A new national scorecard from the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) shows some Australian households are far better supported than others to cut energy use, lower bills, improve comfort, and participate in the energy transition.
Australian households are being left to manage high energy use, high bills, and uncomfortable homes without enough practical support from governments, according to the EEC’s inaugural national scorecard comparing consumer energy performance policies across Australia’s states and territories.
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The State Energy Performance Policy Scorecard assesses how governments are helping households reduce energy bills, improve comfort and resilience, and benefit from energy efficiency, electrification and demand flexibility. It provides the first national comparison of household energy performance policy settings across all eight states and territories.
The scorecard finds the Australian Capital Territory is the strongest overall performer, followed by Victoria and New South Wales. Victoria ranks first on electrification, while New South Wales and South Australia rank equal first on demand flexibility.
Queensland and the Northern Territory rank seventh and eighth overall, with major policy gaps across household electrification, energy efficiency and flexible demand.
The report also shows:
- Households that switch to electric appliances and vehicles, alongside efficiency upgrades, could save up to $2,250 a year
- Approximately 70% of Australia’s 11 million existing homes were built before minimum energy efficiency standards were introduced
- Improving a home from 3 to 5 stars could cut heating and cooling energy needs by around 40%
- More than 2 million rental homes in Australia are in jurisdictions without minimum and enforceable energy efficiency requirements.
EEC CEO Luke Menzel said, “The EEC has run the ruler over the policies that Australia’s states and territories have in place to help households cut their energy bills.
“We developed a robust methodology, gathered the evidence, and rated each and every jurisdiction for their energy efficiency, electrification and energy flexibility policies and programs.
“So, what is the TL;DR? ACT, Victoria and NSW have topped the league table, South Australia is somewhere in the middle, and WA, Queensland and Tasmania right down the bottom.”
“No jurisdiction is perfect—there is room for improvement across the board. But these findings show there is an urgent need for some states to step up their efforts in supporting households to respond to the cost-of-living crisis.”
EEC manager consumer advocacy Justin Whelan said, “Consumers should pay a fair price for their energy, no matter where they live. Electrification and energy efficiency policies mean lower energy bills for Australians—it is that simple.”
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“This scorecard shows where governments across Australia can supercharge electrification and energy efficiency policies to deliver financial, health and environmental benefits for all households and small businesses.”
