On 13 June 2017, the AER published an issues paper Access to dispute resolution services for exempt customers seeking stakeholders' views on our initial thinking on expanding exempt customer access to energy ombudsman schemes. We are seeking stakeholder comment on four core questions:

1. What should be our approach to considering exempt customer access to ombudsman schemes?
2. What is the scale of the problem?
3. What is the nature of energy disputes experienced by exempt customers?
4. Can existing external dispute resolution mechanisms, other than ombudsman schemes, effectively deal with energy disputes?

Interested parties were invited to make written submissions on the issues paper by 14 July 2017.