On 29 May, the AER published its draft 2026 Rate of Return Instrument (RORI). The draft 2026 RORI sets out the approach we propose to use to estimate the rate of return on capital, comprising the return on debt and equity, and the value of imputation credits. The accompanying Explanatory Statement sets out the reasoning for our draft decision.

Interested stakeholders are invited to make a submission on the draft 2026 RORI by no later than 31 July 2026.

Submissions should be sent to RateOfReturnaer [dot] gov [dot] au (RateOfReturn[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au) and addressed to Gavin Fox, General Manager Network Pricing.

We prefer that all submissions be publicly available to facilitate an informed and transparent consultative process. We will treat submissions as public documents unless otherwise requested. All non-confidential submissions will be placed on the AER's website. For further information regarding the AER's use and disclosure of information provided to it, see the ACCC/AER Information Policy.

We request parties wishing to submit confidential information:

• clearly identify the information that is the subject of the confidentiality claim
• provide a non-confidential version of the submission in a form suitable for publication.

On Monday, 22 June 2026, we will host an online public forum to overview the draft 2026 RORI and allow stakeholders to ask questions before submissions close on 31 July 2026. 

The online public forum will be held 3:00pm to 4:30pm (AEST) Monday, 22 June 2026. Please register your interest in the public forum by Thursday, 18 June 2026.