AER is consulting on a new minimum disconnection amount for the National Energy Customer Framework

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has published the findings from our Review of payment difficulty protections in the National Energy Customer Framework. This review has determined that increasing the minimum disconnection amount would strengthen payment difficulty protections for all customers and better support the principle that disconnection should be a last resort for customers experiencing payment difficulty.

The minimum disconnection amount provides a baseline level of disconnection protections to all energy customers in the National Energy Customer Framework, which applies in the ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. Under rule 116(1)(g) of the National Energy Retail Rules, the AER sets the minimum amount that must be outstanding before a customer can be disconnected for non-payment of a bill, provided that the customer has agreed with their retailer to repay the amount. This amount is currently $300 (including GST) and has been in place since the National Energy Customer Framework was introduced in 2012. The amount was last reviewed by the AER in 2017.

To strengthen payment difficulty protections for all energy customers, we are proposing to increase the amount to $500 (including GST). In proposing this amount, we have considered:

• the long-standing principle that customers should not be disconnected for being one quarterly bill behind
• changes in the broader context of the energy market, including inflation, energy prices and estimated quarterly electricity costs
• implementation considerations, including the impact on retailer costs, customer awareness and engagement, and ongoing monitoring and compliance.

We have published a draft decision for the new amount and are seeking stakeholder feedback. Consultation closes on Wednesday, 18 June 2025. We aim to make a final decision on the new minimum disconnection amount in mid-2025.

Increasing the minimum disconnection amount is just one of the opportunities we have identified to improve payment difficulty protections in the National Energy Customer Framework. Other opportunities we’ve identified can be progressed through changes to the National Energy Retail Law, National Energy Retail Regulations or National Energy Retail Rules.

If you have any questions or to make a submission in response to our draft decision, please email us at ConsumerPolicyaer [dot] gov [dot] au (ConsumerPolicy[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au).