On 27 March 2025, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) published the Draft National Energy Retail Amendment (Improving consumer confidence in retail energy plans) Rule 2025. The draft rule was made in response to four rule change requests submitted by the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, as Chair of the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council (ECMC).
The draft rule sought to improve consumer protections for small customers (predominantly households) on retail energy contracts, increase the certainty and transparency of the prices they will pay and improve confidence in the retail energy market.
The draft rule would do this by:
- requiring retailers to specify that a benefit continues for the life of the contract, or ensuring that the price a consumer pays does not exceed the standing offer when the benefit expires or ends
- requiring retailers to apply large discounts whether or not any associated condition for eligibility has been met
- restricting price increases to a defined period of 12 months
- prohibiting fees and charges for hardship customers.
The AER made a submission on the draft rule on 8 May 2025.