Submissions

We develop submissions to influence policy and legislative changes that will affect Queensland energy or water consumers.

Our views consider the issues customers are contacting us about through our dispute resolution processes, as well as issues raised during stakeholder engagement and community outreach activities.

Latest submissions

AER’s draft consumer vulnerability strategy aims to improve outcomes for consumers experiencing vulnerability and help them stay engaged with the rapidly transforming energy market. EWOQ led a joint submission with EWOSA supporting the:

  • broader understanding of consumer vulnerability
  • introduction of a National Energy Customer Framework (NECF) financial hardship program
  • the five overarching objectives of the strategy.

Our submission also highlighted the identification of consumer vulnerability in the new energy products and services space.

  • Read about the strategy
  • Published submission coming soon

EWOQ provided a submission supporting the objective of the guidelines and welcomed the considered approach being taken. We supported the customer protections outlined under section 1.2 and the requirement that distributors must submit an export tariff transition strategy.

Our principal concerns were:

  • communicating tariff changes from retailers to customers, and
  • achieving simplicity in tariff structures.

EWOQ provided a joint submission with EWON and EWOSA in support of a rule change to better protect customers affected by family violence.

EWOQ has followed the reforms in this area with great interest and has engaged in numerous consultations jointly with other EWO schemes to date. The guideline aims to improve consumer experiences with and understanding of energy bills.

Stage 1: In September 2021, we provided feedback on the consultation questions for the proposed better bills guideline, as a joint submission with EWOSA.

Stage 2: In January 2022, we completed a joint submission with EWOSA and EWON in response to the draft Better Bills Guideline consultation.

We endorsed the guidelines in principle, particularly the requirements to present billing information using a tiered approach, inclusion of contact details for dispute resolution and inclusion of better offer information.

On 31 March 2022, the AER published the final Better Bills Guideline.

EWOQ supports the Australian Energy Market Commission's review, in particular the emphases on metering issues affecting consumers.

EWOQ provided a joint submission with EWON, EWOSA and EWOV in support for the overall objectives of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) and its extension to the energy sector, and provided comments on the proposed amendments which directly relate to internal and external dispute resolution.

EWOQ welcomes the review of the regulatory framework for metering services and provided a detailed submission based on our experiences as an external dispute resolution scheme.

EWOQ provided a joint submission with EWON, EWOSA and EWOV providing in principle support for the draft decision reached by the AEMC to require the AER to develop a mandatory billing guideline in relation to how retailers prepare and issue bills to small customers.

EWOQ supports the intention of the draft rule and endorses the proposed solution to enable life support customers to receive back and re-utilise their medical confirmation form or other medical confirmation documents when changing retailer or distribution network service provider.

Previous submissions

6 January 2020 – ACCC – Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct

31 January 2020 – DNRME – Review of Qld Energy Legislation

13 February 2020 – AEMC – Consumer protections new energy products

3 August 2020 – COAG Energy Council – Civil penalty regime

28 August 2020 – AEMC – Maintaining life support registration when switching

28 August 2020 – ACCC – Energy rules framework consultation

22 October 2020 – AEMC – Bill contents and billing requirements (prepared with EWON, EWOV and EWOSA)

11 January 2019 – AER – Hardship guideline

4 February 2019 – AEMC – Review of regulatory frameworks for stand-alone power systems

5 February 2019 – AEMC – Meter installation - advanced meter communications

27 February 2019 – AEMC – National Energy Retail Amendment (Customers with interval meters) Rule 2019 consultation paper

4 March 2019 – AER – Draft customer hardship policy guideline version 1

11 March 2019 – AEMC – Updating the regulatory frameworks for embedded networks

21 March 2019 – DNRME – National Energy Retail Law in Queensland

20 May 2019 – AEMC – National Energy Retail Amendment (Customers with interval meters) Rule 2019 draft determination

22 May 2019 – Clean Energy Council and Ors – New energy tech consumer code

30 May 2019 – ACCC – Guide to the electricity retail code

15 August 2019 – AER – Customer service incentive scheme

19 September 2019 – AEMC – Regulating conditional discounting

9 October 2019 – AEMC – Metering coordinator planned interruptions

12 March 2018 – AER’s Draft retail pricing information guidelines

21 March 2018 – AER’s Benefit change notice guidelines issue paper

28 March 2018 – QCA's Review of guaranteed service levels

17 April 2018 – AEMC's National Energy Retail Amendment (preventing discounts on inflated energy rates) Rule 2018

15 June 2018 – Review of Queensland energy legislation

29 June 2018 – AEMC's National Energy Retail Amendment (Strengthening protections for customers in hardship) Rule 2018 consultation paper

12 July 2018 – AEMC's National Electricity Amendment (Metering installation timeframes) Rule 2018 consultation paper

24 September 2018 – AEMC's National Electricity Amendment (Estimated meter reads) Rule 2018

18 October 2018 – AEMC's National Energy Retail Amendment (Strengthening protections for customers in hardship) Rule 2018

25 October 2018 – AEMC's National Electricity Amendment (Metering installation timeframes) Rule 2018 draft rule determination

5 December 2018 – AER's standardised statements customer hardship policies