Energy customers struggling to pay their bills will receive stronger protections and clearer information about the help available to them, under a new rule made by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC).
Recent data from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) shows that the number of residential customers with energy debt of 90 days or more is the highest in five years.
A recent review found the protections available to consumers were often complex and applied unevenly by retailers, with around one-third of customers in debt not receiving adequate support from their retailer through a payment plan or hardship program.
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The rule change seeks to close these gaps by:
- strengthening protections for customers at risk of disconnection, including by requiring retailers to make contact through at least two communication channels
- ensuring clearer and more consistent rules around when disconnection protections apply, reinforcing disconnection as a last resort
- providing simpler eligibility categories for payment difficulty protections, making it easier for customers and retailers to understand when support should be provided
- requiring clearer payment assistance information on retailer websites, reminder notices and disconnection warning notices.
The final rule brings together and strengthens four separate rule change requests from the AER following its Review of payment difficulty protections in the National Energy Customer Framework.
The AEMC fast-tracked the rule changes in recognition of the extensive consultation already undertaken through the AER’s review, and to allow the new protections to be introduced sooner to benefit consumers experiencing payment difficulty.
AEMC chair Anna Collyer said cost-of-living pressures are adversely impacting some energy consumers, and the reforms include practical changes designed to help them access support earlier.
“Losing access to an essential service like energy can have serious consequences for households, which is why disconnection should only ever be a last resort,” she said.
“People should be able to easily understand what help is available when they are under financial pressure and struggling to pay their energy bills.
“These reforms require retailers to make genuine efforts to identify customers who may be experiencing payment difficulties and offer assistance early, before debts escalate to the point where disconnection becomes a risk.”
The AEMC has also published a separate draft rule that would ban retailers from requiring proof of a customer’s financial circumstances before providing assistance.
The change is designed to reduce the stigma, administrative burden, and delays that can discourage people from seeking help, particularly when they may be required to provide sensitive personal information.
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The draft rule would also require retailers to offer payment plans they reasonably consider affordable, taking into account a customer’s capacity to pay and changes in their circumstances.
The reforms build on a package of new consumer protections finalised by the AEMC in 2025, which included a rule change to better assist energy customers experiencing hardship.
