Alinta Energy Retail Sales Pty Ltd (Alinta) has paid $1,089,000 in penalties following a record 15 infringement notices issued by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) after overcharging Centrepay customers and then allegedly failing to refund and inform them about overcharges within the required timeframe.
The overcharged amounts were received by Alinta from customers’ welfare payments through the Centrepay platform—a government bill paying service where people use their Centrelink payments to make regular payments for essential goods and services.
The alleged conduct affected electricity and gas customers across New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia between April 2019 and September 2024, with total overcharged amounts for each customer ranging from over $100 to nearly $9,750.
This outcome follows an AER investigation, prompted by a referral from Services Australia, in which the AER alleged that Alinta breached the National Energy Retail Rules by continuing to receive Centrepay deductions from customers who were no longer receiving energy services from Alinta and had already paid any outstanding amounts.
AER Deputy Chair Justin Oliver said the AER was concerned by the number of alleged breaches and their potential impact on consumers.
“It’s highly concerning that the alleged breaches went undetected for so long and impacted Australians using the Centrepay service across multiple states.
“While Alinta has taken action to refund affected customers, the size of this penalty reflects the serious nature of the alleged conduct and its impact on consumers that may have already been experiencing vulnerability,” Mr Oliver said.
After becoming aware of the alleged conduct, Alinta undertook an investigation in consultation with Services Australia and began contacting and refunding impacted customers from January 2023.
It has since implemented a series of measures to prevent its systems from receiving excess Centrepay credits on closed and inactive accounts.
“It’s an important reminder to energy retailers of their responsibility to ensure all consumers, and especially those experiencing vulnerability, receive the full protection of the rules and laws they’re entitled to under the National Energy Customer Framework,” Mr Oliver said.
The payment of infringement notices by Alinta follows a $25 million Federal Court penalty issued to AGL for failing to comply with overcharging obligations related to Centrepay payments. AGL has appealed the decision to the Full Federal Court, with the appeal to be heard on 27-28 November 2025.
The AER is currently investigating other energy retailers which were referred to it by Services Australia in May 2024 for similar conduct.
Notes to Editors
National Energy Retail Rules and National Energy Retail Law
The National Energy Retail Rules (Retail Rules) impose legal obligations on energy retailers when a customer has been overcharged. Under the Retail Rules if overcharging by a retailer occurs, customers must be notified within 10 business days of the overcharge being identified by the retailer and reimbursed. This protection extends to customers who are no longer being supplied by that particular retailer.
The AER alleged that during a five-year period from July 2019, Alinta failed to comply with the Retail Rules by:
- Failing to inform small customers of overcharges of $50 or more within 10 business days after becoming aware of the overcharge (Rule 31(1)).
- Failing to use its best endeavours to refund small customers the amounts overcharged of $50 or more within 10 business days, where no direction was given by the customer in relation to the overcharged amount (Rule 31(2)).
- Failing to use its best endeavours to refund small customers within 10 business days where the amount overcharged is less than $50 and the small customer had ceased to be a customer of Alinta (Rule 31(3)).
The AER’s power to issue infringement notices
The AER can issue infringement notices when it believes on reasonable grounds that a person or business has contravened civil penalty provisions of the Retail Rules. The payment of an infringement notice does not constitute an admission of liability by the person or business.
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