The AER has published the final Retail exempt selling guideline and Network exemptions guideline (versions 8), alongside a notice of final decision.
These guidelines explain who can sell energy without a retailer authorisation or own, control or operate an electricity network without registering with the Australian Energy Market Operator. They set out exemption eligibility and conditions, including protections for embedded network customers.
Following consultation on the draft guidelines between August and September 2026, the AER has made further amendments to provide additional guidance and clarification.
The final guidelines include targeted changes to:
- reflect new energy rules for secondary settlement points and flexible trading arrangements
- provide a streamlined registration pathway for commercial embedded network retrofits
- bolster protections for off-market customers’ metering data and security of metering installations
- clarify requirements for embedded generating and storage systems
- explain the interaction between the AER’s exemptions framework and embedded network regulation in NSW
- provide further guidance on consumer energy resources, electric vehicle charging and emerging energy-service arrangements.
We have also published final customer factsheets for embedded network retrofit proposals and a new explicit informed consent form. These documents provide customers general retrofit-related information and will help them make an informed decision about whether to consent. Businesses planning to convert an existing site to an embedded network must now use these documents in their customer marketing campaigns.