Guidelines, schemes, models and reviews

The Rate of Return Instrument specifies how the AER will determine the allowed rate of return on capital invested in regulated electricity and gas networks.

On 12 November 2024, the AER published a final determination on the 2024 cost threshold review for regulatory investment tests and annual price reports.

On 21 November 2024, we completed a review of the Cost Benefit Analysis guidelines and Regulatory Investment Test application guidelines and instruments.

Our Cost Benefit Analysis guidelines help AEMO with ISP planning, and proponents in completing RIT-Ts for actionable ISP projects. This is the current version.

These are the current application guidelines to assist project proponents in undertaking the Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission as per NER cl 5.16.2.

We publish and maintain application guidelines to assist project proponents in undertaking the Regulatory Investment Test for Distribution as per NER cl 5.17.2.

We maintain the Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission as per NER clause 5.15A.1(a).

We maintain the Regulatory Investment Test for Distribution as per NER clause 5.17.1(a).

We maintain guidelines to assist AEMO in best practice methods for its forecasting and reporting obligations for reliability processes as per NER cl. 4A.B.5.

The intent of the annual updates is to provide stakeholders with information on rate of return data changes since the publication of the most recent Instrument.

On 6 October 2023, the AER published final amendments to the Cost Benefit Analysis guidelines and the Regulatory Investment Test (RIT) application guidelines.

The Rate of Return Instrument (the Instrument) sets out the approach by which we will estimate the rate of return, and comprises the return on debt and the return on equity, as well as the value of imputation credits. We publish a new Instrument every 4 years that will bind all regulatory determinations in the subsequent 4 years.