Following our Review of payment difficulty protections in the National Energy Customer Framework, we proposed to increase the minimum disconnection amount. On 15 May 2025, we published a draft decision that proposed a new amount of $500 (including GST). In proposing this amount, we considered:

• the long-standing principle that customers should not be disconnected for being one quarterly bill behind
• changes in the broader context of the energy market, including inflation, energy prices and estimated quarterly electricity costs
• implementation considerations, including the impact on retailer costs, customer awareness and engagement, and ongoing monitoring and compliance.

Consultation on the draft decision for the new amount closed on Wednesday, 18 June 2025. We aim to make a final decision on the new minimum disconnection amount in mid-2025.

Consultation on the draft decision opened on 15 May 2025 and closed on 18 June 2025. The AER received 14 formal submissions in response to the draft decision, including 7 late submissions. We also received 2 informal (verbal) submissions. 

On Wednesday 11 June 2025, we held a stakeholder forum where we presented our findings on the case for change from our Review of payment difficulty protections in the NECF and explored the opportunities we’ve identified for improvement, including our proposal to increase the minimum disconnection amount. The forum was held online, with 66 people in attendance.

The slides presented at the forum can be downloaded below.