On 14 May 2024, we released an issues paper for the review of payment difficulty protections in the National Energy Customer Framework. 

The paper sought feedback on key issues that have been identified through early consultation, preliminary analysis and consumer research, including:

• the effectiveness of existing protections for consumers experiencing payment difficulty, including who is eligible for these protections, what retailers must do to identify, engage with and assist consumers experiencing payment difficulty, and protections to ensure that disconnection is a last resort 
• whether there are opportunities to strengthen protections for consumers experiencing payment difficulty, including opportunities to improve customer engagement so that disconnection is truly a last resort
• the benefits and limitations of other frameworks and approaches, including the Victorian payment difficulty framework and approaches in other sectors
• the costs and benefits of potential changes to the framework, including the impacts of potential changes on retailer costs and the benefits and limitations of harmonising payment difficulty protections across the national energy market.

Consultation on the issues paper opened on 14 May 2024 and closed on 28 June 2024. The AER received 25 formal submissions in response to the issues paper, including 7 late submissions. 

On 19 June 2024, we held online workshops with energy businesses and consumer organisations as part of consultation for our Review of payment difficulty protections in the National Energy Customer Framework.  The purpose of these workshops was to gain practical insights into engagement practices that reduce the risk of debt and disconnection for energy consumers, from the perspective of people with direct experience engaging with consumers experiencing payment difficulty. The first workshop was attended by 18 representatives and frontline staff from energy businesses, and the second workshop was attended by 21 representatives and frontline staff from consumer advocacy and community support organisations. Summaries of these workshops are available below.

On 23 July 2024, we participated in a listening session facilitated by Voices for Power in Sydney. The purpose of this session was to consult on energy payment difficulty issues affecting people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, with 36 consumers and representatives in attendance. A summary of this listening session is available below.

On Tuesday 30 July 2024, we ran a stakeholder forum to provide interested stakeholders with an opportunity to hear the perspectives shared with the AER during our consultation on the issues paper. The forum was held online, with 114 people in attendance.

The slides presented at the forum can be downloaded below.