range of case studies as evidence of issues our offices have observed. There are practical changes to the National Energy Retail Rules that can be implemented through this rule change process that would remove significant structural barriers preventing consumers experiencing vulnerability from accessing assistance.

• Read about the consultations.
• Read our submission.

EWOQ supported a short joint response with our peers on the ACCC’s draft determination which granted authorisation of the National Energy Technology Customer Code (NETCC) with conditions for 5 years. The Code seeks to set consumer protection standards for signatories governing all aspects of the consumer experience in connection with the provision of New Energy Tech products and services.

We maintained our position for a mandatory obligation for providers of CER to be members of energy ombudsman offices.

• Read about the draft determination.
• Read our submission.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has made a draft rule which seeks to enhance the registration, deregistration, and communication processes for customers who rely on life support equipment at home, ensuring protections are applied consistently and fairly across the National Energy Retail Rules (NERR) framework.

We collaborated on a joint response with EWON and EWOSA in support of the draft rule. We emphasised the importance of maintaining existing protections, including not requiring current life support customers to re-register, preserving the current equipment list, and allowing medical discretion. We also supported measures to improve data accuracy, such as annual checks and reminders, while cautioning against administrative burdens on vulnerable customers.

• Read about the draft determination.
• Read our submission.

The Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) draft determination introduces a new framework for customer-initiated gas abolishment services in the National Gas Rules (NGR) and provides customers clarity on both disconnection and abolishment services through new information requirements in the NGR and National Energy Retail Rules (NERR).  These changes improve clarity and regulatory certainty regarding gas abolishment services and require customers to pay cost reflective abolishment charges.

We supported a move to cost reflective abolishment charges and enhanced information provision. We believe that EWOs are best positioned to handle complaints from individual customers about their gas abolishment and note potential issues with third parties involved in the provision of these services that are not members of our schemes.

• Read about the draft determination.
• Read our submission.

EWOQ contributed to a joint submission with EWON and EWOSA on the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) consultation to simplify and improve the following retail guidelines which shape many customer experiences, including choosing and comparing plans, receiving bills, understanding changes to plan benefits and accessing payment difficulty assistance:

• Benefit change notice Guidelines
• Better Bills Guideline
• Customer Hardship Policy Guideline
• Retail Pricing Information Guidelines

Our response supported improving retailer communications by using design principles, making communications more accessible and improving benefit change notices, making it easier to access a better offer and improving price transparency by making fees and charges easier to understand. We encouraged keeping the Customer Hardship Policy Guideline separate, using the term affordability over hardship, and improving payment assistance information, making affordability policies more consumer friendly and helping customers access concessions and rebates.

• Read about the review
• Read our submission

The Solar Sharer Offer was announced on 4 November 2025 to introduce a defined daily window of zero-cost electricity usage to incentivise households to shift their energy use to periods of low-cost solar generation during the day. We supported a joint submission with EWON and EWOSA supporting the reforms which would enable consumers to benefit from solar generation and other consumer energy resources by taking advantage of excess solar generation. We however noted the risks with a tight implementation timeframe and the potential for benefits not to flow to all consumers, in particular some vulnerable cohorts that needs to be more thoroughly understood and addressed.

• Read about the Solar Sharer offer.
• Read our submission.

The Australian Energy Market Commission has made a draft rule that would require newly connecting gas customers to pay the cost of their connection upfront. This is intended to address connection risks associated with the projected decline of residential and commercial gas demand. We supported a joint response with EWON and EWOSA supporting the full cost recovery of new connections to avoid cross subsidies and the risk of higher prices for remaining customers as connected customers diminish.  

• Read about the draft determination
• Read the submission. 

EWOs were provided an opportunity to comment on the re-authorisation of the National Energy Technology Customer Code (NETCC) which is before the ACCC as it’s due to expire. The Code seeks to set consumer protection standards for signatories governing all aspects of the consumer experience in connection with the provision of New Energy Tech products and services, ranging from marketing, advertising and promotion through to offering, quoting, contracting, finance and payments, installation, operation, customer service, warranties and complaints.

EWOQ along with EWOV, EWON and EWOSA supported the continued role for the Code in bridging a gap in consumer protections for consumer energy resources (CER) through their signatories, but encouraged the ACCC to address some critical gaps to set out a pathway for alignment with a new consumer protection framework for CER as it emerges, and to ensure consumers can access independent external dispute resolution.

• Read about the review
• Read the submission. 

EWOs commented on the Australian Energy Market Commission’s proposed framework that would enable all consumers to request access to real time data from smart meters from 1 January 2028. We supported a joint response with EWON and EWOSA providing feedback on what upfront information will be valuable to customers to help minimise complaints, the approach for vulnerable customers, family violence protections and retailers’ obligation only to provide raw data. We endorsed the proposed requirement for metering service providers (MSP) to cooperate with retailers when they request information or assistance related to an ombudsman complaint or dispute and further reiterated our position to explore Ombudsman membership of MSPs as part of broader consumer protections and regulatory reforms.

• Read about the draft determination
• Submission to be published.