On 12 June 2025 the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) released a consultation paper titled Gas distribution networks: Connection and permanent abolishment charges in response to proposals to amend the National Gas Rules (NGR) submitted by Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) and the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC).
ECA proposed to introduce in the NGR an obligation on gas distributors to charge new customers the full cost of a new gas connection through an upfront connection fee.
The rule change request from JEC seeks to address a gap in the current regulatory framework where the NGR and National Energy Retail Rules (NERR) are silent on how permanent abolishment from gas distribution networks is to be regulated.
The AER provided a submission to the AEMC on 10 July 2025.
Following initial consultation, the Commission published a draft determination for the ECA rule change on 18 September 2025 to make a more preferable rule to require gas network distributors to charge retail customers cost-reflective charges for new gas connections through an upfront connection fee. The AER provided a submission to the AEMC on the draft determination on 29 October 2025.
The Commission then published a draft determination for the JEC rule change on 30 October 2025 to make a more preferable draft rule to establish a framework for retail customer initiated abolishment services. The AER provided a submission on the draft determination on 20 January 2026.