The AER has today published a revised version of the Significant price reporting guidelines (Guideline) outlining the approach, criteria and procedures for reporting on significant price outcomes in the electricity wholesale market.
The revised Guideline follows a review conducted by the AER in 2025, which found that the significant price outcome criteria of $5,000 per megawatt hour (MWh) was no longer fit for purpose in an evolving market.
Updates to the Guidelines primarily relate to the methodology to determine which price outcomes in the electricity wholesale market should be reported on.
Instead of the fixed $5,000/MWh price to determine a significant price outcome, the AER will now identify one day each month when the maximum 30-minute price in the National Electricity Market (NEM) across all regions is highest, and the next highest priced day in the calendar quarter. The AER may also apply a principles-based approach to select other price outcomes to report on if it deems them to have more significance than the selected days.
This change will result in a minimum of four days being selected as significant price outcomes each quarter to be reported on.
The new criteria will apply from Q1 2026, and the first report under the revised Guidelines will be published in May 2026.
Background
The AER has an obligation under the National Electricity Rules (NER) to monitor and report on significant price outcomes in the NEM. The NER require us to produce guidelines for how we report significant price events.
Reports prepared under the Guidelines explain the key drivers of significant price outcome events. This:
- assists stakeholders and policymakers to assess whether the market is functioning effectively
- acts as a preliminary assessment of possible market power or compliance
- has a regulatory presence as a deterrent.
In 2025, we conducted a review of the existing guidelines which concluded that the previous significant price outcome criteria of $5,000/MWh was no longer fit for purpose.
An expedited consultation process was held in late 2025, with 3 submissions made by stakeholders. These submissions are published here.